Going into the Field of Medicine
Manuel Bautista
The Ohio State University
Going into the Field of Medicine
Introduction
The journey to becoming a doctor is anything but short and easy. The number of classes and training one must go through to the total cost of schooling are extremely high. Though these glaring challenges tower over the average student, I still wish to pursue a career in medicine. For medicine to exist, chemistry needs to be present as it is the basis of biology and therefore life. Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with identifying substances, their compositions, their properties, and how they interact with other substances. Being that most of my pre-med track consists of chemistry, and the fact that I plan on going into medicine, I decided to interview one person going to medical, another teaching chemistry, and one who is a doctor here at Ohio State. For my undergraduate student, and student continuing to medical school, I chose Michael Chung. The other two that have a focus on chemistry are Wenjun Sun, a graduate student that is also my laboratory teacher’s assistant, and professor Kroner, who teaches chemistry here at The Ohio State University.
Methodology
When it came to selecting, contacting, and interviewing the following individuals, the process was slightly different for each one. For my upperclassman interviewee, Michael is the president of a club I am a part of called “Health Points”. I knew I wanted to interview him for our similar interest in medicine, so I messaged him on an application called GroupMe, an app for messaging both directly and in groups without having to give out a phone number. After one of the club meetings I sat down with him in an empty auditorium and asked him my questions found in Appendix A. My graduate student interviewee, Wenjun, is my teacher’s assistant for my chemistry labs. I chose him to interview due to the fact that in medicine a large amount of what is done is through chemistry. When I knew I wanted to interview him, I emailed Wenjun and asked him if he would be interested in being interviewed for a STEM EE Scholars essay to which he agreed. We met after his office hours and conducted the interview in an empty conference room at the library, the questions I asked him can be found in Appendix B. Lastly, for my professor I searched for articles about medicine on Scopus, but found that the topic was too wide, so I narrowed it by having it only concern neuroscience and articles written in the past four years. This lead me to finding Dr. Corrigan, a professor and doctor at the Wexner Medical Center who focuses on traumatic brain injuries. I emailed him asking if I could talk to him about his research and he responded saying that he would be happy to. We conducted the interview outside of the Wexner Medical center and used questions from Appendix C. For all three interviews audio was recorded and later transcribed so that conversation could flow easily.
The Undergraduate Student
First there is Michael Chung, a student at Ohio State that recently took the MCAT and is applying to medical school. During his freshman year, Michael was fortunate enough to participate in a research team with juniors and seniors for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The majority of the students that were a part of this research group are now in medical school, with the leader of the group being the youngest female astronaut to join Space X. This group proved to be super influential and showed just how well Ohio State is at networking and being a kick start in one’s career. What got Michael involved in medicine though was not this project but what happened to him in elementary school. One day his older sister came back from college when she was not supposed to. The reason being was that she had a brain tumor and had to have it removed. After it was removed, she had to take a year off to recover language and other communication skills. Making a full recovery, she is now a famous human prosecutor for the United Nations where language is essential in her work. That is what started Michael’s journey in neuroscience. Once he started high school, Michael began doing brain tumor research and continues to do so to this day with his neuroscience classes. With research and college now on his mind though, Michael had a lot on his plate. Freshman and sophomore year for him consisted of finding a balance between academics and his social life. What he ended up doing was reorganizing his priorities entirely with the mindset that he has the rest of his life to be happy but only four years to get the life he wants ready.
Undergraduate Life
Making a schedule was not the only thing Michael had to offer in order to have an easier time in college. He recommends giving oneself an allotted time to study for difficult classes but to also get help from teachers and friends because no matter how smart one is, everyone needs help at some point (M. Chung, personal communication, October 23, 2018). Also, an important aspect of college life and resume building is the experience. What he means by this is not just joining a club just because it looks good but becoming a leader and dedicating time and energy to one to three clubs. The same applies to research projects as sticking to one project and consistently working on it over time shows dedication. Places one could do research are at the Wexner Medical Center or at the university’s College of Medicine, the good thing about the Wexner Medical Center is that volunteering is also possible. On the social side of college life, Michael recommends keeping a close group of friends one can rely on during the good times and the bad as having a close group provides a safety net in case of mental hardship. Along with mental health he recommends maintaining good physical health by working out and participating in sports. With Michael’s view and strategy towards undergraduate life, one can excel in the class room and beyond.
The Graduate Student
Moving up to the graduate student, Wenjun Sun is an international student from China studying chemistry while also being a teaching assistant in Chemistry 1210. He began learning chemistry in middle school and immediately gained a passion for it. What he likes about it is just how broad of a subject it is and how much of the universe it encompasses. From organic to physical there is almost nothing chemistry cannot explain. After graduating high school, Wenjun moved to the United States to attend Kent State University, during which time he continued to try and learn more about chemistry, which ended up being what kept him going through his undergraduate years. While a sophomore at Kent State University, he joined a research group and received some advice from graduate students on how to be successful and surviving college. They told him, that an important part was, again, having a friend group to depend on, but also told him that teaching others helped a lot in graduate school. When applying to graduate school he knew he was in good standing. He had a good grade point average, he had experience related to research in chemistry, he could speak both English and Chinese, and he was an international student.
Graduate Life
As a graduate student, Wenjun must maintain a good grade point average and actually learn from his classes instead of preparing for the next test. Not only does Wenjun need to be successful in the classroom but also in teaching with his first priority being his students and how they are and perform in the classroom (Wenjun Sun, personal communication, October 24, 2018). As a teaching assistant in a chemistry laboratory, Wenjun needs to make sure that the undergraduate students are safe and to make sure experiments go as intended. Though chemistry is his field he is determined to help his students in other fields if needed, that is the amount of dedication Wenjun has to his students. Helping his students involves tips such as taking breaks during homework and studying in order to give the brain a break and listening to classical music in order to concentrate on assignments. Along with that, he recommends asking professors questions if what is taught is unclear as most professors are patient and want to help their students understand the material. Plus, by talking to professors and people affiliated to The Ohio State University in general, it provides networking opportunities which can prove to be useful later when looking for work. Outside of school, Wenjun suggests students to join clubs, make new friends, and talk to people with different backgrounds so that they do not feel shut into their dorms. Wenjun’s caring attitude towards his students and academic drive prove to be highly valuable in any job setting.
The Professor
Finally, for my professor interviewee, I chose Dr. Corrigan, a professor in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation here at Ohio State. Dr. Corrigan received his PhD and his MA in Counseling Psychology here at Ohio State and did his residency at the Wexner Medical Center in rehabilitation psychology. He is a member of several organizations including the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, the American Psychological Association, and the Ohio Psychological Association, out of these organizations I can join the American and the Ohio Psychological Association. Though this is a great way to become more knowledgeable about the field of psychology, there are other ways to become more knowledgeable about the field of medicine as a whole. Dr. Corrigan recommends volunteering in hospitals, shadowing doctors of all types, joining pre-med or health clubs, and to do research in order to get a taste of all the different divisions the field of medicine has to offer. However, as an undergraduate student he recommends enjoying college and maintaining an active social life because once one starts medical school, a lot of time is devoted to class and studying. Along with being a good student, Dr. Corrigan says that a successful student in the field of medicine must also have the heart, or desire, to help others, as well as having the ability to look at problems logically, find the root, and devise a solution.
His Research
When discussing his research, I asked Dr. Corrigan why he chose to research traumatic brain injuries (TBI) as a whole and its effects on people. He told me that the inner workings of the brain have always interested him. Especially after seeing countless people returning from war and accidents with brain injuries, he wondered how these incidents affected people in their daily lives (J. D. Corrigan, personal communication, October 15, 2018). The articles I read were about obesity and issues people with TBIs have one to twenty-five years after rehabilitation and the possibility of using an online version of Ohio State’s TBI identification method. Though the language was difficult to understand, the first article revealed that obesity increased as the years passed for those who already were overweight but those that were normal weight stayed the same (Dreer, 2018). For the article concerning the online TBI test, results showed that an online version of the test could be a possible way to collect data in the future (Lequerica, 2018). In locating the article, I used Scopus to search for the articles with “neuroscience” as a keyword and “Ohio State” as an affiliation. When reading it I highlighted parts I felt were of significance like the sample population, results, and methodology. In the field of medicine, the research can help diagnose people with TBIs and help prevent those with TBIs from becoming obese. When I asked him why there was an increase in obesity following TBIs, Dr. Corrigan said that it deals with damage to the hypothalamus.
Conclusion
From my different interviews, I learned about how to survive and enjoy undergraduate life while still preparing for my future as a doctor. Also, in order to better understand scholarly articles, it is important to understand the language used in the field. Interviewing Michael, Wenjun, and Dr. Corrigan helped me on my path to becoming a doctor by giving me the materials needed to succeed. Overall, the assignment let me know if the path of medicine was the right one for me and now, I can say it is.
Appendix A
Upperclassman Questions
What has been an influential experience, class, or activity you have taken while attending The Ohio State University?
How did you get involved in your field, the field of medicine?
What has helped you manage difficult course loads? This could techniques or strategies you personally use inside or outside the class room.
How have you approached studying for difficult courses? This pertains to what you have done outside the class room but can be anything that helps you in your difficult courses.
For a student, such as myself, interested in medical school, what are some opportunities available on campus that can help one gain a better understanding of the career path?
What do you do to help manage stress?
What are some CV (curriculum vitae) builders, like organizations, undergraduate research, service, or getting published, do you recommend?
Appendix B
Graduate Student Questions
How did you choose chemistry as your field of study?
What best prepared you for your graduate study?
What have you done to excel or do well in the class room? This can be done in the class room, through taking notes a certain way, or outside the classroom, by listening to music.
What experiences do you feel helped make you competitive in the graduate school application to The Ohio State University?
How have you built and used relationships with professors? In other words, what have you done to obtain a better relationship with your professors and how have you used those relationships to your advantage.
What aspect of graduate school did you not expect? This could be anything from the intensity of classes to the structure of learning, whatever surprised you.
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself when you were a freshman in college?
What do you recommend undergraduate students, like myself, do in order to better network?
What are somethings underclassmen should do in preparation for graduate school?
In your view as a graduate student, what can you tell me about the field of chemistry?
As a graduate student, what are your responsibilities?
Appendix C
Professor Questions
Why is it that some people become obese years after receiving a traumatic brain injury?
Could you tell me about your educational journey?
Why did you choose this specific research over other topics in your field?
What organizations or journals are you a part of? Also are there any that I can be a part
of?
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself as an undergraduate
student?
In your opinion, what do you think makes a successful student in your field?
How can I become more knowledgeable or active when it comes to the field of
medicine?
References
Dreer, L. E., Ketchum, J. M., Novack, T. A., Bogner, J., Felix, E. R., Corrigan, J. D., . . .
Hammond, F. M. (2018). Obesity and Overweight Problems Among Individuals 1 to 25
Years Following Acute Rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of Head
Trauma Rehabilitation, 33(4), 246-256. doi:10.1097/htr.0000000000000408
Lequerica, A. H., Lucca, C., Chiaravalloti, N. D., Ward, I., & Corrigan, J. D. (2018). Feasibility
and Preliminary Validation of an Online Version of the Ohio State University Traumatic
Brain Injury Identification Method. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
99(9), 1811-1817. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2018.03.023