Each day our community faculty illustrate their commitment to educating future healthcare professionals through their passion for teaching and examples of excellence. The Office for Community Faculty would like to shine a spotlight on one of the greatest assets of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, our community faculty. You are making a difference in the lives of students, patients, and in our communities.
This month’s Community Faculty Spotlight is Timothy O’Mara, MD, nominated by Abrianna (Abe) Robles, MS4. Thank you for your service, Dr. O’Mara, we appreciate you!
Being a medical student poses many unique challenges, and at times can be overwhelming. Especially during 3rd year clerkships – there is so much to learn, and never seems to be enough time. Certain attendings make these challenging years more fun and rewarding by dedicating extra time in their already-packed days to helping develop physicians of the future. One of these physicians is Dr. Timothy O’Mara, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Reno Orthopedic Clinic.
Dr. O’Mara went to medical school at our very own UNR Med and completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of Washington where he then stayed for a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma. He completed a second fellowship in pediatric orthopaedics in Sydney, Australia and a third fellowship in hip and knee replacement at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles. After a very long (and impressive) course of training, he returned to Reno and joined the ROC in 2007 where he has been ever since.
The most incredible thing about Dr. O’Mara is how genuine he is when he is teaching medical students. Abe Robles, MS3 commented, “When I first told him that I was interested in orthopaedics, he was excited to involve me in his clinic and procedures. He let me see patients on my own during outpatient visits and helped guide me in using power tools on my first hip fracture case. It’s easy to see how loved and respected he is by his staff, patients, and colleagues, and what a great role model he is for the trauma fellows that work with him as well.” Physicians like Dr. O’Mara inspire medical students by getting to know their interests and encouraging them to think critically, Abe states, “When I rotated with Dr. O’Mara during my 3rd year orthopaedic elective, he would send me articles specifically about things we saw in clinic or the OR together and would even send me pediatric orthopaedic articles he thought I might find interesting because he knew I was potentially interested in that subspecialty.”
Outside of medicine, Dr. O’Mara loves spending time with his wife and two daughters and is also a big foodie! He loves traveling and trying new restaurants and cuisines. When asked about what his favorite part of being community faculty is he said, “My favorite part about being community faculty is the ability to pay it forward. I was a med student at UNR from 1996-2000 and benefited from involvement of community doctors in our clinical education. Whether it is helping someone get prepared for an orthopaedic residency or just learning how to suture, it’s nice for me to be able to contribute.” Thank you for all you do Dr. O’Mara!
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