Interview

Time you made a mistake and were criticized

-Internship summer after freshman year -Create reports on healthcare regulations in other countries for Johnson and Johnson through my CRO -Made mistakes early in the report -Took them with grace, put my emotions aside, and asked for help and focused on what I could do to improve -Ended up writing 40 or 50 reports and they were all well received

What are the challenges associated with a leadership position?

-Making sure you are fairly representing the group you are leading -Making sure the members of the group you lead feel respected and listened to -Making difficult choices and taking responsibility for when the outcome is not ideal

Any questions you have for me?

Medical student: What do you like most about the culture here at UCSD? What do you think could be improved at your program? Faculty: What aspects of your program encourages students to grow while they are here at UCSD? Could you give me an example of a change the administration has made in response to student feedback?

Tell me about teaching MCAT

sdfsd

Why Leave California?

-California is beautiful and I've been blessed to live there so long -My goal is to be a physician and I want to get best education possible, so doesn't matter to me where I live -That being said, learning more about DMU and being here I definitely feel that I would not only get a great education and grow as a clinician, but develop as a person too

Why should we accept you?

-Desire to serve the community and be an active part of the CUMS COMMUNITY, create new Music and Medicine organization and Student run free clinic (philanthropy and music therapy experience) (Would work with Bluestone Recovery)( https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/fmph/education/freeclinic/education/Pages/Start-a-Free-Clinic.aspx ) -Bring diversity to the student body as the son of refugees and as a classical and lifelong musician (understand and relate to plight of immigrant and refugee populaitions in the area) -Mission fit in that I understand that medicine is an ART and a SCIENCE, and I want to stay in the Inland Empire long-term and work to alleviate the physician shortage -Core traits: Interprofessioinalism and diversity

What irritates you about other people and how you deal with it?

-Dont have many things that irritate be about other people -Except when people talk without listening to others -Conversation should be a 2-way street -Meditation and regulating my own emotions has been really helpful, I just let it go -I listen to them and just let it go -I've learned that confronting someone about their behavior is really not likely to produce any meaningful change in their behavior

Most Difficult Decision/Difficult Decision this Past Year

-Helped grandfather move in with us so we could manage his Alzheimer's -Was difficult but alright for 6 or 7 months -Then it got to be too much for my mother who basically became full-time caregiver -Was weighing a lot on her emotionally, even though she really enjoyed spending more time with her dad, it was really difficult for her to see him go through that disease -Eventually, grandma moved in with us too so we could manager her diabetes and arthritis, and so her and grandpa could be closer -It was difficult, but I knew as a long-term option it would be best to get my grandfather in a nursing home -So i convinced my parents that was the right thing to do, found one nearby with a Memory Care Unit and called them every day (Villa Rancho Bernardo) -Eventually got grandpa in, and eventually grandma

Physician assisted suicide?

-Principles involved: Beneficence, maleficence, autonomy -Really boils down to one's interpretation of either one Pros: -Reducing patient suffering, which is good -Patient is an autonomous individual, should be able to make their own decisions if they are competent and have informed consent Cons: -Could argue that even if it reducing suffering, providing a means to end life is truly the ultimate source of harm, literally taking life away -Could get into grey area when patient is not able to give informed consent, or is not of sound mind, but family is very adamant or physician is very adamant and pressures the situation into that direction -Could lead to abuse as a way for physician's to kill patients who are fed up with dealing with a difficult patient My opinion: Should only be available for patients with terminal conditions who can provide informed consent, not for those who voluntary just want to kill themselves -I think there are situations indeed where living in suffering is worse than not living -There is an aspect of dignity to it: there are many decision that are made in our lives without our control (where we are born, what time period, our race, socioeconomic status), whether or not one should live in pain is one decision an individual should be able to make -I think it is GOOD because is acting in beneficence in order to do good by reducing suffering

Tell me about your leadership style.

