Students from the class of 2022 are celebrating the next step in their professional journey. Here they share what has inspired them along the way and what advice they would give to new students.
Where did you match?Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Bethesda, Maryland.
I matched urology in the military match this year! If you asked me two years ago what specialty I was going to go into, I would have said internal medicine quite confidently. My mind was quickly changed after just one week of my surgical subspecialty rotation in urology. I fell in love with the field of urology and all that it has to offer. I found this field to be very rewarding in that there are very real things we can do to improve a patient's overall well-being. I not only found the pathology in urology more interesting than most other topics I had studied, but I also really liked the balance of outpatient clinics, big surgeries and small clinical procedures.
I think the best way to describe how it felt to find out I had matched is completely overwhelmed. It is such a huge achievement that you really work towards throughout medical school, it is a very emotional moment consisting of happiness, relief, excitement, nervousness and achievement.
Pursuing medicine has been a longtime goal of mine. Most of my inspiration to continue this journey came from my grandmother, who passed in March of 2021. She was a nurse for over 50 years, many of those years spent in the operating room, and was one of my biggest supporters when it came to going into medicine. She loved what she did and could not wait to see me become the first physician in the family.
This will be a difficult journey. There will be a lot of times where you second guess yourself and why you chose this career, but always remember to give yourself credit. You deserve to be here, you are going to be a doctor, and you will make a difference for many years to come.
2nd Lt. Maloney was a part of the Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research (DIMER) scholarship program during his time at PCOM. Created in 1969 as an alternative to a state-supported medical school, DIMER provides an opportunity for Delaware residents to obtain a high-quality medical education.
© 2024 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine