06/15/2022
As I approach my senior year of undergraduate studies, it becomes imperative for me to finally make a decision as to how I would like to proceed post-graduation. This is usually not an easy decision for a lot of people and I am no exception. My inability to quickly make a decision is based on multiple factors which I will talk about in this blogpost.
Medicine
First and foremost, my interests pre and post high school had always been medicine. Quite interestingly, I was not raised in a family of doctors or anything of that sort.
However, as it maybe for any family, my family had also gone through quite a few medical situations. Prominently, two of my aunts passed away from breast cancer and my grandmother currently suffers from several different metabolic disorders. All these as well as situations my mom found herself in, led to my consistent being at the hospital. Seeing what doctors did and the several interventional methods used were pertinent to my interest development.
Interestingly, till date, I have strong interests in medicine and I am certain on continuing on that path. In fact, I was fortunate to shadow a neurosurgeon yesterday and was very excited about the experience.
Graduate School
In all honesty, I had no interest in graduate school until during my sophomore year of undergraduate. I had got into my research lab at the time and started to enjoy the complexity that comes with it.
A picture of myself and my mentor in lab.
This really put me to test as I began to contemplate if I really wanted to go to medical school and not graduate school. As I developed more skills related to research, I started to explore opportunities for that as well as the different pathways available for that. Graduate school opens a lot of doors and is definitely worth it. However, knowing that I have strong interests in medicine made it a harder choice for me to just go with.
MD/PhD
Last summer, my research mentor, Dr. Knoche Gupta had sessions where she met with. all her student researchers individually to discuss their progress and future aspirations. Obviously, I related to her my dilemma and she immediately asked if I knew about the MD/PhD route, which I interpret as medical and graduate school at confluence. This really brings together both my passions in one place. However, this also has its own problems to pose. Speaking with a few MD/PhD holders, I narrow down the questions to "Do I want to drive or participate in research". The MD/PhD is a huge commitment that requires that you ponder over it and make the right decision. Ultimately, I see myself going that route. I am certain to come across some bumps on this road, but I think they will be worth the efforts.