Before there were hospitals, before there were
prescriptions, before medicine was a
science, it was a calling, a promise to heal,
to question, to understand the human
body and protect it. Every discovery began
with curiosity. Every breakthrough began
with someone asking, why? From the cells beneath the microscope, to the ethics
behind life-saving decisions, from ancient
remedies, to AI shaping the future of
care. This is where science meets compassion. This is where future healers
begin. This is Aesculapian. In our very first
episode, we have an aspiring medical
professional from my own neighborhood. Welcome, Rohan. Thank you for being the
very first guest on our show. Yeah, thanks for
having me. Yeah. So our first question
is, what inspired you to become a doctor? I think that's obviously a very good
question. It goes back to kind of my family. So my grandfather, he was a
doctor, and he was an ophthalmologist in India. So that was kind of my first
exposure. So every time I would go back to India, I would kind of shadow him.
Obviously, I didn't really know what was going
on. But, you know, just the general
setting of people coming to him, trusting him,
you know, they're complete strangers
to him. But even though they were strangers, they completely trusted him,
and he was able to help them. And kind of
that physician-patient relationship is
what really spoke to me first. And after that,
you know, I was like still in middle
school. It was whatever. But I didn't really know what I wanted to do yet. I
used to want to think I wanted to do software engineering. But honestly, the
minute I like touched Python, like I knew
it wasn't for me. I didn't really like
coding. And then I gave more of like the
health aspect a try. So my mom isn't a
doctor, but she's a dietitian. And I kind
of got exposed to the healthcare field
there as well. And my mom would take me in
to her hospital. And I was able to watch
her have that similar relationship with her patients. And then some of her
colleagues, some of the doctors that she worked
with, I also shadowed them. And I
kind of really knew there that's really what I wanted to do. So I went to Penn
State for undergrad. And then I knew I was going
to be a doctor. So then now I'm here
at Jefferson at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. And I'm a first-year medical
student right now. So that's really kind of my journey. It's a culmination of
experiences. My grandfather with my mom. And also like in high school, I like
science classes. I don't really like any other types of classes. And then I
volunteered at a hospital too. And just kind of all of those experiences. It
wasn't really like a one-moment type of thing
where I discovered, oh, hey, this is
what I want to do. But it was more so like a
bunch of experience that led me to being
here today.
So that's a very good response. My next thing
is, did you ever seriously want to
be anything other than a doctor? Like seriously have a passion for it? I mean,
not really. Like I told you, I thought I want to be a software engineer. But
honestly, like we all have those thoughts when we're younger. You're just like
you're not exposed to a lot of things, even in middle school and even in like
high school too. So it's just more about figuring
out what type of person you are,
what you like, what you don't like. And that
can really help you narrow it down.
But just like I said, figuring out who you
are and also exploring different fields,
like not being too close-minded to anything is really important. But I
wouldn't say there's anything else I wanted to be. It was more so like from
high school, I kind of had a feeling I would be a doctor. But yeah.
So what type of doctor do you want to be? Honestly, I'm not too sure yet just
because it's my first year. Going into medical school, I knew I liked hands-on
procedures. So I wanted something in surgery right now. But I'm still like
learning a lot, especially in medical school,
right? You get exposed to so many
different organ systems and like things that
you wouldn't know otherwise unless
you went through the curriculum and actually learned about it. So I'm kind of
thinking about it from that aspect as well. But it's honestly way too early to
decide. I have to decide usually in my third year. But for right now, I'm
thinking some type of surgery. I really like
my cardiology block. So maybe like
cardiothoracic surgery. I'm also thinking
about general surgery. But there's a lot
of options and there's still no rush. But definitely
want to do something procedural
based, something hands-on. And I mean, I really
like specialties that incorporate.
