CANTON – Dr. Michael Arnold made his first house call when he was in first grade.

On November 2, 1999, Arnold was a 6 year old intending to call 911 when his father, Anthony Sr., had a major epileptic seizure.

When paramedics arrived, the little boy presented them with a contact list and comforted his younger brothers, then 4 and 2.

Arnold was awarded the Fire Brigade Certificate of Merit for his heroism.

It should have been a pretty good indicator of his future career. He’s a doctor now.

“I was definitely influenced by my father who has epilepsy,” said Arnold. “My parents divorced when I was pretty young, so I was his janitor for a while, making sure he was taking his medicine and getting enough sleep. I also discovered that I have a gift for science. It definitely drove me towards medicine. “

Michael Arnold’s Street from Canton

The new family doctor, now 27, is a 2011 graduate of McKinley High School where he was a member of the National Honor Society and class speaker, followed by Brown University in 2015 and the Ohio School School-Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine campus in Warrensville Heights, where he attended an accelerated curriculum that allowed him to graduate a year early.

Arnold has just completed his three year stint in family medicine at Cleveland Clinic Akron General.

“So I’m officially a doctor,” he said.

Before graduating, Arnold said he took some time to study medicine because of burnout and worked on odd jobs still associated with the field.

He said he thought it made him a better doctor.

“I worked as a clerk in the Aultman emergency room,” he said. “I would go into the room with patients and help write the doctor’s notes.”

He also worked as a property manager for Midwest Health, an agency that provides housing to adults with developmental disabilities.

“It has helped me a lot, especially when working with people with disabilities,” he said. “It taught me to meet patients where they are and to be patient and kind. My clients got frustrated when people like children talked to them. I met them where they were. I talked to them like adults and they responded really well. Sometimes, doctors talk to people like they don’t know anything about medicine, but people are experts on their own bodies.

“I go into medicine with the idea that we can work together, that I’m here to help you get better. I’m not the one in control of the situation.”

Arnold’s aunt Ruth Spaulding said her nephew has been a natural leader since childhood.

“It just shows the determination and focus,” she said. “He’s kept forging. I’m so proud of him. He’s a caring, empathetic young man. His brothers too. His focus is only on helping people.”

While in school, Arnold received a scholarship for the Transformative Care Continuum, which consists of three years of medical studies at Ohio University-HOM and a three-year stint at the Lakewood Family Health Center at the Cleveland Clinic or the Cleveland Clinic Akron General.

In return, Arnold will work in a state-qualified health center in an underserved area.

“I hope to work for one in Akron, Canton or Cleveland,” he said.

Arnold’s proud grandmother, Amanda Arnold, said her eldest grandson was a kind and generous person, noting that all three grandchildren grew up to be productive men.

“He loves helping anyone he can,” she said. “He always wanted to be a doctor, especially after his father had a seizure.”

Can medical schools do more to encourage black students?

Although Arnold is gifted, medical school has not been easy.

“The hardest thing is the number of things to learn,” he said. “The volume was definitely overwhelming at times. Even while you’re in school, life still happens. I had to give 110% to medical school when life was still asking of me.”

Arnold said he would like medical schools to do a lot more to help minority students achieve better results by removing some hurdles and increasing the number of black educators, mental health providers and administrators.

“When you’re in medical school, you will have a lot of black students at the beginning, but the blacks wear very little; they fight to keep the blacks,” he said. “They’ll bring them in as a symbol of diversity, but they find it hard to support color students when they’re in trouble.”

Arnold pointed out that since medical school is culturally geared towards white middle-class and second-generation medical students, it can be doubly difficult for first-generation black students.

Black doctors make up 4% of the country’s doctors.

Blacks make up 6.2% of medical students, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. The largest minority are Asian students with 21.6%.

“They often feel unsupported; nobody helps them,” said Arnold.

He said a good form of support is providing mental health services to black medical students.

“When they get into trouble, there is often no one to turn to,” he said. “Even when I’m in school, the population is 93% black, but there are no black professors. There have to be black psychiatrists or black therapists to talk to if something happens. Crises happen in medical school all the time because there are. ” so much pressure. Let’s not just talk about diversity; let’s do it. “

His advice for budding doctors?

“Find a community,” he said. “You can’t do this alone. Find a mentor, find co-workers, have a trustworthy group of friends to talk to at any time. Walking alone is one path you can go, but it is a much harder one Way. Holding someone’s hand is a lot easier. “

Arnold also encourages black students interested in medicine to apply for the TCC scholarship.

Despite all the challenges, sacrifices, and hard work, Arnold said, being a doctor is worth it.

“When I walk into a room and you realize that the patient just needs someone to listen to them,” he said. “Often times a patient will tell you what’s going on when they really feel that they have been heard. This gratitude that I get is so rewarding.”

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or [email protected]

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP