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Tell us about yourself.
I'm from Birmingham, Ala., and attended Auburn University for my undergraduate degree. I’ll be starting my residency in psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass., next month.
How did your preceptor help prepare you for residency?
I had a wonderful preceptor, Dr. Melanie Malec, for longitudinal clinic during the first two years of medical school. She consistently pushed my limits every week. As a result, I felt well prepared for clinical rotations, which was reflected in my end-of-rotation feedback and commented on during my residency interviews. My early clinical experience with a fantastic preceptor paid dividends later.
You learned about the value of mentorship here. Tell us more.
What makes CCLCM great is its perks – full tuition scholarship, no exams or grades, and no clerkship exams. However, what makes CCLCM special are the people. From day one, I met mentors who were invested in me and believed in me more than I did. I didn't fully appreciate the value of mentorship until I came here and experienced it firsthand.
What drew you to CCLCM?
To be frank, I was initially drawn to CCLCM because of the full tuition scholarship and absence of exams and grades. Until you’re at a school, it’s hard to gauge the accuracy of a school's description of their mentorship, research and clinical experiences. Safe to say that CCLCM delivered above and beyond on its promises.
You planned to specialize in emergency medicine but switched to psychiatry. Why the change?
During third year, I evaluated a patient in the emergency department while my attending stepped away. I suspected the patient had epiglottitis, a rare and life-threatening diagnosis. Imaging confirmed that diagnosis, and the patient was intubated with a good outcome. Immediately after, I spent time talking with a Sudanese refugee with a chart-diagnosis of schizophrenia and unclear chief complaint. It felt meaningful to hear his story and about the traumatic experiences he had been through in Sudan. The contrast between the two patients made me realize how important it is to me to get to know patients on a deeper level.
Describe your research project.
I did my research year at the NIH under the guidance of Dr. Carlos Zarate. There, I studied the difference in how peripheral immune cells collected from patients with depression responded to an immune stimulus, bacterial lipopolysaccharide, when compared to healthy controls.
What excites you most about your future?
During my psychiatry acting internship, I rounded on most of the psychiatric inpatients by myself on Friday mornings while my attending was treating other patients. I would follow up with her afterward about the plans I had made. The ability to connect with psychiatric inpatients one-on-one and the extra autonomy were incredibly gratifying, making those my favorite days in medical school. It struck me that after getting through some off-service rotations, this will be my daily job, which is incredibly exciting!
What advice would you give to someone thinking about applying to the program?
The first two years of the program are highly collaborative, so if you don’t function well or don’t prefer working in a team, it’s probably not the program for you. Even beyond the first two years, my classmates often collaborated on research projects and generally relied on one another, so being a team player is crucial.
Favorite musical artist?
He is a little niche, but I love G Jones. He is an acid bass DJ who makes incredible layered music and is possibly one of the best producers out there. Mainstream artist-wise though I’d have to say Kendrick Lamar.
Fun fact?
Cleveland is an incredible city for birding. I am most proud of leading several bird walks while at CCLCM, and I always felt honored that fellow students would take time out of their weekend to gaze at birds with me.
