Position: Medical Doctor

Field: Medicine

Graduated: 2004

The transition from history to medicine has highlighted for me the knowledge of people and cultures that I gained during my undergraduate study. As I travel and meet people inside and outside of the hospital, I come into contact with people of all different religions and geographic origins. I am always thrilled to have even a basic understanding of the history of their geographic region or their religious beliefs. It seems that people are more receptive to a doctor who is interested in them and their culture, and this open communication is crucial for both doctor and patient. The cultural education that I received through studying history is what gives me the ability to converse with people of all different backgrounds, and this will be a source of strength for me throughout my career. I also developed critical thinking and analysis skills in the History Department that have enabled me to pursue academic reading with a more scholarly approach. I am more comfortable reading and interpreting primary sources after writing a thesis in history, and now check footnotes regularly in other authors’ works to discover how they use certain evidence to draw conclusions and define general trends. This is of huge help to me as I aim to become well-versed in the literature of the history of medicine. It is through the reading, writing, and research experience I gained in the History Department that I have been able to gain the skills and confidence to pursue these goals.