My journey to medical school
Dottie Yu April 27, 2024
My journey to medical school
My name is Dottie, I graduated from USC in 2023 with a bachelors in Quantitative Biology. Very excited to share that I will be starting medical school at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine with a full-tuition scholarship.
But I didn’t always know I wanted to be a doctor.
“I think I want a PhD….”
is what I would have said freshman year. Armed with naive curiosity and a vague interest in computational biology, I began reaching out to research labs early on. I soon joined a computational modeling project in Dr. Leonardo Morsut’s lab in the USC Stem Cell department; it was my first ever research experience, and the learning curve was steep. It was my exposure to differential equations, and demanded I learn a whole new set of technical terminology and coding language.
I was terrified, but over the next two years, I grew tremendously. I wrote my first proposal (for the USC Provost Undergraduate Research Award), made my first presentation (at a WiSE symposium), held my first journal club, and eventually found myself a co-author on the resulting publication. Above all, I realized that I enjoy computational research. From then on, I wanted computational research to be a primary part of my career aspirations.
“…or maybe a MD/PhD …”
I began volunteering at a local hospital sophomore year, and that dramatically shifted my career focus. I cherished my time at the hospital. Maybe it was in the happy tears I cried when I had the chance to call the time-of-birth for a newborn baby girl, or the IV contrast I was able to help set up for a stroke patient for their CT scan, or the way I witnessed a surgeon remove an entire gallbladder through a few small laparoscopic incisions… I was amazed by the medical field. Medicine was, to me, the ultimate practice of humanism—it’s a field that unites humans together, all in defiance of fate and illness. I felt profoundly drawn to this purpose.
My hospital experiences gave a deeper purpose to my research. I saw that medicine relies on research, put differently, there would be no medicine without research. I couldn’t imagine foregoing either research or medicine in my career. I began strongly considering pursuing a MD/PhD so I could learn how to become both a clinician and an investigator.
It was at this point that I came across a summer research opportunity in Dr. Mangul’s lab, applied, and elated when I was selected for the position. I began working on a project benchmarking HLA callers, which I continue today. Joining the Mangul Lab has been the most formative experience of my undergraduate years; I have always felt incredibly supported and valued here, and I have grown beyond my greatest expectations here. It still feels surreal that I had the amazing opportunity to take on a lead role in a study benchmarking HLA typing algorithms, which is now accepted to the Nature Methods journal as a Stage 1 Registered Report. I am also so grateful for the opportunity to present my research at large conferences, write and revise our manuscript, work as a teaching assistant, and even help with some grant writing. Working here has prepared me immensely to apply to research-focused graduate programs. I can confidently say that I would not be where I am now without Dr. Mangul’s support these past three years.
“… I want a research-focused MD.”
I felt energized by patient care, and that motivated me to continue seeking out diverse clinical experiences in my upperclassman years. The more patients and physicians I spoke with, the more I gravitated towards a career in medicine.
I faced indecision between pursuing a MD/PhD or a pure MD… until just weeks before submitting my medical school application, when I heard about Cleveland Clinic Lerner’s 5-year program. This program was everything I had been searching for. The curriculum places strong emphasis on research, with dedicated blocks for basic/translational and clinical research, while being many years shorter than a traditional dual-degree program; they also encourage self-directed learning by removing all grades and exams, and offer a full scholarship to all students. CCLCM quickly became my dream program.
I was overjoyed when I received the acceptance call in February. I am grateful to have received acceptances to many amazing programs including Duke, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern, but I knew I wanted to be at CCLCM.
Looking into the future fills me with excitement—I’m going to be a doctor! I’m beyond grateful to be in this position, knowing I am one step closer to my goal of spending my life treating patients and conducting research to improve the future of medicine.
Considering an MD?
My advice is to try getting involved in patient care and shadowing!
Hospital setting: COPE Health Scholars is a hospital volunteering program that is helpful for getting your foot in the door. They have a site at the Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital ~20 minutes from the USC UPC campus. There are opportunities for direct patient care and shadowing. I also had the chance to observe several surgeries and endoscopies.
Private practice setting: Indeed usually has many part-time medical assistant job postings, especially if you are bilingual or have special certifications/skills. I found two clinical jobs through Indeed. I recommend trying the private practice setting for exposure to the insurance/billing side of medicine. I also love that I was able to develop close mentorships with the doctors running the practices.
Other: I think EMT and scribing are good opportunities, but I don’t have much personal experience with them.