Medicine, as a career, is not something people just fall into. The rigors and demands of a medical education tend to weed out those who might float through life, happy to land where the breeze takes them. If you want to be a doctor, you generally know it from a very young age and immediately get to work.
Dr. Ronald Crystal congratulates Chantelle and Nadia on completing their scholarship program.
Chantelle D'mello and Nadia Hussain, both high school students in Doha, Qatar, have no doubts about their futures in medicine. And they are already making nice progress toward that goal. Essays written by Chantelle and Nadia were chosen from among 75 entrants in the Doctors of the Future Scholarship Program. As the winners, Chantelle and Nadia were invited to Weill Cornell Medical College in New York for two weeks of lab instruction, clinical seminars and shadowing sessions with several physicians.
This year's entrants were asked to explain how, as a future doctor, they would make a difference in Qatar's health care system while contributing to its excellence, and what they would focus on in terms of biomedical research. As a new feature of the contest this year, the entrants had the option of submitting a video about their ideas. Although the essays were the most important part of the entry, two students received awards for their video — Chantelle again won for best video, along with Arwa Ahmed El Sanosi, a student at Amna Bint Wahab Independent high school.
"This is a terrific opportunity for young people interested in a career in medicine," said Dr. Ronald Crystal, chairman of the Department of Genetic Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. "They are seeing and participating in the everyday functions of the physician-scientist, and doing so alongside highly trained individuals."
Using a pipette, Nadia transfers a protein denaturation agent into the hemolysate to remove proteins from a blood sample, while Matt Teater, a research technician in genetic medicine, assists.
Chantelle and Nadia worked with technicians in Dr. Crystal's lab on a number of different experiments and tests.
"After graduating as a doctor, my plan is to get several years of experience in a hospital before moving into specializing in infants," Nadia wrote in her winning essay. "I have given the area of pediatrics in Qatar a large amount of thought. I believe that in Qatar, we need a special team of pediatricians to monitor and track infants after their successful births."
The two students already have the desire and passion to pursue medicine, and now, thanks to Weill Cornell here and in Qatar, they are beginning to acquire some of the skills of the profession.
"This was an amazing experience," Chantelle said. "I was able to work with the tools and equipment that, up to this point, I had only read about. I feel like I've learned so much in such a short time."
Photography by Amelia Panico.