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Q&A with a Med Student

Mulholland Society Vice President Jon Pomeraniec weighs in

Jon Pomeraniec has attended the Medical School since 2011. He is one of two vice presidents for the Mulholland Society, a Medical School student government organization. He has coordinated the “Big Sibs” program and set up mentor families for medical students, as well as arranged volunteer efforts and developed a fundraising committee. He serves as a student liaison between the medical and nursing schools.

What made you decide to go to medical school to become a physician?
Growing up, all I wanted was to go to medical school, but I was pushed into investment banking. I worked for Lehman Brothers until they went bankrupt, forcing me to step back and look at what I wanted to do. I felt a calling to help people and to serve, dedicate and commit myself to a life-long learning process. I was drawn to not only the science background, but also the humanistic aspect of medicine. Especially now, going forward, medicine is an extremely integrated field that draws from many academic disciplines. I wanted this opportunity to not only challenge myself but also to develop a greater diversity of perspectives.

What field are you most interested in?
I am planning on going into neurosurgery.

Why?
Neuroscience is a field that lends itself to innovation and is something that we are using new technologies and research to really understand. I think the depth of neuroscience is infinite. Within it lies the opportunity to more thoroughly understand what makes us human.

Are some fields more competitive than others?
Typically, the surgical specialties tend to be more competitive just by virtue of them being smaller programs with smaller numbers of spots. Fields such as dermatology and radiology have also become more competitive based on the advancement of technologies.

How many people are in your current class?
My class has 156 students, which is about middle of the road in terms of class size.

Is the environment among your class more cooperative or competitive?
Neither. It is collaborative. There is a strong push here to chip away from the typical model. We have a huge shared learning resource that we all contribute to.

How much of the learning is team-based and how much is individual?
It varies by year. The first two years focus on individual understanding of material, but there are case-based problem sets that encourage working together, as well as anatomy labs, dissections, clinical sessions with patients and inter-professional workshops with the Nursing School. The third and fourth years are entirely clinical and hands-on. We progressively develop the feel for working with other people towards a common goal.

Have you made sacrifices to get to where you are now?
Absolutely. I’ve sacrificed a lot of personal time. I had to move from New York where all my family and friends were and start a new chapter of my life down here. It took a lot just get here, but I’ve begun to understand putting other people’s needs before my own. At the end of the day, the most important part is learning how to make time for all of the things that you need to and want to do.

What are the most difficult parts of being a medical student, in general?
The hardest part is learning how to deal with stress. We aren’t just students. We are people with varied interests. It is hard to balance the time commitment and the amount of work we have to put in with doing things we like to do. If something is a priority to me, I make time for it. We really have to keep this sense of perspective to stay grounded.

Can you pinpoint any difficulties with the actual learning process?
The continual challenge is keeping up with all of the up-to-date, clinically relevant information and learning how to take what I’ve learned thus far and apply it in a clinically relevant way that will most benefit my patients.

What would you consider to be the most rewarding part of this experience?
It is the opportunity to be involved in patient care. We deal with complete strangers who literally open themselves up to us. It is a privilege to work with an academic team and provide patient care in a way that can impact a patient’s life.

How has your experience as a whole been so far?
It has been a very positive experience. I’ve been amazed at how much I’ve learned in such a short amount of time. It is the proverbial drinking from the fire hose; you think that you can’t really retain or grasp it all, but looking back at how everything consolidates makes all of the hard work seem worthwhile.

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