2014 Tillman Scholar
Coming from a long lineage of military veterans, the decision to serve his country was not a difficult one for Staff Sergeant Marshall Bahr – a decision transformed into desire after September 11. As a distinguished special operations medic with the 75th Ranger Regiment conducting over 500 combat missions, the Omaha, Nebraska native had the unique opportunity to witness first hand the physical effects war has on our veterans. As powerful as medicine can be at providing life-saving interventions, Marshall quickly learned that it could never reverse the physical scars of battle. Having witnessed friends recovering from traumatic injuries only to return home to struggle with chronic pain in a healthcare system that doesn’t fully understand veterans transformed Marshall. He became troubled by the trend towards overprescribing painkillers that lead to drug addictions and fatal overdoses rather than helping to get to the root of these veterans’ pain. These experiences have led Marshall to commit his life to the service of our injured veterans.
As a medical student at the University of Nebraska’s College of Medicine, Marshall has had the unique opportunity to serve those in need, however, it has been his time working at the VA hospital that has impacted him the most. Marshall has been able to care for veterans in their greatest times of need while also discovering the unique healthcare challenges the veteran population faces. Marshall feels veterans deserve a level of care that is best understood and rendered by healthcare providers who have walked in their shoes. Through this philosophy, Marshall plans to pursue a specialty in anesthesiology with a fellowship in pain management. From his unique perspective as a veteran and a future health care provider, Marshall intends to champion for our injured patriots through proper treatment as well as change policy of pain management on a national level.