Meet Zina Huxley-Reicher, from New York, New York. She attended Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai and is a PGY-1 in the Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program.
What led you to pursue a career in medicine?
I would describe myself as a reluctant applicant to medical school. My decision to pursue medicine ultimately came from my time working in public health. I worked at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Opioid Overdose Prevention. There I was doing a lot of community work with our partner organizations and it was during my interactions with individual participants that I realized that I not only wanted to be involved in the policy and programming work of public health, but that I also wanted to be able to provide clinical care. I was inspired by the way that many of my mentors at DOHMH drew on their clinical experience to inform public health interventions in such meaningful ways.
What are your goals after you complete residency? Where do you see yourself?
After completing residency I hope to end up somewhere that I can both practice primary care/addiction medicine as well as public health and policy. This may look like pursuing an addiction medicine fellowship. For now, I am in Collaborative Behavioral Health & Addiction Medicine in Primary Care (CHAMP) Training Program here during residency and am taking every opportunity to learn about addiction medicine from some amazing folks here at the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine.
Why did you choose Yale IMed for your residency?
I chose YPC for the people—the residents I met and engaged with were so happy and so warm and the faculty were equally as excited. The CHAMP program was another big draw for me as I came into the residency application process already with a strong interest in addiction medicine. I was also really excited to get to know a new city and learn a new health system.
Describe your experience at Yale IMed in 3 words.
Supportive, community, engaging.
What is your fondest memory at Yale thus far?
I think my fondest memory is meeting up with some of my co-residents for physically distanced ice cream outdoors in freezing weather to celebrate one of their birthdays—we hadn't seen each other in so long and it was so nice to get the opportunity to celebrate together!
Who has had the greatest influence on you, and why?
My grandmothers—all of them were or are incredibly strong and independent and have stopped at nothing to pursue their interests and advocate for those around them
If you could say anything to your younger self, what would you say?
Never put off going on an adventure!
What's a fun fact about you?
I was born on February 29, and thus I am only 7 years old technically!
What is one piece of advice you'd give someone who is applying for residency?
Trust your instincts and look for good people.
What have been your biggest challenges and accomplishments since the beginning of the pandemic?
Not being able to get to know my co-residents and New Haven has been a challenge, but my biggest accomplishment has been continuing to cook ridiculously intricate meals despite being in intern year.
The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale is among the nation's premier departments, bringing together an elite cadre of clinicians, investigators and educators in one of the world's top medical schools. To learn more, visit Internal Medicine.