-Try to think of myself more of a coach instead of a boss -Figure out unique strengths and weaknesses of my teammates and put them in positions to be successful and support them if they need help -Try to be as approachable as possible and make sure all people in my team feel like their opinions are heard -Lead by example -Example: As Executive Board of my fraternity, helped plan our most successful Hunger Relief Phil, where we raise money to alleviate hunger poverty in San Diego -Had 10 people working under me, I placed them in specific positions based on their strengths, like handing out flyers and talking to people on campus, social media posts, or event planning obtaining the equipment we need for the 72 hour event -When it got tough, I stayed til 4 or 5 am some nights to keep my team pumped up -Raised $10,000 our most successful event

Tell me about your research

1.) -Worked with Dr. Mark Valasek, Pathologist at UCSD -He wants to see AI being used in routine diagnoses for pathology, as he thinks it will increase workflow and there is up to 30% disagreement between pathologists on routine cases -So we looked at the concordance between pathological diagnoses using traditional glass slides versus digital imaging -My job was to pull slides, scan them using whole slide imaging scanners, and once he made the diagnoses after a wash out period, organize the data and see if it matched up -Implications of the work are showing that if there is a high concordance between digital imaging and traditional glass slide diagnoses, then digital imaging is no impediment to routine workflow and that is one step closer to integrating AI -Got to see him diagnose many cases, interact with medical students and residents, and shadow him in Frozen Section Problem: Up to 30% disagreement between pathologists on routine diagnoses Solution: Integrate AI into pathology workflow to help settle these disputes, but need to integrate DIGITAL PATHOLOGy first, and part of that is making sure it isn't an impediment Our research: Thus, concordance study

List 3 Current Ethical Issues within the medical profession

1.) Abortion 2.) Physician assisted suicide 3.) Universal healthcare 4.) Artificial intelligence

Ethical Dilemmas you've faced?

1.) Animal Physio Lab -Notoriousyl difficult class, 30-40 page lab reports -Professor told us it would be most difficult class in college -Found out a girl in my lab group of 4 was falsifying her data on a Cardiology Lab because it wasn't matching the predictive model of the Frank-Starling Law -Found out because I was working with her in the computer lab and saw her data was wildly different than everyone else in the group -Confronted her about it, she fessed up -Told her to tell the professor or I would, as she was ruining the integrity of our whole group -She fessed up to teacher, and teacher only marked her down for the lab, didn't report her to Academic Integrity Office 2.) Friend on Aderall -Friend was always getting good grades and had a lot of energy and pulled all nighters -Realized he was on aderall without a prescription -Common among college students, but I could tell it was affecting his health and he wasn't developing good study habits -Convinced him to get off it and develop better study habits -Grades dipped a bit at first, but overall did just as good and thanked me for it -Now he's a mechanical engineer in the Navy

Tell me about your volunteering

1.) CASD -Met Mrs. Beutler, founder of non-profit in 2014 when I got cast in a musical she wrote, we became good friends -Non-profit that helps Stage IV patients in San Diego with finances when they cant afford their basic needs as a result of their medical diagnoses -I started out reading patient applications and determining who was at greater need for financial assistance, usually prioritized single mothers or people with many children and little to no income -Transitioned to helping coordinate and expand their social media efforts to engage their donors and followers -Then brought on to do music therapy with patients with Mrs. Beutler, she is a Marriage and Family Therapist -Really incredible to get to combine my passions of music and service -One patient called us and told us that after our sessions she got the best sleep shes ever had in her life, and that our techniques allowed her to deal with some of the trauma she had from her childhood experience with polio 2.) San Diego Refugee Tutoring -After school program tutoring refugee children from elementary school to high school -Worked with students from all over the world -Really humbling and eye opening and rewarding to learn about the struggles of children really escaping some terrible conditions; from Muslims escaping persecution in Myanmar, to Syrian refugees escaping war, to Somalian children escaping poverty -Became really close with one timid boy of about 10 from Syria. In the beginning, we were always paired up with each other, and he realy wouldnt talk much with me when I read to him or helped him with math -After a few weeks, we started to grow a bond and he would run up at the beginning of the sessions and pick me out of the crowd of tutors, and that really makes me feel amazing to know that I can give back to someone in that situation in such a way -He eventually opened up to me about the death of his father in Syria while we were reading a book about a boy in Egypt about his age, the boy had just returned to his house to tell his father he learned how to write his name in Arabic

Cultural Barriers/Learning About Cultures

1.) Pathmaker -Working in the ER, Latino man came in with severe headache -Took his vitals, learned he had been experiencing pain for a few days and didn't want to come in because he was trying to be tough -Learned first-hand about the machismo culture of Latino's, he told me about it that I wouldn't understand -I tried to explain to him that I can understand that, but you have to take care of yourself and it's important to tell your doctor if you're not feeling well because how do you know if it's gonna get worse or not? -He realized what I was saying was right -He later screamed, collapsed and started convulsing on the floor, had to be rushed to the rooms -Nurse later told me he had a grand mal seizure 2.) San Diego Refugee Tutoring -Was working with a high school student of Hmong origin -I mentioned I wanted to be a doctor -He had been in the US a few years and was getting used to the healthcare system, but his parents were still wary, and that they didnt go to doctors -I asked why not, he told me about the shamanistic aspects of their culture, how they have an animistic faith and believe in spirit world and they look at symptoms to figure out what's going on -I explained to him that I'm sure Western medicine can seem new and scary to him and his parents, but we look at the root causes for why people get sick and that's what allows us to treat so many things much more accurately and efficiently -I told him to find a way to get his parents to trust the healthcare system here because it would be important for their health in the long run -He said okay -Got me to look more into Hmong culture, they have rights of malnutrition, anemia, other health conditions

