{"id":216303,"date":"2024-07-18T07:05:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T11:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=216303"},"modified":"2024-07-18T11:13:36","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T15:13:36","slug":"doctor-is-uconn-through-and-through-and-taking-care-of-connecticut-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2024\/07\/doctor-is-uconn-through-and-through-and-taking-care-of-connecticut-families\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor is ‘UConn Through and Through’ and Taking Care of Connecticut Families"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summer, Dr. Gian Grant-McGarvey ’14 (CAHNR) completed her residency training at UConn Health and is now practicing family medicine in Windsor.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
UConn, UConn School of Medicine, and UConn Family Medicine Residency graduate Dr. Gian Grant-McGarvey.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s surreal that I am done with my residency training,\u201d says Grant-McGarvey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am UConn through and through \u2013 and bleed blue,\u201d she proudly says.<\/p>\n

Grant first entered the world of academic medicine at UConn Health as a high school student enrolling in the Health Career Opportunity Programs (HCOP) led by Dr. Marja Hurley, founder and director of the longstanding pipeline program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all started in my junior year of high school when I saw an HCOP flyer in my guidance counselor\u2019s office,” she says. “I decided to apply. It really has all worked out!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Hurley breaks down a lot of doors and barriers for us students,\u201d says Grant-McGarvey who, after successfully completing the HCOP program, attended the University of Connecticut as an undergraduate studying pathobiology. Then after a post baccalaureate year at UConn, it was off to UConn School of Medicine to become a doctor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was truly great at UConn. I was part of the honors program, but a community service trip to Costa Rica solidified my choice to become a physician after experiencing one to one help of people in need,\u201d says Grant-McGarvey.<\/p>\n

She was born in Brown’s Town, Jamaica and came to the Greater Hartford Area at age 5. \u201cI knew at a young age that I wanted to be a doctor,\u201d says Grant-McGarvey, whose loss of her father as a young girl left a mark on her life path.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Dad passed away because of lack of health care access where we lived,\u201d she recounts. \u201cThis is why I want to help the underserved. I want to help people find care and resources they need. His experience I take to work with me every single day and everywhere I go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant-McGarvey\u00a0adds, \u201cMy Mom had to start all over with me and my brother. Thanks to her, I am now a first-generation college graduate and a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
In 2011 as a UConn undergrad Gian Grant presents her poster “The Need for More School Based Health Centers in Hartford” on the last day of the Clinical Summer Research Fellowship Program at UConn Health. Grant did her research with the Hartford Action Plan. (Chris DeFrancesco\/UConn Health Photo).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Grant-McGarvey credits HCOP for her successful medical career, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is awesome to see individuals who look like me grow up to be dentists and doctors at UConn Health. They have made my dream a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds: \u201cI am so grateful. HCOP is one of the best programs. Every opportunity I have, I talk about HCOP. Please look it up! They are helping alleviate obstacles for kids of all backgrounds who want to become doctors. I have been guided to do well, climb the ladder, and remember to reach back to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Medical school and residency are a big challenge, says Grant-McGarvey, who is grateful for all her mentors, especially Dr. Kenia Mansilla-Rivera, her family medicine residency program director.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamily medicine aligned with me as a person, especially its focus on community care and community outreach,\u201d says Grant-McGarvey.<\/p>\n

A formative experience for Grant was serving as Chief Resident for Family Medicine: \u201cI could not duplicate that opportunity to be a leader. It really rounded me. It solidified in me that I can do this \u2013 and I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant-McGarvey\u00a0believes family medicine is a vitally important career. \u201cWe treat the family. From Mom, to delivering her baby, to caring for the baby and the whole family. Remember, there is a whole family behind each and every patient. We treat the family too!\u201d<\/p>\n

She loves family medicine, as providers focus on the social aspects of patient care, like lifestyle changes and the importance of a healthy diet. To that end, she participated in UConn Health\u2019s new Lifestyle Medicine Track during her residency training. \u201cFamily medicine experts share tools and tips that help improve our patients\u2019 health. It\u2019s all about holistic treatment. I love teaching my patients. Health education is the most important component of who we are as family medicine physicians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gian
Dr. Gian Grant-McGarvey in the UConn Health courtyard (Tina Encarnacion \/ UConn Health Photo).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During her time at UConn School of Medicine, Grant-McGarvey was also proud to have helped the medical school develop its anti-racism curriculum. She says her greatest moment was volunteering at the West Indian Parade with the medical school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so grateful for UConn and its community outreach,” she says. “I have done a lot while at UConn. It\u2019s now time for me to give back and mentor others. As I move forward as a Family Medicine doctor, I am blending my UConn training with the representing of my West Indian community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant-McGarvey\u00a0concludes, \u201cI am raised here in Connecticut. UConn is a big entity in the state. To be a part of UConn and also bring community together and even closer \u2013 makes me very UConn proud! I am a UConn physician through and through.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Dr. Gian Grant-McGarvey, a new UConn-trained Family Medicine expert, community is crucial <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":216321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,2224,1715,2193,2388,2302,156,1868,2235,179,2306],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1873],"class_list":["post-216303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-cahnr","category-community-impact","category-hartford-county","category-healthcare-workforce","category-pathobiology-veterinary-science","category-profile","category-meds","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-health","category-uconn-voices"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 00:16:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216303"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216338,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216303\/revisions\/216338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/216321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216303"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=216303"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=216303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}