VOICES of HMSOM: Otto’s Love For Family Sets Up A Future In Family Medicine

For Kyle Otto, strong family values have been the foundation and the inspiration for pursuing medicine. Growing up, he spent a lot of time with his grandfather – a successful cardiologist with a private practice in Northern New Jersey. Otto vividly recalls seeing his grandpa on the phone with patients and transcribing messages on his recorder. He worked hard for his patients. It was the first impression Otto would have of a dedicated doctor, but certainly not the last.

He wishes he could tell him all about his med school experience now. Sadly, his grandfather passed away during Otto’s college application process. But his memory no doubt lives on in Otto, as he prepares to graduate this June from the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM) and begin a career in family medicine.

“Kyle Otto has a legacy from his family that he is living up to with an especially promising medical career,” said Jeffrey Boscamp, M.D., president and dean of the school.

Path To SOM

With his hometown of Bloomfield being a less than 10 minute drive to HMSOM, Otto says there was no better place for him to go to medical school.

“Being a local, it was a definite plus to get to treat the population I was familiar with,” said Otto. “Additionally, having gone to Seton Hall for undergrad, this only further made HMSOM feel like the logical choice, given the partnership between the two institutions.”

And it turns out, he had experience working at Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) before even arriving at SOM.

“During undergrad, I worked as a scribe in the ED right at HUMC,” he said. “That close exposure to medicine being practiced in real time gave me my first real look at what the field was really like and I was hooked. You get to see a wide range of pathology meaning that there's always something that was always taking my interest.

“I had wonderful mentors in the ED. But it was the patient interactions that really helped differentiate medicine from other career paths for me,” he added. “Seeing the tangible and significant positive impact the doctors I worked with had on the lives of their patients was fulfilling and rewarding.”

Otto also valued SOM’s flexibility in curriculum, particularly as it pertains to the final year. He is currently pursuing his MBA through Seton Hall and says that is not only helpful for residency applications, but also intellectually rewarding and pertinent to future career aspirations.

SOM Memories and Experiences

Otto says some of his fondest memories at SOM have come from interacting with patients, including a patient who came in unconscious with a brain bleed, during his ICU rotation.

“Over several days, I got to meet with her family and get to know them, as well as to get to know the patient as she regained consciousness. When I told them my rotation was over, they gave me a big hug and expressed how much they enjoyed having me on their treatment team,” he recalled.

Another important moment came toward the end of Otto’s first year of med school during his Community Health Project, when he realized family medicine was his calling. On this day, he was part of a group that organized a COVID-19 vaccine drive at Garfield High School.

“We got the chance to vaccinate people ourselves and just talk with the community members. After watching me interact with some of the people there, one of my group members told me she could see me as the family doctor for her family! And from that point on something just began to click,” the SOM peer tutor and peer mentor recalled. “I did some research into family medicine and found it was everything I was searching for in a specialty.”

It was during med school that Otto also caught the running bug. Easier than going to the gym and lifting weights, he found it to be a great way to clear one’s mind outside during a stressful day.

“Last year especially I really put a lot of emphasis on this. My wife and I both ran our first 5k, 10k, and half marathon all within the course of around 6 months last year.” he said.

Future In Family Medicine

In some ways, Otto is already pursuing his dreams. He feels like he’s the on-call doctor for his family and friends and finds that very fulfilling.

“Everyone is always coming to me for whatever medical problem has cropped up! At every family gathering, I’m either looking in an ear or listening to a story about someone’s symptoms. But I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said.

As for where he hopes to practice? Otto’s wife - his number one supporter whom he married during med school in October 2023 – is from rural Delaware. He believes a rural setting would be a great spot to do training and perhaps one day set up a family practice.

“Not only is this suited to where we want to live environmentally, but I think that Family Medicine is at its best in such areas. You get to engage in the broadest scope of practice, since there typically aren't as many specialists to refer to. And you become a pillar of a community,” Otto stated.

His grandfather who set the example early on, would no doubt be proud of all Otto has and will accomplish.