The First! FAMU Alumna Dr. Tamia Potter Matches with Vanderbilt As First Black Woman Neurosurgery Resident
by Stacy Jackson

March 21, 2023

The First! FAMU Alumna Dr. Tamia Potter Matches with Vanderbilt As First Black Woman Neurosurgery Resident

Future med students will know her as a history-maker in the field.

2018 FAMU graduate Dr. Tamia Potter has made history after becoming the first African American neurosurgery resident to train at the Vanderbilt University College of Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery in its 148-year history.

The Florida native found out the exciting news last week during “National Match Day,” the third Thursday of March, where medical students all over are matched to a specialty and residency for training.

“Today on March 17th, 2023 I was blessed to be selected as the first African American female neurosurgery resident to train @VUMC_Neurosurg,” Potter wrote on her Twitter page to accompany videos and photos of her special day.

Dr. Chelsea Mooreland extended her congratulations to Potter on Instagram.

“I could not be more proud of my amazingly talented and brilliant mentee who just so happens to be a Beta Alpha Soror and FAMU Alumnae,” Mooreland wrote in a post.

VUMC Neurosurgery posted a short message to its Twitter account welcoming the young doctor and its other newest residents to its family. “We are thrilled to announce our new Vanderbilt Neurosurgery residents! Congratulations- we are so excited to have you on our team!” the tweet read.

According to Rattler Nation, Potter completed her bachelors in chemistry at FAMU, where she was also an initiate of the Beta Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. The young scholar then went on to receive a full scholarship to attend Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine in Ohio. During her time studying at CWRU, Potter had 17 research publications, 12 citations, and 262 reads.


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