Tell me about yourself

1.) Thank interviewer for time and being here, grateful for this opportunity 2.) Born in San Jose, moved to San Diego when 7, consider myself a native San Diegan. Music has been a huge part of my development. I started playing piano when I was 7, and fell in love with classical music especially Chopin and Debussy. Stayed with classical piano until age of 14, I branched out and picked up guitar, string bass, and taught myself music composition. Was really inspired by some of the music I Was listening to from the films and video games I was into at the time. Musical journey culminated my senior year of high school when I composed a symphony for orchestra, and conducted a live performance of it leading my high school's 40-piece orchestra. 3.) When I decided I want to pursue medicine, switched my major from Music to Physiology and Neuroscience at UCSD. Had two main goals in college, to get good grades and to put myself in uncomfortable and new positions to grow as a person. So I did what I thought was the polar opposite of music: athletics. So I walked on the UCSD Men's Lacrosse team my freshman year. And the entire first year, I didn't play a single game. I wasn't good enough. But I worked really hard that year, and the summer after, and my sophomore year I Was able to play in a decent number of games and even coached some of our rookie players. So lacrosse definitely taught me a lot about perserverance and put toughness in my personality, both mentally and physically. 4.) After graduating from college 6 months early, I like to spend my time teaching and composing more music, I've taught myself Electronic Music Production and am working on my EP album. I like to stay active whether it's lifting weights, swimming, kayaking or hiking. And I love travelling, planning a trip to Zion National Park in a few weeks with my girlfriend, and hopefully go to Costa Rica in December.

Situation where you had to interact with someone who was upset about the situation

1.) girl caught cheating 2.) Friend off aderall. He was defensive at first. I had to reassure him I was just trying to help

Why X School?

CUSM is my top choice med school, I'll tell you why -The programs and opportunities here I believe will allow me to develop in the kind of physician I want to be in the long-term, an academic physician-LEADER working with underserved and vulnerable communities. 1.) Being a newer school, I feel as though there are many opportunities for me to take on a leadership role in student life and student organizations -Some of the organizations I talked about potentially wanting to start in my secondaries would be a student-run free clinic for uninsured or low-income residents of San Bernardino. and Riverside. I know 17% of people are uninsured and 30% are on MediCal (LOOK UP WHAT MEDICAL IS), so that would be really beneficial. The other organization is a Music and Medicine Interest Group for med students wellness, as well as music therapy services for Cancer Patients at ARMC Cancer Care (continuation of my work with CASD). Can make the BIGGEST IMPACT in the population here. 2.) Through my clinical experiences, I have gotten a sense that I truly desire to work with underserved populations in medicine. Through my volunteering at Pathmaker Internship in the ED, CASD, to SDRT volunteering, I find the most satisfaction working with those with the highest need. Thus, being able to study medicine in the Inland Empire and stay here long term would allow me access to train and work with the populations in medical school that I have already been working with throughout undergrad and that I plan on working with as a physician, such as Uninsured populations, refugee, homeless, and immigrants. 3.) Lots of opportunities for exciting research with Arrowhead Regional Medical Center as it is a teaching hospital. Could see myself building on my pathology research with Dr. Barksy in Pathology, Dr. Garispe in Emergency Medicine, and Dr. Elango in Otolaryngology.

Jehova's witness patient who needs blood transfusion. How would you proceed? Is there a situation where you would give it to them?

First and foremost, the job of the physician is not to tell or force the patient to do anything, patient autonomy is important. Must simply provide the best information and recommendation and then let the patient make their own decision. -If patient is adult, I would respect their wishes or recommend a bloodless transfusion or Erythropoeitin -If child, I would not give it to them either, as parents have the right to make decisions for their children UNLESS: Parent's are not of sound mind -Emergency situation -Child is an emancipated minor -Emergency situation, could give bloodless transfusion

Toughest feedback you've ever received

Freshman year at UCSD Lax team: Few teammates told me I wouldn't get any field time no matter how hard I Tried after walking on. -Didnt listen to them, put in the work -Got field time second year

Hardest situation/challenge

Grandpa moving in with us -Difficult because I had a lot going on my junior year -Educated myself on online resources, volunteered 10% of my time each week to take load of my mother -Stayed with him, cooked, fed him, spent time and watching him to make sure he didn't fall -Sundowning and staying up all night while he banged on doors -Eventually got to be too much, and I helped get him into a good nursing home

Most significant setback you've experienced?

