Month: February 2023
Pancreatic Cancer Blog
Interview by: Dr. Rachana Punukollu In November 2022, I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Chawla, a hepatopancreatobiliary surgical oncologist. I rotated on his Surgical Oncology service at Northwestern Central Dupage Hospital for a month. Since then, Dr. Chawla has been a great mentor and source of support. I learnt a great deal of background on pancreatic cancer from his teaching in the OR and in the clinic. During my time on the service, I interacted with patients and their families who were affected by pancreatic cancer, and this sparked my interest in the disease. As I delved deeper into the statistics surrounding the pancreatic cancer and its dismal outcomes, I became increasingly motivated to raise awareness about its significance. Therefore, I decided to interview Dr. Chawla to gain a better understanding of pancreatic cancer and to help educate others about its importance. Introduction: Dr. Akhil Chawla is a Hepatopancreatobiliary...
Intertwining Surgery and Law: A Medical Student’s Mission to Pursue a Medicolegal Career
By Alyssa Reese In life and in medicine, we are often pulled by intangible forces to the next steps in our path. We go forward with uncertainty, yet we look back into the past to see that everything made perfect sense. We see how our interests have guided us and how the seemingly winding road evolved into a linear course. I personally look back on how my interest in law has and continues to shape my career goals. My interest in law began in high school, as a member of my school’s mock trial team. I have many fond memories of meticulously preparing our cases, studying affidavits, and riding the bus to local tournaments. While I thought about pursuing a career in law when applying to college, I knew in my heart that I wanted to be a physician because of the patient care aspect of medicine. Nevertheless, I couldn’t...
Couples matching in the age of virtual residency interviews: a resident’s perspective
By: Mariana Tumminello, MD As the time to finalize rank lists quickly approaches, I can’t help but think back to the time when we were, as they say, “in the trenches.” To that time when the anxiety and nervousness had taken over both our lives. Compound this with the uncertainty of the first ever virtual interview season, and my Type A personality was hitting its limit. Would two programs really take us if they couldn't get to know us in person? Would we both be making compromises, or would it just be one of us? As these thoughts flew through my head, I realized there was only so much I could control. Both myself and my partner had done the hard work of learning all we could and dedicating ourselves to this career we had chosen. Now, it was time to truly think about what we wanted for our future...