Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Abraham Gobel
A rising star in the medical community, Dr. Abraham Gobel combines his love for problem-solving with deep compassion for his patients, recently becoming Chief Resident in his Family Medicine program. His involvement in research, leadership in resident wellness, and commitment to community service have only strengthened his impact. Dr. Gobel’s journey is not just about medicine—it’s about the people, the experiences, and the belief that, with the right mindset, anything is possible. His future is bright, and as a new father and husband, he’s ready to take on whatever challenges come next, all while staying rooted in his values and dedication to making a difference.
What’s your academic background?
I’m originally from Boston, Massachusetts, and went to undergrad at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. After undergrad, I spent a year working in the medical field doing phlebotomy to confirm that I wanted to spend the rest of my life working in medicine.
What brought you into medicine?
According to my mom, I was seven when I first said I wanted to be a doctor. I think most of the reason was curiosity and the combination of being able to talk to people and get to know them and still be able to take a step back and treat everything like a puzzle. Different aspects of medicine involve different depths of the human body. This is why I enjoyed Family Medicine because it allowed me to do a little bit of all.
Where did you match?
In 2024, I matched in Family Medicine at Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, MS.
What is a typical day like as a Family Medicine resident?
A lot of it is very dependent on which rotation I’m on. Sometimes you’ll have a rotation where you’re outpatient and your attending doesn’t show up until 9 AM so you get there at 8 so you can be better prepared for the day. You’ll have other rotations in the hospital where you’ll want to be there by 5:30 AM so you can catch up with everything that has happened overnight, speak to the patient’s nurses, etc.
Nowadays, I try to wake up early. I have a young child so I wake up early enough to feed her, go to the gym, get showered and ready for the day, and be where I need to be by 7 AM. I feel like that sets up the rest of the day to go as well as it can. It took me years to figure out that made a difference and I stick to that schedule as closely as I can.
Are you involved in any research?
I’m currently doing a QI (quality improvement) project. I’m doing an in-depth look at our numbers when it comes to screening diabetic kidney disease. I’m also doing two case reports, one of which is about early onset heart failure in a 32-year-old male caused by fibrothorax.
Why did you choose Trinity and what ultimately helped you make the decision?
I applied to several U.S. schools. While I was waiting to hear back, my girlfriend at the time, now wife, had stumbled upon Trinity. I was a little late in the application cycle and figured I’d send my application. I heard back pretty quickly and the interview was honestly one of the best interviews I’ve ever had. Speaking with the representative at the time, it was pretty remarkable how strongly they felt about Trinity. It’s things like that that really stand out to me when I consider what my future options are.
I did see other Caribbean medical schools and had personal connections with them. My cousin went to St. George’s University and I had a couple of friends who went to Ross University, but the statistics helped back up what I had already been feeling which was that Trinity was my best bet to continue along this path and end up where I wanted to be. Turns out I was right.
I also remember Trinity had a video of alumni with their credentials. The fact that people seemed genuinely excited and supported makes a difference. Knowing there’s potential for you just like those people to go through what is known to be an arduous process and to feel that there is support and assistance to go through what you know is going to be hard. Looking around and seeing classmates and professors who clearly understood that made a world of difference.
What are the clerkships (rotations) like at Trinity?
I did all my clerkships in Baltimore which was nice because that was a smoother transition being from Boston, Massachusetts. There were not many of us from Trinity there, so we became a tight-knit community and would hang out pretty frequently. I also loved my preceptors. I enjoyed one of them, Dr. Sood, who took me under her wing. After I completed all the requirements to graduate in November 2023, I realized the Match wasn’t until March and you don’t start your job in residency until July, so I kept in contact with her and she offered me a job. I was in a supervised position and it was a step up from a medical student. I was dipping my toe into what residency would be like. I did physical exams, interviewed patients, came up with plans, and discussed them with her. I felt like that prepared me for residency. She was a great mentor and I attribute a lot of my early clinical success to her. She set me up in a way to continue to succeed.
Do you have any stand-out memories, stories, or experiences regarding your time at Trinity?
While at Trinity, I was Vice President and eventually Co-President of Trinity’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Club. I participated in several spay and neuter clinics held all over the island. It was memorable and a good reminder that we should appreciate where we are and the opportunities that we have. I also helped create the Trinity ASL Club, so that we could practice sign language because you never know when you’re going to have a patient who is non-verbal or hearing-impaired. It makes a world of difference to people if you show that you can understand or at least attempt to communicate in their language. We did several fundraisers for a local special needs school because they had several kids who were non-verbal. It was fun and nice to be able to come together to help the community.
What are you doing for fun these days?
I had my first child in May last year so that’s a lot of my outside-of-work fun. My wife and I are also very involved with the residents. I’m the co-chair of the wellness program so we host Thanksgiving every year and game nights a couple of times a year and we’re growing that out. You don’t spend much time with other residents during residency, so I’m trying to make explicit time outside of work for all of us to come together and hang out.
What’s the best advice you’d share with a prospective Trinity student?
What matters more than where you go to school is the attitude you have about this career. Everywhere you go there’s going to be challenges. The reality is, if you keep working hard, just keep reminding yourself there’s a reason you want to do this. It’s not an easy process but the result is so much more rewarding than you ever thought it could be. Coming into it for the right reason is the most important thing.
I remember when I was first exploring going to Trinity and I was reading things online, there’s a decent number of people who just unnecessarily discriminate against Caribbean medical schools and it’s not fair. The level of education is the same if not better because they prepare you to bring that competitive edge and that makes a difference. I’ll sit next to some of my U.S. MD counterparts and realize that the education I got is exactly the same if not superior to theirs.
What are your future plans after residency?
I’ve already started doing interviews for attending positions, which is a little early. I know geographically where I would like to be. I have a growing family so I want to be closer to home. Both my family and my wife’s family are in New England so being up north is important to us. I’ve had some interviews with outpatient clinics or clinics within a health system that allow for occasional inpatient work. Something that I wasn’t sure I was ever going to want to do again because it’s stressful and high pace and I really enjoy a clinic lifestyle, but you just realize that you don’t know 100% what it is you want to do with your life until you start doing it every day. Working at hospitals is fun and you learn so much, so I’ve applied to a few places that allow for per-diem hospital work in addition to normal clinic hours. I’ll be doing my site visits for those shortly.
If you’re interested in learning how Trinity can support your dream of becoming a doctor, we invite you to reach out to our admissions team today! Contact us here.
