By: Julia Johnson
Adam Crabtree’s path to medical school is a story of resilience, service and compassion, and an undeniable embodiment of the values at the . Raised in Northern California, Crabtree’s early desire to pursue medicine stemmed from witnessing a family member battle with cancer. However, it was his experiences as a U.S. Army Special Forces medic that truly shaped his understanding of medicine and led him to UNR Med as a .
The Pat Tillman Foundation awards scholarships to active-duty military, veterans and spouses to fund their pursuit of higher education in impact areas such as health care, business and STEM, allowing them to continue serving their communities. Selected from nearly 1,600 applications, Crabtree is one of 60 individuals selected for his models of service, humble leadership and impact.
Crabtree served as a U.S. Army Special Forces medic prior to pursuing medicine at UNR Med.Empathy: the core of medicine
In medicine, technical skills are undeniably vital, but empathy—the ability to truly connect with and understand a patient’s pain—is just as essential. This belief became even more deeply ingrained in Crabtree during the evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021. In the midst of gunfire and flames, he was called to treat a 12-year-old girl, severely burned in a brutal attack.
“I’ve seen, unfortunately, a lot of children in my career, and just seeing this 12-year-old girl come to the gate with burns, as she’s holding onto her stuffed animal,” Crabtree recalled. “In the chaos of it all, she’s scared, she’s confused and she’s hurt.”
Despite limited resources and a ransacked clinic, Crabtree and two Afghan physicians worked swiftly to stabilize the young girl, providing sedation and critical care in the face of overwhelming adversity. In that moment, Crabtree went beyond medical treatment, offering comfort in the form of words. He spoke to her and her brother in their native language Dari, reassuring them as best he could, providing a sense of calm and compassion before the girl was evacuated to safety.
“I remember trying to talk to her in Dari,” he said. “She was kind of laughing at me because I don’t speak it that well, but I was trying to comfort her. Before we put her on sedation, I was reassuring her brother, telling them both, ‘It’s going to be okay. We’re going to take care of her.’”
That night, after the girl safely boarded a helicopter, Crabtree saw her again, clutching her stuffed animal in one hand and now holding a chemstick in another.
“Seeing her there, just holding onto that little light and knowing she was going to be ok, made everything feel like it was worth it,” Crabtree reflected. “That experience was really poignant for me. It wasn't even a super severe casualty compared to some of the things I've seen in the past, but in that moment—everything going on, the chaos, the fear—it was something different. To see that what we did made a difference for her, that it mattered.”
For Crabtree, that moment represented more than just medical intervention—it symbolized the power of compassion and connection, even in the direst of circumstances.
“I think the power we have as medical providers is that we can take someone who’s scared, confused, vulnerable, and hurt, and we can make them okay,” he shared. “But it’s not always like that. Sometimes medicine is really, really tough, and not every outcome is positive. But every once in a while, you get an incredible moment like that, where you make a huge impact on someone's life. And those moments make it all worth it.”
Crabtree's experiences in Afghanistan helped shape his understanding of medicine and empathy.A foundation for medicine at UNR Med
This experience helped crystallize Crabtree’s understanding of medicine, not just as a science but as a human practice. It became clear to him that empathy is the bedrock of effective health care, a philosophy that now guides his training at UNR Med.
“Seeing them as human beings in these different situations—whether it's in a war zone or in a place with no running water, no electricity, where people have never seen a medical provider in their entire life—is so important,” he said. “You have the power to have such a tremendous impact on that person. And that is a privilege.”
As Crabtree transitions from the battlefield to the classroom, the invaluable lessons he learned in combat continue to shape his approach to patient care. His ability to see patients as whole individuals—acknowledging their vulnerability and offering both medical expertise and emotional reassurance—perfectly aligns with the values of compassionate, service-oriented medicine that are central to The Wolf Pack Way and UNR Med. In his hands, medicine is about more than just healing; it's about truly connecting with those in need, an ethos that makes him not just a future doctor, but an exemplary role model.
A journey rooted in caring
While Crabtree hopes never to find himself in another war zone, the experiences that shaped his understanding of medicine will continue to guide him.
“Going to war can be a truly awful experience, certainly in the moment, but when you look back on it and reflect, you can glean positive lessons. Lessons that showed me different perspectives than my own and allowed me to develop a level of empathy I may not have had otherwise.”
As he continues his medical journey at UNR Med, Crabtree carries with him the belief that true medicine is about more than just treating illness—it’s about connecting with people, understanding their fears and offering them care. His story reflects what it means to be a UNR Med student: to be not just a skilled physician, but a solicitousness healer who sees and cares for the whole person.
