Yesterday's Doctor of Today
About Luther Brandon Oakes, MD
Board Certified Family Medicine Physician
For as long as I can remember I have had a strong desire for a broad range of information that could continuously stimulate me intellectually. Fortunately, I stumbled across medicine while enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. This is where my devotion to medicine and desire to expand my clinical knowledge started.
My strong work ethic began in junior high school when my family insisted on having my brother and me work on our family farm instead of lounging around the house all day during the summer and after school. Later in my teenage years, I worked as a carpenter until I enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard at the age of twenty and began my service to my country. From there I became an EMT and then a Coast Guard Medic (corpsman). As a corpsman, I gained a broad insight into the need for teamwork at all levels of medical care while treating patients. I was consistently exposed to everyday common illnesses, emergency medicine, and on many occasions I was given leadership and teaching roles for our training requirements. From my experiences as a corpsman, I developed a strong appeal for medicine and turned my life towards the pursuit of a medical career.
Every day I am complimented on my patient interaction skills and I believe that this is a vital quality of a family physician. Through my own interactions with my personal family physician, I can understand a patient's total reliability in their family doctor. When a patient comes to you because you are their family doctor, it is because they know that they can put their complete trust in you. To me, that is an honor and highest gratification.
Growing up in a small town in the Mississippi Delta has helped me realize the beneficial magnitude a physician can have on the overall population. I strive to be a dedicated role model and strong community pioneer. It is a dream come true to return home to Greenville, Mississippi!
