Some of the tasks I plan to do to achieve this goal include attending weekly meetings where I will be able to discuss the tasks I am currently working on and relate them to my larger goals in a small group setting. I will also be attending a monthly larger meeting with both adult and pediatric Sickle Cell researchers with Dr. Jacob where I may have the opportunity to provide a brief 15-minute presentation about the work I am doing at one of the meetings later in the academic year. Lastly, I will be delivering a poster presentation next spring about the research I have helped Dr. Jacob and her team with at the LHSI showcase.
Examples of tasks I plan to complete to achieve this goal include completing directed readings related to the projects I will be working on so I can gain a better understanding of the inequalities the project is addressing. Furthermore, I will be working on projects that will all be related to inequality in healthcare because many sickle cell patients in the U.S. face challenges accessing resources for their disease and receiving consistent medical care. I will also have the opportunity to participate in the sickle cell clinic as well as with sickle cell disease advocacy like the sickle-cell disease advocacy day at the state capital in February.
Some of the tasks I plan to do to achieve this goal include learning about the different types of research before beginning projects through directed readings provided by Dr. Jacob. Additionally, I will be working with members of Dr. Jacob’s research team on abstracts, papers, data analysis and presentation, as well as other miscellaneous tasks related to the research process. Finally, I will break down the sections of a scientific paper or writing and learn about the components necessary for each section from manuals and members of Dr. Jacob's research team before completing tasks involving writing.
Currently, my dream is to attend medical school after completing my undergraduate degree and study to become a pediatrician. Since middle school, I have always been very interested in a career in pediatric healthcare, as I have always had a strong passion for working with kids but also began to realize how fascinated I was with learning about the human body, different illnesses, etc. Also around that time, I began struggling with personal medical conditions that resulted in a plethora of medical appointments, testing, etc. Despite seeing many different types of specialty physicians, it was always my pediatrician who thoroughly listened to me and my parents and improved my overall quality of life the most. Inspired by the impact my pediatrician had on my life, I realized during the end of high school that this was the career in pediatric healthcare that I felt a strong calling for.
Although I am struggling with a lot of self-doubt and fear about if I will be accepted into medical school, I very strongly still want to pursue a career as a pediatrician and feel that this is my true calling. Reflecting upon my strengths and weaknesses from previous employments and taking several career interest and personality tests while in high school has enabled me to verify that I possess traits such as a high level of patience required for the work of a pediatrician. Moreover, I have talked with my own pediatrician about her experiences in the field and plan to shadow other pediatricians as well as a pediatric specialist physician in the upcoming months. Through my role as a patient care associate, I have had the opportunity to talk with and learn about the day-to-day tasks of many other healthcare professionals such as nurses, respiratory therapists, physician assistants, and more.
A major step towards my goal of becoming a pediatrician will be applying to and successfully graduating from medical school as well as matching into a residency following my completion of medical school. This spring, I plan to reach out to physicians within large healthcare networks near my hometown to set up shadowing opportunities over the summer. Using guidance from the PREPs office, I will select an MCAT preparation course and begin to study more frequently for the MCAT. In addition to my job as a patient care associate at a hospital near my hometown, I hope to also assist a pediatric pulmonologist whom I met a few months ago with research during this upcoming summer. Therefore, I plan to reach out via email this upcoming semester to see if he would still be interested in having an undergraduate student assist with research over the summer. I plan to begin saving for the costs of an MCAT preparation course, taking the MCAT, and medical school application fees.
By this time next year, I plan to have an updated, more professional resume and LinkedIn profile. I will have a more definitive list of medical schools I am interested in applying to and will have learned about the different requirements for each school's application. Similarly, I will thoroughly research potential scholarships offered by each school and any national scholarships I may be interested in and make a list of scholarships I plan to apply for. I will join email threads and any other communications for the medical schools I plan to apply to in order to stay on top of each school's application deadlines. I also hope to begin visiting and taking tours of the medical schools I plan to apply to. I will have a consistent MCAT study schedule and will continue to meet regularly with my advisors and the PREPs office to ensure I am on track.
Throughout the remainder of my time at IUPUI, I plan to continue working as a patient care associate in order to gain more first-hand experience and knowledge in a healthcare setting. Moreover, I plan to continue engaging in research such as by completing my capstone in a biology laboratory at IUPUI during my junior and senior years. I will shadow hopefully multiple pediatric physicians and learn about their experiences. Lastly, I will continue working to improve my interviewing and writing skills in preparation for applying to medical schools as well as for many future applications that will be required in order to become a pediatrician. For example, I will make appointments with the PREPS office for mock interviews, assistance with application responses, and I plan to utilize other application and interview resources available both through PREPS and IUPUI.
My experience with LHSI has served as a wonderful tool in helping me confirm that my goal of becoming a pediatrician aligns still aligns with my interests after learning more about more holistic aspects and the inequities present within pediatric healthcare. Since much of my work at my LHSI site involved working with data retrieved from psychosocial screeners completed by children with sickle cell disease and/or their families, I was able to gain a greater understanding of the many different facades of pediatric care such as a child's social and emotional health, performance in school, home life, access to community resources and opportunities, etc. I feel much more confident that a career as a pediatrician aligns with my interests and values and would serve as a career that I genuinely enjoy for the rest of my life. Likewise, my time with the LHSI program has enabled me to gain confidence in analyzing my personal passions, strengths and weaknesses, motivations, and values when making decisions relating to both my long and short-term goals along the path toward becoming a pediatrician. I feel that completing the self-evaluations and reflection prompts through the LHSI program has been the most beneficial in helping me to build the skills listed above as well as confirming my career goal of becoming a pediatrician.