Linda Burke-Galloway, MD

Class Year: 1987

Specialty: OB-GYN

Current practice: Blogger/Writer/Prenatal App Developer/Med Consultant

Do you remember what motivated you to make your first gift to BUSM?

“To whom much is given, much will be required” is probably the best summary of what motivated me to give to BUSM initially. I wanted to honor the memory and my mentors, Drs. Ken Edelin and William McNary. BUSM changed the trajectory of my life, taught me how to be a healer as well as a physician and gave me the confidence to remove my self-imposed limitations.

Why do you continue to give to BUSM?

Because BUSM does an excellent job training physicians and I want future medical students to be given the same opportunities and support that I received. The world needs the excellent care the BUSM physicians provide. When my patients thank me for my service, they’re really thanking BUSM. BUSM also trained the first female African American physician, Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler in 1864, a fact I didn’t know until 2017. With that history, how on earth could I NOT support BUSM?

What would you tell current students about the importance of giving back to BUSM?

When you graduate from BUSM, you take a part of it with you, but a part of you also remains. By giving, you create a link to a chain of excellence that’s never broken. It’s humbling.

Fond memory of BUSM:

Anne DiNapoli and I taking our peds rotation at Boston City Hospital and studying for the clinical exams. Watching my fellow classmates perform Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for our talent show and the after party. Studying with Cheri Ertha and exercising to Jane Fonda fitness tapes. Diagnosing an ectopic pregnancy on Grand Rounds and then crying because I was actually right.

Favorite professor or course at BUSM:

Drs. Kenneth Edelin, William McNary and Richard Brown. They were excellent teachers.

Other anecdotes/comments:

I am forever grateful to BUSM for believing in me, even during the times when I didn’t believe in myself.