USF Division of Hospice & Palliative Care- 2 Tampa General Circle

I'm currently working as an Assistant Professor in the University of South Florida Physician Assistant Program. On Fridays, I continue to provide care to patients that require same day (acute care) appointments for USF Family Medicine.

Dr. Murray graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a bachelors degree in Biochemistry. He obtained his medical degree from Florida State University College of Medicine and Family Medicine Residency at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. He completed a Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at USF Morsani College of Medicine and has a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in Sports Medicine. Dr. Murray serves as Team Physician for the Department of Athletics at the University of South Florida and cares for concussion patients at the USF Concussion Center. He also enjoys working as a primary care physician within USF Family Medicine department, seeing athletes ranging from young rookies to seniors with silver sneakers.

Dr. Hugo Narvarte completed his undergraduate training at Duke University in 1996, and obtained his MD degree from the University of South Florida in 2000. He then moved to Houston, Texas for residency training in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. He moved back to Tampa and joined the USF faculty in 2005.

His patient care interests include primary care in both general pediatrics and general internal medicine.

Dr. Abigail Beard is on the medical staff at Tampa General Hospital and an assistant professor of Breast Surgery at the University of South Florida School of Medicine. Her areas of interest include benign and malignant disorders of the breast, high risk breast cancer screening, and breast conservation and oncoplastic surgery, about which Dr. Beard has given several presentations and published studies. She is the vice chair of the Committee on Cancer and has served on the Radiation Oncology Chair Search Committee, both at Tampa General Hospital. Dr. Beards awards and honors including clerkships in Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Psychiatry, and letters of commendation in Surgery, Internal Medicine, and Neurology. She was also named to the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Golden Key Honor Society in the National Scholastic Honor Society.

Endoscopy enables spine surgeries with quarter-inch incisions, resulting in less trauma to muscles and ligaments. As a result, patients benefit from quicker recovery in outpatient settings. Most disc herniations can now be treated without the need for drilling into the bony elements.

My path to becoming a spine surgeon started during a time marked by complications like infections and spinal instability, even for minor procedures. I concentrated on refining minimally invasive techniques, employing tools like tubular retractors and microscopes, which are currently gaining recognition.

During my residency, I suffered from an L5/S1 herniated disc, which led me to explore even less invasive approaches, such as endoscopy. Learning from pioneers around the world, I subsequently dedicated my fellowship to mastering these techniques.

To the best of my knowledge, I am the sole fellowship-trained endoscopic spine surgeon in the region and am thrilled to introduce this cutting-edge technology to the Tampa area.