A lot of different fields of medicine. So
like cardiology, if you think about it,
you can make lifestyle changes. There's a
lot of tests you can do like EKG, stuff
like that. So it's all encompassing. So something
along those lines. But I'm not
too sure yet. Okay. So how important do you
think parental guidance is in becoming
a doctor? I mean, it can definitely help. So
like I told you, my grandfather and my
mom, not so much guidance. To kind of help me
get exposed to those fields. And then I
kind of realized, oh, like this is something that I want to do. Right. And so
guidance obviously helps. Like my parents
like never really forced me or anything.
Because obviously you don't want to do medicine.
It's a very, very long path. And
like if you hate it, then like it's going to
be miserable. So you can't really rely
on other people. You just have to, you know,
like be receptive to opportunities
and experiences and decide for yourself whether
you think it's worth it, whether
you like it or not. But definitely your parents
can guide you. Like I said, my mom
was in the healthcare field. So she played a big part in kind of being my
inspiration. Same with my grandfather. So they
always encouraged it. But they never
pushed me in any sort of way. Okay. So moving
on to like the day-to-day life of
like a student slash professional. So like is there like any type of common
assignment you take on in med school? Common
assignment like meaning? So like is
there any like sort of topic you guys constantly
relate back to or have to learn
on, do like a medical project on? I mean, so
I mean just to provide a background. So
med school is like after college, right? So
you go through four years of undergrad
and you do four years of med school. And then
after that, you do residency and the
type of specialty that you want to do. So in
medical school, it's four years. So the
first two years are kind of your pre -clinical years. And then your second two
years, your third year and your fourth year
are your clinical years. So the pre
-clinical years are more, it's kind of like
college, right? It's kind of like, I
wouldn't say like high school, but you're more so in a classroom. And you're
learning about all the organ systems. You're learning about the drugs that you
use to treat the diseases. So like right now I'm in my pulmonology block. So
pulmonology meaning the lungs. So we're learning
about the lungs right now. We're
going to give an exam on that soon. But so
the first two years are just, you're
learning everything about the organ systems. So we did cardiovascular, we did
hematology, oncology, which is blood cancer. We still have to do like liver
stuff, renal, which is kidneys. So you're just
learning about all the organ systems.
And the next two years are your clinical years. So you go on rotations with
different services. So internal medicine,
general surgery, that's more when you're
actually in the hospital. We still have some
experiences in the hospital. I shadow
a lot. We have a lot. We have to, we have
something called clinical experience. We
talk to patients. So we still have some exposure,
but it's more so like a, it's
more so just like an extension of college.
Just a lot more material, a lot harder.
You can't really compare it. But yeah. So if
that kind of answers your question, I'm
not sure. Yeah, it answers it. So my next question
is, what's like a typical day for
you right now? Like how much do you spend studying,
sleeping, eating? A typical day?
I mean, right now I'm in like exam season.
So my exam is next Friday. So we have
three exams next week. So it's been kind of busy and starting to get in that
routine. So probably going to be studying
like a good eight to 10 hours a day. Try
to for the next, for the next week or so.
But before that, so our exams are every
like seven weeks. So before, beside that, like
it's honestly like not too bad. Study
five hours a day. You have enough time to
go to the gym, do activities. We usually
have class from eight to 12. And then on
some days we have case-based learning,
which is you meet with a group of 10 people and you discuss cases. You have a
facilitator who's a doctor in the room. You
discuss cases, kind of present on the
case. And then, yeah, so it's not too bad,
honestly. Like I get enough sleep. I have
enough time to be, I mean, our med school is
very social. Go out and do activities.
So there's still a lot of free time. I heard
like the free time break goes away
in M3 and M4 years, which is your third and
fourth year of med school. But I mean,
obviously this week will be rough studying
eight to 10 hours a day. But beside that,
we have enough time to do whatever you want, basically. So you mentioned a lot
about the exams. So how hard are they? Like how many questions, difficulty? I
mean, it varies on like med school to med school.
Like not every med school is going
to have the same exams. Our exams are like, we usually have one like clinical
exam. So we have to like talk to a patient, do a clinical, like do the exam.
