Anu Chaudhary 鈥�18 Works Toward Lifelong Goal
Anu is a biology major and health science minor who hopes to become a pediatrician. She has been engaged in clinical practices both as a volunteer, and as an intern as she works toward her dream since childhood.
鈥淲hat made you interested in the field of pediatrics?鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really know how the interest started, but I鈥檝e always been super interested in pediatrics. I just remember when I was a third grader in elementary school, my teacher asked 鈥榳hat do you want to do when you grow up?鈥�, and I said 鈥榩ediatrician鈥�. She was like, 鈥榟ow do you spell that?鈥� and I answered, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know鈥�. It was funny because I knew what I wanted to do from that time."
鈥淗ow did you start working toward this goal?鈥�
鈥淲hen I came to Wittenberg, I started volunteering at Rocking Horse Center, which is a non-profit organization in Springfield. I volunteered in flu and adult clinics, and used to do phone calls and satisfaction surveys, basically just everything they needed.鈥�
鈥淗ave you done any internships?鈥�
鈥淎fter my junior year, I interned at Nationwide Children鈥檚 Hospital in Columbus during the summer. The job was basically administration stuff. I worked on scheduling, filing鈥ust the basic secretary. Then I also got to work with doctors called Health Coaches. They help children who have ADHD, Obesity, and Asthma to keep them healthy. In hospitals, doctors spend only 10 minutes with each patient, but Health Coaches try to spend longer and educate their families as well. They don鈥檛 take a symptom as a one time problem, but give specialized care like a medical counselor, which was so cool.鈥�
鈥淗ow did you find those internship positions?鈥�
鈥淚 just found them on my own. I called clinics and said 鈥榟ey, is there any way I can volunteer?鈥� That鈥檚 how I went through internships with Nationwide. But this year, the internship I鈥檓 doing now in Nova Pediatrics was set up by Career Services.鈥�
鈥淗ave your internships helped you? Did you enjoy them?鈥�
鈥淵es, I really enjoyed interning because I was able to experience real medical work. Doing internships in the health field is kind of hard due to many limitations of what interns can do, but I still learned a lot through following doctors and having conversations with patients. Also, I could see different ideas and lifestyles of doctors, which is another reason why I love interning.鈥�
鈥淲hat was your favorite moment in your experiences?鈥�
鈥淚 guess my favorite thing is when I get to clinically observe something that I had learned in the classroom. Sometimes it is hard to understand why we have to learn certain things, but when you get to see them in real life, that is the best part!鈥�
鈥淟astly, do you have any advice for students who are thinking about interning in the medical field?鈥�
鈥淢y advice would be, 鈥楤e prepared鈥�. Like, you should know what you have to do each year. My second advice would be 鈥楴ever be afraid to ask for help鈥�. Asking people who have gone through the processes is really important. I used to ask upperclassmen, my sorority sisters, friends in medical school and my advisor. Although I鈥檓 a senior now, I still ask a lot. Especially because Wittenberg is small, we shouldn鈥檛 be afraid to ask each other for help. Use all of your resources and take advantage!鈥�
Compiled By: Mizuho Harada '18