Voices of HMSOM: Davide’s Dedication to Women’s Wellness, Sexual Medicine

The labor was long, and into the third hour the mother-to-be was still giving maximum effort. The medical professionals in the room were with her every moment. For Melissa Davide, medical student on her obstetrics-gynecology (OB-GYN) clerkship, the task was physically and mentally demanding, too: she held the patient’s leg, provided steady positioning every two minutes, and offered constant encouragement as the pushing continued on and on.

“I had prepared myself for a long labor, and I didn’t know what to expect,” recalled Davide. “But the hours flew by. It was so invigorating to see the process and to be so actively involved. I held the mom’s head up, counted for her, and gave her support. That was my first inkling: Oh wow, I love this!”

Now a fourth-year medical student at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM), Davide is set to graduate in June 2026 with her eye toward a residency in obstetrics and gynecology. Her journey to medicine wasn’t a lifelong certainty, but rather a series of organic and deliberate decisions as she came to realize her deep passion for women’s health and an often-overlooked niche, and need, of sexual medicine.

“Melissa Davide is bringing enthusiasm and hard work into her calling, with an eye toward finding and helping those who may have gone overlooked in the past,” said Jeffrey Boscamp, M.D., president and dean of HMSOM.

FINDING A CALLING THROUGH COVID-19

Davide’s path to medicine was not always assured. Her mother is a dental hygienist and her father works in information technology for a financial outfit. She initially tried teaching and research in a lab but found it didn’t drive her as a long-term life direction.

Then COVID-19 hit, right during her senior year of college. She suspected medicine might be her true calling, but she did not have the clinical experience needed to apply to medical school. So two gap years were spent as a medical scribe at City M.D., on Long Island, starting in October 2020. Hundreds of patients clamored to come to the clinical site, and Davide learned to navigate a high-volume, fast-paced environment. It fired her passion.

“City M.D.s mostly turned into COVID testing centers during the peaks of the pandemic,” she recalled. “I’d show up for work and there’d be 150 people lined up outside, wrapped around the building. It was a stressful time, but it solidified that this was the field I wanted to go into.”

ADVOCATING FOR THE ‘PERIPHERAL’

During her time at HMSOM, Davide became very involved in the Sexual Medicine Research Team (SMRT) and “Tight Lipped,” a patient-led organization for those with chronic pelvic and vaginal pain. Her work has focused on bridging the gap in medical education, specifically regarding conditions like vulvodynia and vestibulodynia. She believes both are often overlooked in standard residency programs, which is something she’d like to change.

Altogether, she aims to make a difference in this kind of status quo.

“My goal is to help shape a future in OB-GYN where patient voices, functional outcomes, and sexual health are recognized as central to women’s health - and not a side note.”

‘A GHOST FROM AFAR’

Her commitment to patient care extends beyond the clinic - and even beyond those she has ever encountered. During her pediatric clerkship, she became a peripheral blood stem cell donor after signing up for a registry at the school. Despite the physical toll of bone-stimulating injections and a four-hour donation process - all while preparing for demanding exams and medical school obligations - she successfully donated stem cells to a 70-something man in Florida battling leukemia. It was an extremely rewarding experience, she said.

“I was hooked up to a machine for hours, watching lectures because I had an exam coming,” she said. “I ended up not connecting with the patient, because I’d rather just be a kind of ghost from afar. I’m on standby now if he ever needs more.”

MATCH DAY - AND ONWARD

As Match Day approaches, Davide hopes to stay for residency in the New York - New Jersey metro area to remain close to her family and the community that raised her. Her ultimate goal is proactive in an academic setting where she can both provide specialized sexual-medicine care and teach future residents.

Beyond the hospital, Davide balances herself through hobbies. She is an avid reader, particularly of fantasy, and enjoys knitting and crocheting, which she used to make baby blankets and toys for friends. She also spends Sundays volunteering at a local animal shelter, from which she and her husband adopted two of their four cats.

Newly married, a honeymoon to Japan is on the calendar. Davide said she is ready for the next chapter of her career, and her life.

“I want to give back to the community that I was raised in,” she said recently.