Interviewee: Matthew Hadad, first-year medical student at Johns Hopkins University, graduated from Notre Dame University with a BS in Biology
1. Did you start with a biology major? If so, did you ever question your decision? If not, what was/were your previous major(s) and how did you decide on that one?
I began my first year at Notre Dame as a biochemistry major. I knew I wanted to go to medical school when I started college, so I was looking for the best path to make me competitive when applications rolled around. I thought back then that your major mattered for medical school admissions, so I picked the hardest science major at ND. I ended up switching to biology in the fall of my sophomore year. I had always liked biology more then chemistry, and once I recognized that (1) a ND biochem major is actually mostly chemistry and (2) I could get a way higher GPA in biology than biochemistry, the switch made sense.
2. What was your favorite major course, and why?
My favorite course was medical microbiology. We covered every major pathogen that causes human disease. It was my first truly medical course in undergrad, and it reminded me why I was applying to med school in the first place.
3. Do you feel you made the right choice of major?
Yep! My major both allowed me to look competitive for applications, but I also have a solid foundation for all the course material we have covered here so far. Medical school so far (with the exception of anatomy) has been a bunch of 1 week undergrad courses that you would normally complete in 12-16 weeks. I’ve fortunately taken all of these courses before thanks to my biology major, so I’ve been doing alright so far. I’m not sure where you are in the process of picking a major, but I would encourage you to pick a major that both allows you to get a high GPA (aka not engineering) and also covers the spectrum of medically-relevant course material (metabolism, cell physiology, etc).
4. If you had to describe medical school in three words, what would they be?
Non-stop balancing act. Medical school can consume your life if you don’t make an active effort to have a life outside of it. I’ve joined a local soccer league with a few classmates, work out every day, and try and call home whenever I can to keep myself grounded. Personal health and avoiding burnout are so important.
5. What classes are you currently taking?
We just had our genetics exam today, and we’re now starting our pharmacology block. I’m also in Histology/Histopathology, Clinical Foundations of Medicine (basically a physical exam and interviewing class), and Ethics, Epidemiology, and Health Care Systems.
6. When/how did you decide you wanted to be a doctor?
Near the end of high school I made the decision. I was previously thinking about engineering because I liked the problem solving, but after my engineering internship in high school, I felt like I wanted a career that was more interpersonal and exciting. My mom suffered a few medical emergencies around that time, and I was able to spend a lot of time in the hospital with her. I witnessed the comforting impact her physicians were able to have on my family and me, and it would be personally fulfilling to be in a position to provide that for others in my career. I also love the hard science and problem solving that we do when we create differential diagnoses and build patient histories. If you haven’t already, I would look into shadowing both PCPs and surgeons, I think you will be amazed at what they do!
1. How did you find this interviewee, and why did you choose to interview this person?
Matthew is my roommate’s older brother, and I chose to interview him because he is currently in medical school and his undergraduate major (Biology) was the same that I am currently pursuing.
2. How has this interview influenced your major and/or career exploration?
Hearing what Matthew had to say about medical school and undergraduate major in Biology has made me even more excited about the current path I am on. He also encouraged me to shadow primary care physicians and surgeons, which I was already planning to do, but gave me even more motivation to start that process.
3. Did you learn anything unexpected from the interview? If so, what? If not, which ideas did the interview reinforce?
I learned from Matthew that medical school is a “non-stop balancing act.” I obviously expected that if medical school is what I end up doing after my undergrad years, it would be extremely difficult and time-consuming, but I hadn’t thought about the work that will have to go into keeping myself mentally and physically healthy.
4. What do you feel you still need to learn about this major/career before being able to make a confident decision?
I definitely need to start shadowing physicians (in all ranges of settings and specialties) so that I can see if being an MD is really what I want to do with my life, and if the daily work of a doctor is something that appeals to me.
5. Which major exploration tools/activities/resources that you utilized this semester were most helpful to you and why?
This interview activity was very helpful, I liked hearing from someone that is going through what I may be going through in four years. Meetings with advisors were also very helpful as well as having our peer mentors as people to reach out to if need be, since advisors can give advice regarding classes and hours while peer mentors can give advice from a personal standpoint.