Where did you grow up and where were you living immediately prior to medical school?
I grew up in Zhuhai, a city in Southern China located right by the water. After immigrating to the U.S., I primarily lived in Brooklyn, NY for middle and high school. I was living in Boston, MA, where I worked as a research assistant at Boston Children’s Hospital, before I came to Yale.
Why did you choose Yale School of Medicine?
I chose Yale because of the many happy students I met when I visited, the flexibility of the curriculum, and because administrators seemed to care immensely about supporting us not just as students, but more importantly as individuals. I also really loved the wonderful first-generation & low-income student community here and how it includes many MD-PhD student members.
When making my decision, I was pleasantly surprised by how many students (of all years—including those returning to the wards after defending their theses and busy with clerkships at the time) and faculty (especially those who I’d never interacted with but who I was interested in learning more about the research of) were willing to speak with me on short notice and candidly share their experiences—not merely trying to sell me on Yale, but really trying to help me weigh my options so I could choose the place I would hopefully thrive most at.
Now that I’m here, I can say that all these things have held true and more, so I’m very glad I chose to come here. I loved the flexibility of pre-clinical, when I could decide my own schedule and dictate my own learning much of the time (with abundant support, structure, and resources when needed of course) while still engaging in non-med school things that are important to me. I’ve made wonderful friends of all years through YFLI (YSM first-gen & low-income), a group that I also had the immense privilege of co-leading this past year. Currently, on clerkships, I really appreciate that we can focus on caring for and learning from our patients, rather than be preoccupied with studying for shelf exams or worried about (non-pass/fail) clerkship grades. And although I haven’t properly started the PhD portion of my training yet, I had a fantastic time during my lab rotations and with the MD-PhD program thus far.
Can you briefly describe your schedule on a typical weekday?
I recently started clerkships, so my schedule varies based on which rotation I’m on.
So far, I’ve been on internal medicine (IM) (infectious disease specifically), which is an adult inpatient floor. I would get there between 6:30-7 a.m. to pre-round/pre-chart on the patients I was following in preparation for our 7:30 a.m. table rounds. Depending on the day (number of new patients, complexity of everyone’s care, whether we were rounding on the patients as a full team or later on in pairs/individually that day, etc.), we might finish rounds anywhere between ~9:30a.m. and ~11:45 a.m. After rounds, I would work on any tasks for my patients (order tests/medications, call consults, communicate with other members of the care team, etc.), update their preferred contact, hopefully check in on them again later in the day, and work on my progress notes. In between, there is teaching from 8:30-9 a.m. and noon conference (lunch provided!) from 12-1 p.m. with the residents every day, as well as occasionally other sessions such as clerkship didactics or grand rounds. In the afternoon, we would run through our patient list again with our attending, and if admitting that day, potentially go down to the ED as a team to meet the new patients who will be admitted to our service. I typically left the hospital between 4-6 p.m., after which I would go home to rest and recharge for the next day (plus finish my notes if needed), or if applicable that day, go to dance rehearsal!
Currently, I’m on pediatric neurology, which is a consult service. I typically get there between 7:30-8 a.m. to pre-chart on my patients, as well as read up on any new ones, before our walking rounds begin at 8:30-9 a.m. We will often join the primary peds teams so we can see our patients and make plans together, and may go to view and discuss findings from any overnight video-EEG monitoring on our patients with specialists as well. As this is a consult service, we will often get called to evaluate kids in the ED who present with concern for neurological issues. If so, I will quickly review their chart and then go to meet and assess the patient, often first by myself and then later with my team. From there, we’ll recommend next steps for the patient, including whether they should be admitted or followed by our service or not. Some days, we have clinic, where we see kids either for outpatient follow up or presenting with new concerns. I typically leave the hospital between 3-6 p.m., after which the rest of my day is pretty similar to that on IM.
What neighborhood do you live in?
I live in East Rock, a more residential neighborhood in New Haven (and with better rent than Downtown). I’m on the farther side of East Rock, so for me it’s a ~40 min walk to the med school (I love taking long walks so the distance is perfect), ~15-20 min (free) shuttle ride, or ~10 min drive (if I ride with my roommate—I do not know how to drive). East Rock is a wonderful, homey neighborhood with various scattered small shops/restaurants, and you’ll often see many families, dogs, and runners around. I also live right near East Rock Park, which has a beautiful river that I love walking along, an open green space for picnics and fun outdoor activities, as well as a bunch of hiking trails.
What is your favorite thing to do in/near New Haven?
Spending time in East Rock Park (see above)!
In addition, not so much New Haven specific but more so Yale specific, I’ve had lots of fun dancing at Yale. I currently dance with both the Yale Modern Dance Collective and Yale Dance Lab, and join drop-in workshops/classes when I can too!
Do you have any final thoughts or advice for prospective students?
Pick the place you think you will be happiest at!