And then we have one exam where it's anatomy
practical. So obviously there will
be a cadaver and they'll have like markings on the cadaver. You have to say
like what muscle this is or what innervates
it, what's the blood supply. And then we
have another three hour exam. It's like multiple
choices. Like sometimes like 120
questions. It depends, obviously. But those are kind of the exams.
Are you doing well emotionally like most
days? Yeah, I definitely like, I mean,
it's pretty easy to get burnt out. But if
you obviously have to make time to hang
out with friends. I go to the gym. I like
to play basketball and pickleball a lot.
So there's obviously a lot of outlets and ways
to keep yourself still happy. And at
the end of the day, like I like what I'm studying.
I'm happy to be in the position
that I'm in. Obviously, it's a pretty big
time commitment. But I think, I mean, I
wouldn't rather have anything else. So how important
are friends do you think in this
journey? I mean, of course, they're very important,
right? Like even having friends
outside of medicine is important. So sometimes you can kind of not clock out,
but I'm not having to think about that. But also friends at medical school are
huge because everyone's going through the
same struggles, the same thing. It's not
like you're alone in this, right? So it's important
to have a lot of friends to take
the stress off. I mean, it's like, it's not
even like in terms of being pertinent
to medicine. Just like having friends is important for a good social life, for
mental health. Like, yeah.
So moving on from the day-to-day life of
a student to the skills do you think a
student would need to have? So what characteristics do you think are essential
for being a doctor? I mean, obviously, I'm
not a doctor yet, so I can't comment too
much on it. But in terms of being successful in medical school, at least
through the first year, I would say time management
is really important. You really
need to be able to kind of divvy up your priorities,
not spend too much time on one
thing. And that's very important because you
have a lot of studying you can do. And
if you can't keep up with, like, the little things and you can't fall behind
too much, so just, like, keeping up with it
every day, being consistent is the main
thing, not falling behind. But also, like,
you have to remember, right, there's
always something else you can do. Like, even
if you study 10 to 12 hours a day,
there's always something else you can do, right? But you can't really let that
affect you, right? You have to say, oh, I'm
going to put the books down. I'm going
to spend some time with some friends. I'm going
to enjoy some time. I'm going to go
out to eat. Like, stuff like that. It's really important to make time for that
because, I mean, if you're burnt out, you
can't really study anymore. It won't be
effective. So, I mean, time management, being consistent, being a team player.
Obviously, medicine is very collaborative.
Like, it takes a team, not just doctors
but nurses, PAs. Like, there's a bunch of people,
a part of a team. So, if you can't
work with a team, then, I mean, forget being a good doctor. There's a lot of
things that come into play. But in terms
of being successful in medical school,
definitely time management, consistency, and,
yeah, being a team player. Mm-hmm. So, what skill would you think is more
important, communication or being academic? I mean, it's not really that,
like, one thing is more important than the other.
It's important to have both, right?
Like, you obviously have to, like, you're
not going to get into medical school if
you're not pretty academically sound, right?
And, because you have to be able to
survive. Not just survive, but just, like,
be able to keep up with the coursework
because it's a lot. So, academics is important. If you don't have that, then
you're not going to get into medical school. You're not going to do well in
medical school. But, obviously, did you say
collaboration or communication, right?
Yeah. Communication, obviously, is very important,
too. I can't speak too much on
that just because, like, I haven't been too much in a clinical setting, which
means, like, in the hospital. But in communication with your peers,
communication with your mentors, being punctual in your responses, that's
important, too. That's important in any profession.
So, I wouldn't say, like, one
is more important than the other. They're
not mutually exclusive. You definitely
need to have both. Hmm. Okay. So, in this academic
field, what advice would you give
to someone who has the passion but struggles academically? Like, for context,
they would probably be, like, a high schooler? I mean, in high school, you
still have time, right? You have to go through undergrad. But I would say, I
mean, it depends on, like, how they're struggling.
