Tell us a little about your background before you came to Drexel.
I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania in health and societies in 2021. After the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided I needed a little bit of a break from school and started working as a clinical research coordinator working with pulmonary arterial hypertension patients at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Why did you decide to enroll in a post-baccalaureate program? And why did you feel the Evening Pre-Medical Program (PMED) was a good fit for you?
There were some prerequisite courses that I did not complete during my time as an undergraduate and some that I wanted to retake because I did not do as well as I had hoped the first time. The PMED program was a perfect fit because it allowed me to continue working full time as a research coordinator, learning about careers in health care and completing individual research projects, and completing my coursework at the same time. I was already living and working in the city so between the schedule, location and community, it was really a perfect fit.
Since graduating from the PMED program, what did you do to continue building your medical school application?
I spent time completing research at work, volunteering in the community and studying for the MCAT. Clinical research is a great opportunity for those looking to work in medicine, and it presents a different perspective to bench research. Spending time interacting with patients is a wonderful experience that also happens to look good to medical schools!
What influenced you to want to become a physician?
After graduating from college, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. Everything got turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, so I needed time to reset. Working as a clinical research coordinator, I had the opportunity to work alongside physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and the many others who constitute a care team, including respiratory therapists, medical assistants, physical therapists and many more.
As a rare disease, a diagnosis with pumonary arterial hypertension can be especially scary for patients. Seeing the comfort and peace of mind our doctors could provide, along with the relationships they developed with patients and their families, drove me to seek a career as a physician. Watching the physicians work with the patients and to advocate for them with the various stakeholders led me to want to do the same.
One of the subjects I studied in college was the American health care system. Seeing firsthand how convoluted it can be to access care for those with and without insurance, I was inspired by the care and advocacy our doctors provided to patients and their families.
What has allowed you to achieve your current accomplishments?
Realizing that I can take as much time as I need. The road to medicine is long and certainly not easy, as I’m sure you all know! Taking my time and following my own schedule helped me make sure that I had the greatest opportunity to succeed. When you are a pre-med undergrad, everyone is always so focused on going straight through or taking the fewest gap years they can. Ultimately, you’re going to be on a very long journey to a career in medicine, so take your time. Make sure your journey works for you.
As one of our top students, what advice would you give to current and future PMED students?
Use the resources provided to you, whether that is your professors’ emails, study groups with your fellow PMED students, or the many resources that Drexel provides. You are not alone, and everyone in the program wants to see you succeed and will do all they can to help you reach your goals.
Where are you now?
I am a member of the Drexel University College class of 2028.