Trevor Lockard, '20, of Lincoln, Nebraska, took what some might call the non-conventional route to medical school by studying business administration at the College of Business as part of the Nebraska Business Honors Academy. After four years at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, this fall he started at his top choice for a pediatric residency program at UNMC while creating a new path to become a board-certified physician in pediatrics and child neurology.

"Born and raised in Nebraska, I have four generations of family here. My father is a banker, so I had some exposure to finance at an early age. I wanted to get the best business education Nebraska had to offer, which brought me to the university and the Nebraska Business Honors Academy. It was between business and medicine for my undergraduate major, because at their best, they're both problem solving to help people, and that's what I enjoy," Lockard said.

After a few semesters, he decided to pursue medical school after graduation and considered switching majors to chemistry or another science.

"I realized that a business education could be broadly applicable and valuable in medical school, and I'd have plenty of exposure later to the core sciences," he said. "Though medical school was not easy by any stretch of the imagination, I felt very prepared for my classes, and business gave me a lot of professional skills, like leading a team of diverse individuals toward a common goal. Regarding the match process for residency, which includes 17 or 18 interviews over the course of a couple of months, I understood how to talk to people and present myself professionally. Those were vital skills that provided a significant advantage over my peers in medical school, thanks to my business education."

Lockard valued the cohort model of Nebraska Business Honors Academy with small groups of about 40 students. He also received a scholarship, provided by generous donors, through the Nebraska Business Honors Academy Scholarship Fund.

"Our cohort was very similar to the size of my high school graduating class at Lincoln Christian. That helped make the university feel smaller as we took our core courses together. It was a great experience having that small community and world-class professors," Lockard said.

He learned about how business and healthcare intersect in his Introduction to Management (MGNT 301) course, taught by Kevin Wesley, associate professor of practice in management. Through simulations, discussions and more, Lockard gained a new perspective on health insurance.

"The management course helped me understand how health insurance functions as a business, so having a background in finance helps me speak the language of the insurance companies. This makes a big difference. Instead of just being frustrated about it, which is a problem that all doctors have on occasion, I know it's a business model. I can work through what they may be thinking and find common ground from the perspective of the bottom line and from the perspective of helping the patient, which is a unique perspective. Healthcare is a business in and of itself as well, as the institution ultimately has to continue to succeed from a business perspective in order to take care of patients. My job is to do what's best for the patient at the end of the day, but in that context, whenever possible, I want to do what's best for the patient and for the system that I'm working in too."

Erin Burnette, director of the Nebraska Business Honors Academy, shared about Lockard's growth throughout his time at the university.

"Trevor was able to step up as a thought-leader in the classroom and as a trusted mentor and friend to students of all ages in the program outside the classroom. I have so many great memories of Trevor helping his peers through academic and personal challenges. He was able to hone his empathetic listening skills and learned to tackle conversations with a large variety of people, which is critical to success as he moves into life as a full-time physician. Being a top-notch physician and knowing how to build fantastic rapport with patients is a priceless skill set that will serve him and all those in his care for decades to come," Burnette said.

While at UNMC in Omaha, Lockard heard about a new residency program in child neurology. Though still being developed, the program matched his personal goals, so he decided to make the pediatric residency program at UNMC, which partners with Creighton University and Children's Hospital, his top choice.

"I'll complete two years of this pediatric residency and then transition into the child neurology program for the next three. They've been trying to start a program so when I heard about it, I knew this could potentially work out," he said. "A lot of people I talked to told me to be careful about being the first resident in a new program, because the system won't be set up yet and I will be a guinea pig for everything. I take the opposite perspective though, maybe because I came from business, and I've always enjoyed leadership. I see it as an opportunity to create the change I want. Being the first one gives me a lot of flexibility to grow and shape the program in important ways. I'm excited for that, and a side benefit of being the only resident is that I can take classes in almost any order because there is no one else to compete with."

With his training done in five years, Lockard plans to practice as an attending physician who is board-certified in pediatrics and child neurology. He also may do a fellowship in epilepsy, which requires another year of training, and he wouldn't mind teaching in the future.

"The next five years are a big determining point for what I want to do with the rest of my life and none of it is set in stone yet," he said. "Having a business education taught me to be adaptable, which is the name of the game in medicine. We always try to have the best possible plan, but being able to strategically change course has helped me many times throughout medical school and I'm sure will continue to do so. If the plan doesn't work, we have got to figure out how to change and be creative and motivated to do so, and I feel confident that my business education has prepared me for that as well."