Page 47 - RU Robert Wood Johnson Medicine • Summer 2020

The decision-making skills she learned during her first clinical experience in Japan proved vital when Dr. Correia was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, to serve in a small U.S. contingent that became part of a medical team composed of American, German, and Dutch personnel. “Patients first had to get checked by security for ammunition before entering the hospital,” she says. “Then my team was responsible for performing the primary assessment on trauma patients, and I communicated with the surgeons as needed.”
Nonemergency duties gave Dr. Correia insight into the basic needs of the Afghan population compared to their American counterparts.
She was responsible for conducting physical examinations of women who volunteered to
serve in local police departments. One striking challenge: trying to assess each patient’s age. “They would state ages of 18 to 25, but you could tell they were 40 to 50 years old,” she says. “They don’t have records of birth.”
Witnessing the hardships faced by those women prompted Dr. Correia to take on the role of an educator. For example, she saw women who had been given excessive prescriptions they did not need, which she helped them manage. Dr. Correia also gave a tutorial regarding proper toilet use when her requests for urine samples resulted in a patient urinating on the floor, due to a lack of familiarity with the toilet.
Heading Home
After nine months in Afghanistan, Dr. Correia lived in San Diego from 2012 to 2014 before she resigned from active duty, joined the reserves, and moved to Virginia. The move put her an hour away from Washington, D.C., affording her numerous entertainment options and the opportunity to give back to the community there.
Dr. Correia now embraces her dual role of re- servist and emergency department administrator.
The decision-making and mentoring lessons she learned in the military gave her a chance to apply those skills thousands of miles away from San Diego. “Now I am in the individual ready reserve,” she says. “I can be called back to duty as needed.”
Her position at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center gave Dr. Correia the chance to work with a supervisor who had also served in the military.
In addition, it provided a fast-paced environment as she was used to in the military. “A lot of emergency medicine doctors don’t get to practice in that environment,” Dr. Correia says about her military service. “I had the opportunity to practice with physicians in other countries, in austere environments, and share ideas with each other.”
Dr. Correia also contributes her energy to Empowerhouse, a shelter in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that assists men and women who have been subjected to domestic violence. The daily resources provided include shelter, counseling services, and access to court advocates. Dr. Correia also opens her home annually to lead an event that focuses on fun, food, and family.
“It’s a big family event at my house,” she says. “We have food, a bartender, and a lifeguard for the pool.”
She adds, “People like to bring items to parties, so I ask my guests to bring a donation to the shelter—whether it be soaps, shampoo, laundry detergent, toilet paper, or financial donations. It’s amazing the support we receive each year.” Those who need to use the shelter are very appreciative of the support it receives, she says.
Dr. Correia and her partner, Neil Matthew, recently became parents. Their daughter, Zhuri, is 10 months old. “She is my new joy in my life,” she says. M
“Dr. Correia now embraces her dual role of reservist
and emergency department administrator. The decision- making and mentoring lessons she learned in the military gave her a chance to apply those skills thousands of miles away from San Diego. “Now I am in the individual ready reserve,” she says. “I can be called back to duty as needed.”
Robert Wood Johnson | MEDICINE 45
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JENNEA CORREIA, MD ’05