Grandpa situation

Why osteopathic medicine?

Have been fortunate to shadow many wonderful allopathic physicians, who certainly has good bedside manner, some better than others. There are 3 main reasons: 1.) BUT, shadowing Dr. Cyr, a family medicine DO doctor, I really saw the deep relationship she had with her patients and the strong patient rapport she had. I like to think that she's a great family med doctor because her patients feel like they are part of her family. I DESIRE to have the same relationship with my patients, and from what I have seen, the osteopathic principles of PATIENT EMPOWERMENT put a greater emphasis on forming a DEEPER BOND with my patients. Especially nowadays with the increased physician workload and the increased administrative work on physicians, I want to maintain and have an education that emphasizes the humanistic aspects of medicine and not lose sight of that. 2.) One of my longest shadowing experiences was with an orthopedic surgeon, for almost 2 years. Really got me into the musculoskeletal system, and even more so when I started to play lacrosse. So as of now, I either want to do Sports Medicine, Ortho, or PM&R. SO, osteopathic education puts a greater emphasis on musculoskeletal system and it's role in pathology, which aligns with my long-term career goals 3.) There is no doubt that there is a huge burden on our healthcare system due to unnecessary tests, treatments, and surgeries. As physicians of the future, it is important to be aware of this fact and responsible about it. Thus, as a Sports Med, Ortho, or PM&R, I believe being able to practice OMT will offer me a wider range of treatment modalities to treat my patients that will not only cure them of their ailments, but relieve some of the excess stress on the healthcare system

How do you define success as a medical provider?

Having my patients feel confident that I am acting in their best interest and that I genuinely care about them and listen to them, and then providing the highest level of care. -Would be sure to use HCAHPS surveys to assess my performance with patients

What worries you the most about starting medical school?

I have no doubt that I will be successful academically, I am worried about finding balance outside of academics. I am hopeful because I have historically been good at doing so, but of course med school will be a much higher work load

Tell me about a time you worked in a team

Lacrosse and EBoard

In your clinical experiences, what characteristics did you see in doctors that you did not like?

Not truly and effectively listening to their patients -Many studies show that the highest cause of malpractice is breakdown in either patient-physician, or breakdown in healthcare team -Studies have shown African American women are prescribed pain medication less likely than their Caucasian counterparts, because doctors dont listen to them -Dr. Reidel, made fun of patients behind their back, didn't really listened to them, took more of a paternalistic approach, older physician -I understand that you have to relieve stress of stressful situations with patients, but there is a line you cross where you show a lack of respect and that can lead to detriment in the level of care you provide

Why a doctor and not a nurse/PA?

Nurse and PA's definitely do a lot and I've worked alongside some brilliant and hard-working one's that definitely contribute a lot to healthcare Why I want to be a physician specifically comes down to Leadership and Research -So I do consider myself a natural leader and have thrived in my leadership roles, and want to continue to be a leader of an inter-disciplinary team as a physician, and support them in their capacities -Make the greatest impact in the care of my patients by making high level decisions -In terms of research, because of my interests studying Biology and teaching Biology for the MCAT, my research interests lie in the basic sciences which I plan on achieving as an academic physician.

How do you write a symphony?

One note at a time. No it's really a process of first finding your inspiration, what feeling do you want to impart to the listener. And then you need a basic theme. All symphonies have a basic melodic theme that they build off of, repeat, invert, give to different instrument groups, perhaps the violins begin with the theme in one key, and then the woodwinds respond to it later in a different key with a different mood. -You must know instrumentation. The ranges of each instrument and it's capabilities, especially that of a live musician. Know each one's qualities. For example, basoons can be quite sinister or odd sounding if I want to create some tension with a basoon lead, same with tenor saxophone. Flutes are quick and lively, and great for runs. -Strings obviously great for sweeping melodies -Above all else, perseverance and dedication to finishing the project.

What was your worst subject in undergraduate school?

Organic chemistry.

What does patient confidentiality mean? When would it be appropriate to breach this?