Like, are they not putting in
time? Like, are they not understanding the
concepts? Like, I would need, like, more
context on that. But I would just say, if you
have the passion, right? I mean, it's
hard to identify your passions in, like, high
school, right? Like, it's hard to be
exposed to the life of a doctor, what they actually
do, what you need to know. But, I
mean, if you're struggling academically, obviously, reach out. Like, don't be
afraid to seek help. Like, sometimes we kind of let our egos get in the way,
right? Like, I don't want help. I don't want
this or that. But, I mean, it's okay
to reach out for help once in a while. So,
definitely reach out for help. Work hard.
Like I said, like, being able to develop kind
of a routine and being able to time
manage is very important. So, I'm going to
say reach out for help. There's a lot of
resources online, tutors. But, yeah. Okay.
So, moving on from the qualities and
skills to the path to becoming a doctor. So,
what's, like, the full timeline from
being in high school to getting your degree
to becoming an actual doctor? Yeah.
So, that's a good question. So, I kind of already explained this. So, complete
high school, then four years of college, right?
Bio major, any type of science major. I think
you can be any major, but you have
to take the pre-med required classes. Don't quote me if I'm wrong, but it's
usually, like, biochemistry, like, orgo chem,
physics. There's a bunch of classes
that you have to take as a pre-med. And you
take those classes. You take the MCAT.
And then, after you take the MCAT, hopefully, you'll get accepted to medical
school. And during college, obviously, you
have to do, like, research activities,
stuff like that. Stuff that you're passionate about in order to get into
medical school. And then, that's four years
of undergrad. And then, after those,
after that, you have to do four years of med
school. So, in med school, you have to
take, I mean, you have to do well in class. But you also have to take your
licensing exams. So, your USMLE, like, step one, step two exams. And those are
three exams, or two exams. So, your step
one, your step two. And you take those,
and then that's four years. And then, after your medical school, it's another
three to seven years based on your specialty. So, like, three years, I mean,
you can do, like, internal medicine, family medicine. There's a bunch of
specialties. Three years, and then seven years, like, neurosurgery. So, it all
depends on, like, what you're passionate about,
how long you want to spend time in
school. I mean, obviously, it's a very long
path, right? Anywhere from eight all
the way up to 15, 15, 16 years. So, and then
after residency, you're an attending
doctor.
So, long term, do you think it matters which medical school you went to, like,
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, anything? I mean,
I personally don't think it matters too
much. I mean, obviously, you want to go to
the best school you can, and also take
into account finances, which are very important because med school is pretty
expensive. So, you got to take everything
into account. But, I mean, I would just
say go to the best school. Let's see what's the best fit. And also,
financially, that makes the most sense. I
think that's what matters. So, you took
the MCAT, right? Yeah. So, like, what's its
entire, like, a quick overview of its
scoring system and, like, the score ranges
you need to get to get accepted? I mean,
it varies. Like, the scores are, like, from, like, a 470-something to, like, a
528. And there's four sections. There's chem, phys, cars, which is, like, a
reading section. There's a bio section. And
then there's a psych, social section.
So, it's, like, an eight-hour exam with the
time breaks. So, it's a pretty long
exam. Just to build up stamina, right, like, takes a long time. Because, like,
sitting in one place for, like, close to eight
hours, right, that's, like, pretty
bad. And having to be focused. But, I mean, how well do you have to score? It
obviously depends on the type of med school.
I'm not, like, too – I don't think
you have to worry about that right now. But I
couldn't tell you, like, what you have to
score. Like, it depends on, like, which
med school. I mean, the average for getting accepted to a USMD school, I
think, is a 512. So, I mean, beside that, kind of, obviously, for your better
schools, like your T20s and your Ivies, you're
going to need higher scores. So,
yeah. Okay. So, during your undergrad, like, you just need to major in any
science topic, right, and meet the pre-med
requirements? You can major in anything,
actually. You just need to meet the pre -med requirements. Oh.
