Student group reflections
Throughout the spring, NEOMED student organizations have hosted physicians and residents to share valuable insights on how to achieve career success. Students shared their thoughts on some of the presentations.
Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA)
First-year medicine student Jeffrey Toman shares:
“Dr. Daniel Vazquez shared how mentorship can take on three different forms. You can look behind you to help those that are working to be where you are. You can look beside you to help those who are in a similar situation. You can look ahead to those who can help you get to where you want to go. This reminded me that I have something to share with those around me, and I feel lucky to have supportive mentors like Dr. Vazquez, Dr. Gonzales and Dr. Javier.”
Interventional Radiology Interest Group – IRIG
First-year medicine students Humza Akbar and Alex You explain:
“There is a lot of flexibility in this specialty, beyond adjusting the hours we work. Because there is so much overlap with almost every other specialty, you can pretty much be involved in a bit of everything yet focus on certain procedures or fields if you want to. This further emphasized that there is a wide range of research and clinical opportunities that can be valuable to learn about the field. We are grateful for mentors like Dr. Guirguis for his time and insights.”
Orthopaedic Surgery Interest Group (OSIG)
First-year medicine student Nathan Cuttica says:
“The panel held by Summa Health orthopaedic surgery residents provided in-depth and personal perspectives on the rigors of matching into orthopaedic surgery and how to be successful. The idea that all the residents harped on was to find something that you are passionate about and run with it. Enthusiasm in research, volunteering experiences and community involvement go much further than quantity of experiences. Longitudinal experiences lead to better relationships with mentors, higher quality research publications and a more positive impact in our volunteering; these are the things that create a well-rounded and successful residency applicant.
American Academy of Neurology-Student Interest Group in Neurology (AAN-SIGN)
First-year medicine student Sophie Tayade notes:
“The students highlighted that NEOMED has a lot of supportive resources and mentors available. One of the panelists shared how many students might think that they have a disadvantage if their school lacks a specific department or subspecialty group. However, it seems residency programs are impressed by our endeavors, since they understand that we must be intentional and seek it out ourselves. We have a great support system here to succeed, and this motivated me to reach out to mentors and upperclassmen medical students to learn more.”
Akron Children's Hospital Showers Family Center Tour & Patient-Physician Panel by Oncology Interest Group
Second-year medicine students Sarah Claxton and Sam Accordino share:
“Visiting Akron Children’s Hospital and talking with physicians allowed us to gain a full picture of a career in pediatric oncology and all the specialty offers. We learned about residency and fellowship experiences directly from program members. It was interesting to hear that even in residency, you don't necessarily receive a lot of exposure to specialties. Thus, it's important to find more exposure during medical school to decide your career path.”
Cardiology Interest Group (CIG)
First-year medicine students Ethan Johnson, Isaac Pratt and Corey Wyckoff note:
“Each specialty can be competitive in their own way, especially if you want more of a choice on program or location. For cardiology, we learned that board scores on Step 2 and having a strong basic science foundation are important. They also explained how connections and involvement in cardiology societies can go a long way. We gained an understanding of how cardiology is such a diverse and rapidly evolving field with many exciting avenues in patient care, imaging, research and other aspects of Cardiology.”
American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI)
First-year medicine student Meera Nair describes:
“Something from the panel I really valued hearing about was each physician’s experiences in research and clinical rotations. Many found mentors within their research labs and network with outside programs. For me, this solidified the importance of connecting with physicians and researchers in areas I may want to be in the future. Many of the physicians additionally mentioned the significance of maintaining the connections you build as you may never know in the future what guidance and professional development they may be able to provide.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Interest Group
First-year medicine students Prathamesh Ingale and Akash Patel share:
“I really enjoyed hearing the physicians talk about the work they get to do in helping patients get to a better quality of life and I was particularly struck by the breadth of conditions addressed by PM&R, along with the interdisciplinary collaboration required with this sort of medicine.”
- Submitted by Sophie Tayade, first-year College of Medicine student.