Patient confidentiality means a patient has enough trust in their physician to tell them any information they feel is relevant with the full knowledge that the physician will not give that information to anyone other than those who need to make a decision regarding the patient's healthcare. -Would breach it if patient is going to harm themselves or others

Favorite subject in college?

Physiology

Affordable Care Act

Pros: Increased coverage to people up to age 26 Increased coverage to greater percentage above poverty line Less insurance discrimination against pre-existing conditions and sick people Cons: Some people see individual mandate as unconstitutional, even though Supreme Court said it was constitutional -Increase taxes, nobody likes that -Increase wait times My Opinion: Used to be against because of higher taxes, but after working with CASD and seeing medical bankruptcy, 650,000 per year in the US, I don't think anyone should have to go broke because of a medical diagnosis -Has worked in countries like England, Switzerland, Germany -American spends more than the next 5 or 6 developed nations combined on healthcare

Why medicine?

So my initial inspiration towards medicine came about after my grandfather's diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Growing up, he and I had a really special bond. He had a really positive attitude and would read poetry to me when I was a kid. So seeing him go through the progression of losing the ability to speak, care for himself, and losing his memories of me and my family, was really difficult and inspired me to want to help people with similar conditions. -Through my shadowing and clinical experience, I sort of figured out that there are 3 main pillars behind my desire to pursue medicine: Service, Research, and Leadership. 1.) In terms of service, I've found that the most rewarding experiences I've had in my life are when I'm giving back to those in a less fortunate situation than myself. With Cancer Angels of San Diego, I've been able to help Stage IV patients struggling to pay their bills as a result of their diagnoses, and learned about medical bankruptcy, and with San Diego Refugee Tutoring I've been able to tutor refugee children after school and learn more about the struggles of those leaving terrible conditions in their countries. I definitely think medicine is a profession rooted in service and I think I would really enjoy being able to give back to others as a physician, specifically working with underserved communities. 2.) With research, I've had a chance this past year to work with Dr. Mark Valasek, a Pathologist at UCSD, on his research involving AI in pathology, and learn about the unique role of the academic physician. I am very fascinated by academic physician's ability to both work with patients in the clinic and identify new problems with their patients, and then perform research to find new solutions to these problems. My curiosity to learn more about the human body is definitely what drives me to want to do research as a physician. 3.) With leadership, I consider myself a natural leader and have historically thrived in my leadership roles, whether they be as Executive Board of my Fraternity, teaching MCAT Biology at The Princeton Review, or teaching music, I really enjoy being in a leadership position. As a physician, I think I would enjoy not only helping patient's make difficult decisions in terms of their health, but also leading a diverse team of other healthcare professionals and supporting my team in order to be successful.

Accomplishment you are most proud of and why?

Symphony. Took 6 months to write, but I got it done -Really amazing feeling to hear something in your head so complex, be able to write it out and actually hear it how you wanted it in your head in real life

Why DMU?

The PROGRAMS and OPPORTUNITIES here ALIGN WITH MY LONG-TERM CAREER GOALS and I believe will allow me to develop into the KIND OF PHYSICIAN I ENVISION MYSELF AS Service: -One of my long-term goals in medicine is to work with underserved pops, as evidenced by my history working with Pathmaker, SDRT, and CASD. At DMU, would want to be involved in Homeless Community Outreach, and volunteer in the Free Clinics of Iowa to give back to the community. Research: -At DMU, would want to be in the MSRP and work with Dr. Shane McClinton, Doctor of Physical therapy, publish research on the efficacy of OMT in various sports-related injuries -Integrate this research with a Fellowship in OMM (research project) Leadership: -My long term goal is to become an academic physician and a physician-leader -Educator-Scholar Pathway of Distinction (Exec Board, TPR teaching)) -DMU Health Leaders

How does lacrosse work?

Think soccer and football, but with sticks with hoops. -Starts off in middle of the field with Face Off, two players fight for ownership of ball -Ten players on each side, 3 Attack, 3 Mid, 3 Defense, and 1 Goalie -Pass ball with stick only, and can "check" people, hitting them from the front with your stick or shoulder -Goal is to shoot the ball in the goal, cant step within the crease -Goalie has the hardest job, has to catch a ball going up to 80 miles per hour from only like 50 feet away sometimes

Anything else the committee should know about you?

Want to strongly reiterate my interest in FIU, NeighborhoodHelp, the Research programs, and the opportunities for leadership through MedSWISh and Music and Medicine -Can see myself growing not only as a physician, but really growing as a person. -I think I would contribute a lot to the school's mission and culture