Front and Center: Jack Harkins

Published on Monday, November 25, 2024

By: Rachel Vanderford, rvanderford@umc.edu

Photos By: Melanie Thortis/ UMMC Communications

Given his upbringing in a family of health care professionals, it might seem only natural that Dr. Jack Harkins would continue the family tradition. But for Harkins, that path wasn't always so clear. 

Harkins’ grandfather, Dr. Hin Luck Wing, broke barriers as the first Asian American graduate of the University of Mississippi in 1950, forging his path as a pharmacist. His mother, Dr. Denise Harkins, and his aunt, Dr. Kimberly Harkins, both serve as associate professors and physicians of internal medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, dedicating their lives to healing and education. Even his uncle, Dr. Douglas Harkins, a cardiologist at Jackson Heart, began his storybook romance with wife Kimberly when they met as lab partners at the UMMC School of Medicine. 

With such a lineage steeped in medical achievement, one might assume that Harkins was inevitably drawn to join the family profession from a young age. Yet, for Harkins, his career in medicine was anything but predetermined. He admits that growing up he had never given much thought to a career in health care. Determined to chart his own course, he explored various interests, searching for a calling that truly resonated, but science always came naturally to him.  

However, it wasn’t until he witnessed the compassionate care offered to his mother during her cancer treatment at UMMC that Harkins felt the undeniable pull toward medicine. 

“She saw Dr. [Barbara] Craft here in the cancer center,” said Harkins. “I just remember her sitting down and talking to us about my mom’s diagnosis. I liked the way that she explained everything—the research, the treatments, addressing any questions we had. Then she gave us her opinion about what she thought would work the best for my mom. The knowing made me feel better. It made me feel like there was hope out there. 

"That’s when I realized helping people was what I wanted to do," he said. "There are difficult moments, but the reward of providing answers and guiding people through tough situations makes it worthwhile." 

This revelation wasn't about fulfilling expectations; it was about embracing a destiny that had been quietly unfolding all along. Although he didn’t follow his family’s footsteps out of obligation, he found his home at the Medical Center just as they had—by following his heart.  

As fate would have it, UMMC became more than just the starting point of his medical career. It was where he met the love of his life, Dr. Gracie Hoggard, during their first year of medical school. In a twist of destiny—or perhaps a family tradition—they were assigned as lab partners in their histology class. Just like his aunt and uncle years before, Harkins found that examining slides under a microscope was far more enjoyable when shared with someone special. Joking back and forth as they took turns peering into the lens, the two became fast friends. 

"There's something about being lab partners in the Harkins family," he remarked. "Maybe love really is in the details—microscopic ones, in our case. Gracie easily made med school so much more enjoyable. I knew it was one of those things that was going to be hard, but I didn’t realize how hard. And if I didn’t have her, I don’t know what I would have done.” 

That same thread of fate brought the couple to adopt a dog named Jack-Jack during their final year of medical school. 

When scrolling through Facebook one day, Hoggard stumbled upon a post about a Memphis man diagnosed with terminal cancer who was seeking someone to adopt his 10-year-old Labrador retriever. Without hesitation, she volunteered to take the dog in. Though Harkins was initially concerned about balancing their upcoming residency training and giving the pup the love and care it deserves, a year later, he couldn’t imagine a life without Jack-Jack. 

“Jack is a great dog dad,” Hoggard said. “He takes Jack-Jack on a walk almost every day, whether he gets home later than usual or gets up earlier to make time for it. It is obviously Jack-Jack's favorite part of the day, and that is why Jack makes sure it's a priority. On days when Jack gets home before me, he and Jack-Jack are always waiting to greet me when I pull in the driveway.  

“He honestly is the most kindhearted person I have ever met," Hoggard continued. “He treats everyone he meets as the most special person in the room even if it's the first time he meets them. I think that's my favorite thing about him in general, how he treats other people—and dogs. Loving Jack is just the easiest thing to do, and I can't get over how lucky Jack-Jack and I are to have him in our life.” 

Now a second-year resident in the Division of Internal Medicine at UMMC, Harkins reflects on the unexpected turns that led him there. Though he didn’t always know he would be a doctor, he said he now knows that it was his calling all along. 

“I have a deep passion for understanding the science behind diseases—examining conditions from both a microscopic and macroscopic perspective, measuring, adjusting, and ultimately, treating people,” he said. “When a patient comes into the hospital or clinic filled with worry, it's incredibly rewarding to be able to reassure them that everything will be okay.” 

He has even had opportunities to work with his family members, gleaning wisdom from their experiences and gaining a new appreciation for their chosen field.  

“Typically, we work separately from each other, but I did a rotation in internal medicine, and they put me with my mom and my aunt, back-to-back,” said Harkins. “It was fun working with them and seeing what they do on their side of things and seeing them as a boss for the first time. It was humbling. They’re good at their jobs, and they know so much more than me. I often come to them for advice about cases I’m working, and they help me think of the situation from different angles. They’re great mentors.” 

"Jack is a fantastic young physician and such an authentic person,” said Dr. Calvin Thigpen, internal medicine residency program director and vice chair for education in the Department of Medicine. “He doesn't hesitate to give his time and effort to provide the best possible care for his patients.  He is also very committed to growing his knowledge and his clinical reasoning skills and to becoming the best internal medicine physician he can be.  It has been a joy for all of us on the faculty and in the department to work with Jack and watch him grow as a doctor and a person."