Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Shepherd.
Hi Jessica, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in Canada. My family and I moved to the United States, specifically Oklahoma, where I finished high school and graduated from The University of Oklahoma. After college, I decided to take a gap year before matriculating to medical school. During this year, I worked as an exercise physiologist and personal trainer at a cardiac rehab center. I then started medical school offshore, where I spent 18 months on the island of Dominica at Ross University. This allowed me a robust experience of learning in a foreign country and having the time to fully devote to studies.
My last two years of medical school were finished in New York City where I did all my rotations. Throughout this time, I was exposed to a variety of specialities and career choices, but ultimately decided to choose OB-GYN as my residency. I completed residency in Philadelphia at Drexel University Hahnemann Hospital.
After residency, I chose to do a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecology where I learned procedures that were minimally invasive and how to enhance surgical procedures and outcomes for women. During my fellowship, I also received my MBA. After many long years of school, I moved to Chicago where I became the Director of Minimally Invasive Gynecology at The University of Illinois at Chicago for seven years.
I then made the transition to Dallas, Texas and started at Baylor University Medical Center. As time went by, I wanted to explore the world of wellness and how it integrates with health, which I love so much. From there, I founded Sanctum Med + Wellness which has a concierge wellness concept, where as a gynecologist I provide dedicated care to my patients while allowing them to explore wellness and integrating that into their health journey. In office, we have a yoga studio, a meditation lounge, a pelvic physical therapist, an acupuncturist, and aesthetics which allows people to enhance how they feel about themselves through the technology and innovation of aesthetics. I believe that integrating all these components under one roof will allow people to reside in an ecosystem of wellness and turn their health outcomes into a lifestyle. We want our patients to grow their health journey into a wellness experience and they can do this by residing in an ecosystem of wellness provided by our services at Sanctum Med + Wellness.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road on my journey. Some struggles I faced were the lack of resources that would have been beneficial during the course of medical school, medical school applications, and MCAT studying. Throughout my time in medical school, I obtained a job to provide for my cost of living which can be quite expensive in New York City. It was a struggle trying to work and study the rigorous curriculum in medical school, however I overcame that challenge and successfully finished school.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sanctum Med + Wellness . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Sanctum Med and Wellness is a premier women’s wellness practice that incorporates the services of concierge medicine, wellness programs through yoga and also a pelvic physical therapist. The medical services will also offer a wide range of procedures and aesthetic treatments. This concept will allow women to address every aspect of their health and the benefits of concierge medicine gives patients access to additional services with little to no waiting time. We have a variety of different services and packages that are available to patients that include well woman visits, surgical consults, acupuncture, trauma based therapy, yoga, and many events in office that are devoted to topics that enhance the concept and awareness of wellness.
The wellness team of Sanctum Med + Wellness is there to provide each client’s wellness plan with the option of monthly one-on-one sessions, to ensure the best results and outcome. It has a team of experts well-versed in areas including functional and integrative medicine, Chinese medicine, sports medicine and Ayurveda will uniquely communicate with each other to offer a holistic approach that takes every individual’s needs and goals to heart. Sanctum Med + Wellness houses a yoga studio that hosts up to 3 classes per day, meditation room, vibrational sound bath classes, an acupuncturist lounge and an aesthetic studio for cosmetic procedures. The goal is for members to have access to their holistic health alternatives and their personal doctor under the same roof, using both Eastern healing and Western medicine to help become the healthiest form of oneself.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something surprising that most people might not know is that I am Canadian and of Jamaican heritage! My parents are Jamaican and I was born and raised in Canada.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@sanctumwell.com
- Website: sanctumwell.com
- Instagram: @sanctummedwellness
- Facebook: @sanctummedwellness
Image Credits
Michelle Khan
