Frankie Pappalardo

Undergraduate School and Major:

Bowdoin College, BA in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics

Medical School:

The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University

Life/professions/adventures prior to attending medical school:

I started off my career doing dishes at the Gorham House of Pizza, the crown jewel of Gorham. It had just reopened after burning down years prior. I swear people were eating there three times a day, and we didn’t serve breakfast! By far the hardest job I’ve had.

After college I worked as a Business Analyst on MaineHealth’s Strategy team. I learned a great deal about how our complicated health system operates; everything from our laundry facilities, to our solar energy offtake, to how we get reimbursed. When the pandemic came, I worked on securing CARES Act funds and tracking healthcare utilization across MaineHealth’s nine hospitals.

Interests / Hobbies:

Kayaking, road biking, skiing, bouldering, dinner parties, sitting around campfires, story-telling, fly fishing, goat husbandry, nordic spas, concerts.

Favorite Food:

A hot bowl of Pho in the winter and oysters with mignonette in the summer.

Restaurant Recommendation:

Sichuan Kitchen on Congress Street. I could eat a hundred of their Zhong dumplings!

Favorite TV Show or Movie:

This is probably a recency bias, but right now my favorite movie is Rushmore by Wes Anderson. Max Fischer’s love for life always makes me happy. “I guess you’ve just gotta find something you love to do and then… do it for the rest of your life.”

What book do you recommend to others and why:

I recommend A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. Each year my friends and I read passages from this book during our fishing trip to the Adirondacks. Leopold’s wisdom encourages us to slow down and appreciate the natural world around us and the role we play in it. One of my favorite quotes from the book goes, “Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language.”

Best Arts Experience

Either seeing Lake Street Dive perform Neighbor Song with Madison Cunningham at Thompson’s Point, or seeing Greta Van Fleet perform Light My Love in Bridgeport.

Favorite Hike or Ski trail:

Tumbledown Mountain in Franklin County. Don’t forget your fly rod!

Favorite Beach (doesn’t have to be in Maine):

Point Reyes National Seashore

Closest brush with a famous person:

I recently crossed paths with Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo while in New York. She seemed to be enjoying her visit to Earth. I think she was on her way to a Broadway show.

Celebrity I most resemble:

Freddy Mercury, solely based on the stache. No resemblance in voice.

If I weren’t a doctor I would be:

A Power Ranger… probably the red one.

Medical Interests:

Pain medicine, addiction medicine, harm reduction, ultrasound, medical education

Personal Goals:

To be a knowledgeable, humble, and compassionate emergency physician. To learn from my mistakes. To take good care of my patients, my colleagues, my community, my family, and myself. To be intentional with my time, words, and actions. To enjoy the outdoors in all seasons.

Favorite Place in Maine:

Kayak camping on Cow Island. Bringing out the fixings for a delicious camp meal. Making a fire on the beach. Sleeping under the stars.

Why MMC:

I chose MMC for its “do’er not caller” mentality, its sense of camaraderie, its proximity to friends and family, and for an everlasting love of Maine and its people.