From Med School to the ER: 2025 ApolloMD Scholarship Recipient Shares Journey of Dedication, Resilience and Life-Saving Medicine as Emergency Medicine Resident

ATLANTA, Aug. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Omar Haggaz, a fourth-year medical resident at the Sam Houston State College of Osteopathic Medicine in Texas, is the 2025 recipient of ApolloMD's Emergency Medicine Scholarship.

Ask Dr. Haggaz what he loves about emergency medicine, and he will reference any number of early influences, medical-school mentors and in-the-trenches experiences that span from his childhood to his ongoing interests in medical technology and underserved patient populations.

"The first person who opened my eyes to the field of medicine was my dad, who worked as a medical technologist in a lab," says Dr. Haggaz, 27, who will graduate from medical school in 2025. "He used to take me into the field with him when I was little."

While studying biomedical science from 2016-2019 as an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Dallas, Dr. Haggaz also volunteered at Parkland Memorial Hospital, site of one of the country's busiest emergency departments. 

"It was a definitive moment for me," says Haggaz, 27. "I was fascinated by the amount of research they were doing at Parkland while also caring for an underserved population. I remember one patient who waited for nine hours and then had to leave the ER without being seen because he had to go to work."

"Gratifying feeling" in the ED
Dr. Haggaz has pursued research in other topics, including vaccination perceptions and low vaccination rates among rural, low-income populations in Louisiana, and the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning models to identify and solve chronic healthcare challenges, such as high rates of hospitalization in rural areas for patients with diabetes and other chronic diseases.

"When you're an ER physician, you're helping someone on the worst day of their life, never their best day," he explains. "On average, a person spends one-third of their life at work. Since I invest so many waking hours in my job, the last thing I want is for it to be unfulfilling. Working in the emergency department is the closest thing to finding that gratifying feeling of true genuine purpose.

"When you make a tangible life-altering impact on an individual's life, that's a big deal, and I love that feeling," he adds. "That's what I work hard for, the part that you can't put a price on. I find joy in the gritty, dark and uncertain part of medicine. I have to get up in the morning to save someone's life."

In his ApolloMD essay, Dr. Haggaz highlighted key factors that seal his commitment to emergency medicine, including "the science of resuscitation…the art of connection, the imperative of trust and the profound responsibility of being the first point of contact–often the only safety net, for our most vulnerable neighbors."

Dr. Haggaz moved with his parents from Brooklyn to Houston when he was a child. He also received a 2021-2023 service-learning scholarship from the United Health Foundation/National Medical Fellowships partnership focused on improving care to residents in medically underserved communities.

ApolloMD Scholarship funds are designed to help the recipient defray the costs of medical education. Applications open each year in mid-March and must be completed by June 15.

About ApolloMD ApolloMD is a private, independent group with no outside ownership that partners with more than 100 hospitals nationwide to provide integrated, multispecialty physician, APC and practice management services in Emergency Medicine, Hospital Medicine and Revenue Cycle Management. Our high touch, solution-based approach emphasizes quality, efficiency, communication and patient experience. All eligible physicians and advanced practice clinicians have the opportunity to become owners giving them a stake in the company's success. ApolloMD works collaboratively with partner facilities to implement best practices and process improvement across the board in a cost-effective manner. Visit ApolloMD.com for more information.

SOURCE ApolloMD