Aug 23, 2021

Class of 2T5: What Inspired You to Pursue Medicine?

Students, Education, Inclusion & Diversity
Orange Backpacks for the Class of 2T5
Amanda Mac

Amanda Mac

This past summer, I graduated from the Health Sciences program at the University of Ottawa. While I’m going to miss the friends and communities that welcomed me in Ottawa, I’m very excited and grateful for the opportunity to study medicine close to home. Outside of school, I’ve always loved digital art and painting. Art has always been an important mental outlet for me and a way to just be creative. I also really enjoy the collaborative aspect of art; being able to work with others on pieces and help bring their ideas to life has been so fun and rewarding.

Having family members living with chronic illness and disability, I've always been very passionate about transitional care and the importance of caring for patients as whole individuals who have personal interests, struggles, intersecting identities and lives outside of the hospital. After my sister’s surgery, life drastically changed for her and my family as we all undertook the role of ‘at-home providers’ to help care for her complex needs. These personal experiences led me to later volunteer with various groups in different healthcare settings, including older adults in long-term care, individuals with disability, women of colour and mothers newly immigrated to Canada. I formed close relationships with the people I met through these involvements, and I learned more about my passion for helping others feel heard and cared for. There is immense privilege in being able to support and empower someone through some of the most vulnerable times in their life - I realized how rewarding this human connection is for me and how difficult it is for many to navigate through the inequities in our healthcare system. Medicine allows me to combine my loves for building meaningful connections, being creative and continuous learning - all while giving me the opportunity to advocate alongside marginalized groups and collaborate with others to tackle systemic issues. 

I’m very excited to learn from my peers, mentors and the patients I'll cross paths with over the next few years. I’m also excited to continue exploring my interests in art and health technologies - it will be interesting to see how these areas intersect with medicine. I really appreciate the emphasis that Temerty Medicine places on pursuing interests outside of our studies, so I’m looking forward to trying new things, exploring new and existing passions, and seeing how everything comes together! 

Siddh Sood

Siddh Sood

I was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario and I completed my Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Windsor. During these past few years, I have had the opportunity to explore my curiosity for the sciences through research, learn from my amazing mentors, and grow as a leader by acting in service for initiatives in my community. 

Above all else, I was inspired to pursue medicine by the personal experiences my family and I have had with the healthcare system when dealing with disease. During times of vulnerability and powerlessness, I have witnessed how physicians are not only problem-solvers, but also healers, advocates, and when patients need it the most, just a fellow human that cares and understands. When I went on to pursue my undergraduate degree, my experiences motivated me to make an impact, whether through cancer research to innovate for patients with limited options, or through advocacy and service roles such as with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Obesity Canada, aiming to spearhead change in my community. I know the role of a physician combines all of these crucial tasks and the stories of those close to me, whether my family or my extended community, inspire me to pursue this incredibly fulfilling career.

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to study at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Alongside learning the foundations to become a physician, I am looking forward to participating in the abundant opportunities for health innovation here. Whether by improving healthcare quality, researching health technology, or by influencing policy that can lead to macro-level change, I am interested in seeing how I can contribute and fit into the future of medicine. In addition, with a passion for the arts and digital media, I am excited to learn more about creativity in medicine and the role of the humanities, such as in health communication and narrative medicine. Finally, I am looking forward to meeting my new classmates and learning from them and with them for the next four years!

Wafa Bari

Wafa Baqri

I completed my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Guelph. While many factors determined my choice to pursue this program, there was one significant element that confirmed my decision: their human anatomy program, which allows students the ability to explore and learn human anatomy through conducting dissections. I have always been fascinated by the intricacies of the human body and its potential for scientific investigation, and knew that I wanted to pursue the biological sciences in my future, but wanted to narrow my career choices. This program, with its mixture of conceptual and hands-on experience, solidified my thoughts of pursuing medicine.

Besides my formal education, I also had the opportunity to become involved with many amazing organizations, both on-campus and in the wider community, which helped me discover the real joy and fulfillment I experience in serving others. I found a special interest in working to reduce healthcare barriers and obtaining healthcare equity for vulnerable and marginalized populations, such as elders and Indigenous communities, which I hope to continue moving forward. I spent my time before Temerty exploring my values and interests so that I could confidently say that medicine is the path for me – and I now can! The combination of biology, human connection and care, and potential for continued learning to expand your knowledge in efforts to provide the highest quality of care is what ultimately made me want to become a doctor. Being a physician means becoming healers, researchers, advocators, and learners—all in one!

Over the next four years, I am most looking forward to the connections I will form. Temerty Medicine has a close-knit community of students and faculty, and I hope to immerse myself in that as I get to know each one of my peers and educators. As a student, I will also be able to form connections with new mentors who can provide deeper insights into my medical education and introduce me to new opportunities. However, I am most excited about the connections I will now be able to form with patients. I hope to understand the full power of the patient-physician relationship through observerships and clinical placements to form meaningful relationships with patients that center on trust, empathy, and understanding.

Kanza Naveed

Kanza Naveed

Prior to joining Temerty Medicine, I completed my Honours Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto Scarborough, in the Neuroscience co-op program. I had been particularly interested in behavioural neuroscience and initially envisioned myself pursuing a different career, perhaps as a neuroscientist. However, while working with a clinical research group during my co-op placement at St. Michael’s Hospital, I had the opportunity to work in a clinical setting with some incredible physician-scientists. Seeing how they incorporated patient advocacy and care with their own research interests inspired me to explore other career opportunities, hence guiding me towards my pursuit of medicine. Witnessing how passionate they were for their patients, advocating for their care, whilst also implementing innovative research in the clinical setting, drove me to think about other career paths, such as becoming a physician.

I continued my work with that research group for several months during which I had the opportunity to meet with very diverse patient groups. Learning about their challenges especially amongst underrepresented and marginalized patient populations made me realize there may be countless others who feel their concerns and voices are not being heard. Physicians have the privilege of advocating for these individuals, for marginalized communities, and implementing equitable patient care. Therefore, that drive to bridge gaps in healthcare and provide patient-centered care made me want to become a doctor.

Thinking about the next 4 years has been daunting, to say the least, but I am perhaps the most excited to develop a tool belt of skills and knowledge that I can one day access and utilize when working with patients. Moreover, I am incredibly excited to be joining such a wonderful, interdisciplinary community at the University of Toronto, which continues to tackle various medical challenges. I look forward to working with diverse teams and experts, whilst also exploring new ways that we can continue to optimize patient care and foster equitable health care practices for all patient populations.