UNSOM Prospective Applicants: Student Profiles
Virginia Hardie
A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Virginia has survived the first year of medical school, one she describes as a "marathon of studying." Despite a chance to take a break in the summer, Virginia isn't slowing down. She began the summer between Years I and II shadowing trauma surgeons in Las Vegas, at the medical school's clinical campus. "I love surgery and emergency medicine so I wanted to observe surgery to help me decide."
Virginia has taken advantage of service opportunities - she serves as one of the Student Outreach Clinic managers. She's one of the students responsible for organizing and opening the clinic before each of the sessions. The clinic focuses on providing free care for medically indigent patients in Reno. Virginia has also taken on leadership as the president of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) which she begins as second year starts in August. She is also the president of the History of Medicine Club. "I love learning about how medicine has changed since the early days." She is also member of the Orientation Committee. This student group organizes and implements orientation for the new incoming class each August. "Being involved helps keep me focuses. Studying all the time makes me forget the reason I'm torturing myself this way; these activities help me remember," she said, smiling.
Virginia didn't always think medicine would her career path. She was a psychology major at UNR and enjoyed the coursework. It was an internship in that program to work with autistic children that began Virginia down the road to becoming a physician. "I was scared. I didn't think I could do it. But during the internship I felt helpless doing only behavioral analysis for the children. I wanted to be able to do more for them." Virginia is the first person in her family to go to medical school. She credits her clinical experience with her success. She said her two years of work in the emergency room at Saint Mary's Medical Center in Reno has really helped her. "I have a template in my head to sort information. I encourage students thinking about medicine to get that clinical experience."
Medical school has been exciting for Virginia. "The faculty are supportive and willing to answer questions. The volume of information can be overwhelming sometimes." She also enjoys the two campuses of the medical school. "I think it is crucial. Students get a different experience in Las Vegas and in Reno. The variety of patients in both places is good for learning.
J.P. Vilai
Medicine has always been an interest for J.P., but he didn't become committed to pursuing it as a career until his father's heart problems worsened.
"I wanted to understand more of what was happening to him. I didn't like not knowing what was going on, and it gave me an appreciation for what family members go through when someone becomes ill," J.P. said. The only son of immigrant parents from Thailand, J.P. is the first in his family to attend medical school. J.P. has now completed the Ph.D. portion of his combined M.D./Ph.D. program, working in the microbiology lab of Tom Kozel, Ph.D., learning more about antibodies against the capsule surrounding Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. The antibodies are potential candidates for rapid diagnostic technologies as well as immunoprophylaxis and therapy.
"The Ph.D. program is great, so different from being in the classroom the first two years. I like being able to focus on the research and it is very interesting. It is almost as much or even more work, but a different type of work," he said. J.P.'s work in Dr. Kozel's lab is, in many ways, a continuation of his work in microbiology as an undergraduate. As a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, J.P. worked in a food microbiology lab as well as soil testing for microbes as part of the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository studies. Although not medical microbiology, it fueled his desire to understand more about these organisms and he learned that he enjoys the teamwork of the laboratory. "The lab really fosters cooperation. Everyone is so willing to help you out and everyone helps each other." J.P. also believes the additional time spent in the combined degree will help him as a physician. "So much of what I'm doing is interacting with and explaining the research to other people. It is really helping me develop my communication and teaching skills."
J.P. also enjoys learning about the newest developments that will impact medicine. "Research is so important to medicine. It will help me down the road to understand how research is done and to recognize how critical it is in providing the knowledge and tools physicians need to improve the quality of life." J.P. is contemplating the next step in his education and the beginning of Year III of medical school. He hopes to combine his interest in infectious disease with his other interest in pediatrics. As emerging diseases continue to threaten populations, J.P. hopes he can eventually work on some of those which come out of his parents' native country, Thailand. "So many of these poorly understood but deadly infectious diseases are coming from southeast Asia. This would give me a chance to give back to that community, as well as Nevada."
Carla Ellis
Carla had grown up dreaming of treating animal patients as a veterinarian. Once in college, she began to get more information on medicine from medical students and had a great experience shadowing a psychiatrist, which led to a change of heart. Carla is now treating patients as a first year resident in pathology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
"I've found what I've dreamed of. I don't care how rough it is, this is what I want. I'm so happy to have the opportunity to do this, to become a physician," Carla says.
Health care isn't new for Carla. Her mom was a speech pathologist for the Clark County School District. "My mom's love of children and education has always been an influence for me," according to Carla. She says her experiences during college helped confirm that medicine was the right choice. "Once I experienced that, I couldn't see myself doing anything else. I'm lucky that way," she says.
Carla, like most medical students, has had her share of challenges along her pathway to medicine. When she was preparing for the MCAT, her mom suddenly passed away. Carla was called upon to help her younger sister, as well as take care of everything for her mom. "What I went through with my mom, I want patients treated like they are my own family. It was so unfortunate, but taught me so much about seeing medicine from the patient and family member's perspective."
Carla thinks the most important thing for prospective students to remember is that medicine is a life-long commitment to years of education and to remaining dedicated to helping others. Carla's helping of others has continued into medical school. She is the president of the UNSOM chapter of Student National Medical Association and responsible for revitalizing the student group. She is also the president of the American Medical Women's Association and vice president of the American Medical Student Association. Carla also serves as a member of the Student Development Committee. Besides the student organizations, Carla has continued to nurture her interest in research by working on a project in the laboratory of Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery, William Zamboni, M.D. Carla's long list of involvement helps keep her motivated for school. "I'll always be like this, even into my career."
Nevada was Carla's first choice for medical school so she could be close to her family. Her younger sister is now in college at University of California, Berkeley and they see each other as often as possible. "I've been really happy with my choice for medical school," Carla says. "The professors and administrators are such a great help and so easy to talk to. I really appreciated the class size and individual attention each of us received."
Matthew Swanic
Computer engineering was the career path Matt planned to follow when he entered University of Nevada, Las Vegas as a freshman. He applied for and was hired to work in a physician's office filing paperwork and assisting in insurance claims processing. "I really like what she did to help people. Patients were always calling to say what a great doctor she was and they were so appreciative of what she did. I decided I wanted people to be that happy with my work." Once he decided to pursue medicine, Matt worked hard on his science classes, obtained his certification as an EMT I and continued to work at the physician's office.
Matt's hard work paid off and as he prepared to apply to medical school, he had strong grades and good MCAT scores. He decided to aim for a top medical school and applied to 9 of the top 25 big-name schools across the country, as well as UNSOM. He was accepted and UNSOM and has started his final year of medical school. "This school is really strong. Our class size is small. The faculty really care." Matt saw the caring first hand as a member of the Curriculum Committee. "I really saw that their goal is for the students to do well," he said. Matt has continued to excel in medical school. He was selected to be a member of AOA, the medical honor society. Matt choose to complete his internship year in internal medicine at UNSOM's residency program. He is now headed to the opthalmology program at Tufts University in Boston. Opthalmology appeals to his love of surgery, combined with a clinic-based practice instead of hospital-based, where he will get to use many new technologies being developed for treatment of eye problems. "Opthalmologists get to do the coolest surgeries," he says.
He has found time to balance his life outside of medical school and was married during his third year. His wife, Serena, was a law student Duke University's law school in North Carolina and graduated in 2005. Matt will join her as a graduate in 2006.
