Why did you choose to pursue a career in medicine?
As a child, I was very active and found myself frequently injured. My mother was a doctor and was always able to identify the issue and make sure I got better as quickly as possible. Through the years, I learned to appreciate her knowledge and developed a desire to follow her example so I could help people in the same way.
Additionally, throughout my high school years, medical care and physical and mental health issues were often in the news, and it felt like people often chose the wrong people to trust. I formed a desire to help people regain control of their health and confidence in hospitals and medical practitioners.
Why McGovern Medical School?
I spent the last four years of my life going to Rice University, just two streets from McGovern. I fell in love with Houston — the food, art scene, and cultural diversity all mesh with a general attitude of friendliness and southern hospitality.
Additionally, the massive scale and influence of the TMC are hard to ignore. Given the opportunity to participate in the Humanities Facilitated Admission Program, which centered around students studying both pre-med and humanities courses, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.
On the Humanities Facilitated Admissions Program
I learned about the program through the Rice Humanities department. I was only a sophomore, and this was a time when I was thinking about medical school but not completely convinced it was the right decision for me. I was well aware that getting into medical school was very competitive and might require me to take additional time after college. I had spent more time studying French and German and studying abroad than working in a lab or getting hands-on experience with medical situations.
Ultimately, the Humanities Facilitated Admissions Program was paramount in my decision to attend medical school. It strengthened my choice to pursue a career in medicine, because it validated that McGovern was actively seeking people like me — humanities majors with diverse backgrounds. When I received the email about this program from my humanities adviser at Rice, I truly felt that the program and McGovern were speaking directly saying, “we care about the same things as you, and we want you here.”
Once I joined the Facilitated Admissions program, everything fell into place. The daunting and competitive medical school admissions process became clearer. My targets for test scores and grades became specific and aligned to a very encouraging process with a “yes” at the end of the rainbow. This program helped lead me into a career in medicine and McGovern Medical School specifically.
What motivates you?
The desire to help people by being a confident, reliable, and knowledgeable source of medical and health information motivates me. I want to carry forward the help and support I have received throughout my childhood. I know that a career in medicine is hard work. I am lucky to have the support and guidance of my family in helping me navigate a path that combines my interests with my desire to help others.
Who are your heroes?
My parents both came from humble beginnings. My mother was born in war-torn Lebanon and emigrated two weeks before her apartment was bombed. My father was born to a family of hard-working farmers who never had much but wanted their children to have the chance to do whatever they wanted.
Both my parents excelled in school and worked their way to full-ride scholarships in university and graduate school. Their success and hard work have enabled me to go even further and my find my own unique path.
What is your ultimate goal for a career in medicine?
I want to provide competent and compassionate care to people in need. My ultimate goal is to serve others and know that I made a positive difference in their lives at what will often be their most vulnerable moment.
What emotions are you feeling beginning medical school?
I am definitely intimidated by the workload and respectful of the challenge ahead. However, we are provided with so many resources and progress checks that this fear is beginning to subside.
I was also nervous about finding friends, as I assumed everyone would be hyper-focused on work. To my surprise, everyone else seems to have this same concern, and there have been a plethora of social events organized for first-year students to meet each other and members of other classes.
What are you looking forward to most about medical school?
The opportunity to learn and grow in the context of medicine. Having just finished college, I look forward to seeing the basic sciences I learned in the setting of medical subjects and their practical applications.
What specialty would you choose if you had to pick now?
While I am still very much undecided with regards to my specialty, right now I think I would choose internal medicine. The broad scope of internal medicine will give me a general knowledge of medicine and keep me in primary care so I can interact with patients.
How will your knowledge of different cultures and languages will benefit your medical career?
The more I learn about other cultures, the more I feel I don’t know. My main takeaway from having the opportunity to learn so many languages and experience so many cultures is that everyone comes from their own unique world of complexities, expectations, and pursuits. My experiences have informed my desire to interact with others with humility and respect for their life journey. Everyone sees the world through a different lens. The ability to acknowledge this, take a step back, and try to understand the human sitting across from me will hopefully make me a more compassionate doctor.
For me, medicine is the interface between humanity and science, bit I feel humanity is often marginalized given the urgency of medical situations and the avalanche of scientific knowledge that must be mastered to be an effective doctor. Though medical doctors consistently find themselves in a crunch for time, I want to find the time to speak to patients, not just as a doctor, but as an empathetic human being.
Read the rest of the stories from the Newest Faces of McGovern Medical School.