But show me the pre-med requirements and
then get – I think there's a law major
just because, like, law is, like, a graduate program. But there's, like,
political science. But, yeah. Okay. So, what
kind of extracurriculars or volunteer
work help strengthen your application?
I mean, like, volunteering, research. Those
are, like, the two main things, like
being a part of clubs that you're passionate about. Those three are mainly
the big things that I think helped. Obviously, I'm telling a good story as to
why you want to be a doctor is very important. And, yeah, so mainly, like,
research, shadowing, volunteering, being a
part of clubs has probably helped a lot.
Okay. Is there anything you wish you had
done differently in your pre-med years?
Not really. I mean, I wish – honestly, my
freshman year I was a little behind. But
other than that, no, not really. I think I
had a good time with friends. I was able
to do, like, fine. So, I think overall it was
a pretty great experience. I wouldn't
say, like, I would have done anything differently academically. Okay. And my
final question for this topic is, how did
you, like, manage to balance stress and
maintain a social life so far? I mean, that's
a great question. I think it varies
person to person, right? And it all comes
back down to that, like, time planning
thing, right? You can make time for things
that you really value. And so, like, for
me, right, I'm a very – like, I'm a morning person. So, I'll wake up kind of
early. I'll get my work done out of the way.
I'll do – I'll start with something
hard and then I'll finish that off first. And
then I'll study. And then after that,
I'll have enough time. So, I mean, obviously, during exam season, right,
like, we're going to be studying all the time.
Like, my social life is going to be,
like, less priority for the next week. But
that's only for a week, right? And so,
sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Like,
in medicine, you have to make a lot
of sacrifices to become a doctor, right? Like,
that's just a part of the job and a
part of our training. And I can't quite speak to that yet because I'm just in
medical school and I'm not, like, a doctor. But, I mean, so far, at least, we
have to make sacrifices. And so, as long
as you understand that. But it doesn't
mean you can't live your life, right? I have
enough time to do whatever I want as
long as you make time for it. And there's 24
hours in a day. So, it's more than you
think. So, as long as you, for me, like to
wake up early morning, like to get the
hard things out of the way. And then, after
that, I'll make time for whatever I
want to do. Okay. Sounds good. So, this,
like, next section is about, like, your
career and your finances and how you plan to
live your life after. So, for you, what
percent of being a doctor is about money and
about helping people? I mean, like, it
just financially doesn't make, financially
and time-wise, like, doesn't really make
sense to go into medicine just for the money. Because it's, like, so long of a
path. And, like, you could do anything else, like, do, like, finance, like,
investment banking. You only have to do four
years of college, right? And you can
make, like, more money. So, I think, like,
if you don't have, like, passion for it,
and that passion can be, like, you know,
helping people. I mean, but also, like,
you're passionate about the subject, right? There's so much to learn about the
human body, the physiology, everything. Like,
I mean, that just interested me from
the beginning. So, I mean, I feel like, obviously,
like, it wouldn't make too much
financial sense if we weren't compensated
well. Because, just because the training
path is so long. But, I mean, first and foremost,
you have to be pretty passionate
about it. Because it's just, like, so much
hours you have to put into it. Like, even
if, like, you're making a lot of money, you're
not going to be happy, right? If
you're working that much and if we're studying this much, right? So, I don't
think it's, like, mutually exclusive in any way. Like, it's, like, not, like,
percentage-wise. But, I mean, like, my philosophy is, right, like, if you're
passionate about it and if you're good at what you do, then, like, money will
follow. Like, I don't really, like, worry about
that too much or pay too much about
money. Okay.
So, my next question is, like, how much student debt does the average medical
school student graduate with? How much do
you think you'll graduate with? I mean,
like, you can, like, look up the numbers.
I don't know what the average is. Maybe,
like, 200 to 300. And so, I personally don't
want to get into too much of, like,
my details. But, obviously,
it's very expensive. And if you need to take on loans, then you have to.
