“We’re Pioneers”

Dr. Fernando Bruno Shares His Passion for Medicine with His TouroCOM Middletown Students

January 14, 2019

FERNANDO P. BRUNO, MD, MPH: Once I finished my clinical training back in Brazil, and I was already a licensed practitioner, and I was drafted into the army. The horrible earthquake had happened in Haiti, and I was one of the doctors to fill out the positions. For about a year, I was put as the chief medical officer, and then I'm also working in emergency rooms at the same time. And for that, I came to do my neuropathology fellowship here.

For me, everything starts and ends with the patient. Because people usually think about the disease itself, but medicine is so much more than that. I have a passion for medicine and an enthusiasm for medicine that I always had since I was a child. Being a teacher is my chance to share this, share the enthusiasm with the next generation. All those students who are in front of me will be the physicians of the future, and I try to share with them also my faults, my problems , because I think that it is those failures that make you grow.

Here we have the flipped classroom, which goes from the premise that the student has watched the lecture already at home, and now they have the chance to interact and take their knowledge to the next level. A question that I always get is why Touro, why here? Here you get to be the pioneer.

We're the only medical school in Orange County, New York. We came here four years ago. We had a lot of people who were now from this community and now are being able to become physicians and being able to bring back to the community all the good they are learning here. I'm Dr. Fernando Bruno, and I'm an assistant professor of Histology and General Pathology here at Touro COM in the Middletown campus.

Immediately after finishing his residency in 2010, Dr. Fernando Bruno was drafted into the Brazilian army.

“They needed doctors,” explained Dr. Bruno, an assistant professor of Histology and General Pathology at TouroCOM Middletown. In the wake of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, hundreds of Brazilian doctors were sent to Haiti, leaving the country with a shortage of medical professionals. Dr. Bruno became the chief medical officer at a military base for 600 personnel in Brazil, in addition to working as an ER doctor in multiple hospitals. That eight-month experience helped shape his outlook on his profession.

“No matter how large the scope of your responsibilities, everything starts and ends with the patient,” said Dr. Bruno. “People talk about the disease itself, but medicine is more than that.” Dr. Bruno pursued a neuro-pathology fellowship in the United States. His work on an imaging technique to detect cerebral malaria, a complication of malaria that affects children, was recognized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. When he took a sabbatical to spend time with his newborn child, Dr. Bruno was offered the opportunity to teach at TouroCOM Middletown.

“I’ve been passionate and enthusiastic about medicine my entire life,” said Dr. Bruno. “Being a teacher is my chance to share my enthusiasm with the next generation. All these students in front of me are the physicians of tomorrow.”

The fact that the school is relatively new and located in an underserved area appealed to him.

“We’re pioneers,” said Dr. Bruno about the school. “We’re the only medical school in Orange County. Many of our students come back to this area to practice. We’re able to give back to the community.”

One element of Dr. Bruno’s teaching style that endears him to his students is his willingness to discuss his past mistakes. “Everyone makes mistakes,” said Dr. Bruno. “But It’s those failures that allow you to grow.”