And, I mean, obviously, like, we're fortunate enough to be compensated kind of
well to the point where, I mean, we can try to pay off those loans. But even,
like, $400,000 or $500,000, if you have to take
full loans, it's, like, pretty rough,
right? And so, you just have to be, you have
to, you know, kind of plan for that.
Obviously, we don't know, I mean, what's
going to happen with loans and stuff in
the future just because of, like, whatever
is happening politically. But, yeah, so
it's a lot of money to pay for school. But
people come from different backgrounds. I
mean, so, like, it's, like, a very, like,
variable situation. Okay. So, moving on
from finances. What are some downsides or
sacrifices of this career that people
don't talk about throughout the entire career
path? Hmm. I mean, I think, like,
people talk about it a lot. Like, I mean, the
sacrifice, like, sometimes, like, you
can't, I mean, go to, like, your friend's,
like, function or whatever. My friend
recently had, like, an engagement party I
wasn't able to go just because I was in
school. But, I mean, those are the type of
sacrifices. Like, I mean, a lot of people
don't realize, unless you're in the medical field, how much we have to work
and how much we have to study. And they kind
of might not understand it. And they
might think, like, oh, like, this person is
not making enough time for me. But, I
mean, that's, like, something that you have
to live with, right? And that's just
a part of the life. I'm sure after you're attending
and you're a real doctor in some
specialties, you can make enough time to do
whatever you want outside of work. So,
yeah, there's a lot of, I mean, sacrifice
is just, like, you have other things you
have to attend to or drop. When sometimes you
have other applications that you want
to go to, but you really can't. So, I think it's talked about, but obviously,
you don't really understand it unless you're
in the field or unless you're going
through it. Okay. So, my final question is,
right now that you're a student, where
do you see yourself in the next 10 years?
I mean, sorry. In the next 10 years, I
mean, I might be a doctor. I might still be in residency. I don't know yet,
depending on what specialty I take. I think it's in terms of academically. Not
academically, I definitely want to still be
on the East Coast. I like having four
seasons.
Hopefully, like, have a family.
Have a dog.
Yeah, I mean, just to hopefully be more advanced
in my career, but also be able to
make time for the things I enjoy. Still want
to be playing sports. Still want to
be watching sports. Hopefully, on the East
Coast still. So, I mean, there's a lot to
look forward to, but I also think, like, the
beauty is, right, we don't know what
the future holds for us. And there's still
a lot of variability. And so, just not
planning too far ahead, but seeing where life
takes me, I think, is important, too.
So, we'll see. Okay. So, that's done with the
entire section. So, my final question
is, what's one piece of advice, any piece that
you would give to a high schooler who
dreams of being a doctor?
I mean, I would say, obviously, it's important. Like, I knew in high school or
later high school that I wanted to be a doctor. So, I would say keep your head
down. Obviously, do well in school, right? Be focused academically. But more
importantly, you know, just, like, have fun.
Like, once you're a doctor, once you
start this training path, right, it's a lot of work and it's a lot of time,
commitment. And you don't really realize it.
Like, now I realize how much more time
I had in high school than college, right?
So, I would say just have fun. Make the
most out of your memories. And don't worry
because everything will work out. Like,
that's, like, the main thing I would tell myself.
I stressed over a lot of things in
life. And I wish, you know, I could have those moments back just because they
didn't mean much. So, don't stress. Everything will work out to be just fine.
And in terms of academically, obviously, be,
I mean, be up to date with everything.
Do well in school because that work ethic
will carry through college and medical
school. So, definitely do that and then also try to get some exposure, some
shadowing, some, like, volunteer at your hospital.
Get involved and get your name
out there because, like, you can make connections
and contacts that you'll have
as mentors for life. So, that's very important. Okay. Well, thank you so much
again, Rohan, for being my very first guest.
Yeah, thanks for having me. It was
a pleasure to be your first guest. And, yeah,
please feel free to reach out if you
have any questions. Yeah. I wish you the
best in your studies and career. Yeah,
thank you so much. Wishing you the best, too. Thank you.