Internal Medicine Resident Spotlights
Marc Kai, PGY-2
Recorded in August 2020 when Marc was a PGY-1 resident.
Where did you grow up? Where did you go to medical school?
I grew up in Michigan, but as someone who took a circuitous route to medicine, my journey after college has taken me to Louisiana, North Carolina, and Oregon before landing at the University of Kentucky for medical school.
Why did you choose UMMC for residency?
I prioritized a balance between a strong academic program and all the extracurricular activities offered by a large city. It was easy to tell- even with the brevity of the interview process - that Maryland was very supportive from the top down and across specialties.
What do you value most about the program?
I value the dynamic learning environment of an academic setting, especially the mentoring by both Attending physicians and Senior Residents. The medicine is challenging, but I always feel supported with just the right balance between independence and assistance.
What are your career goals and how has UMMC helped you achieve them?
At this point in my career, as an Intern, I'm keeping an open mind with respect to specialty. That said, my current interests are Pulmonary Critical Care and Heme-Onc. The Cancer Center has a variety of opportunities in research and leadership. Regardless of what I end up practicing, I hope to be at an academic center and continue to engage with the full spectrum of medical education, as that is one of my passions.
What neighborhood do you live in and what do you love about Baltimore?
We live in Highlandtown, which is just east of Patterson Park a few miles from the hospital. Our neighborhood feels like Brooklyn, and our neighbors are incredibly friendly. We love living within a few blocks of phenomenal food and the park.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I enjoy any and all sports, both as a mediocre-at-best participant and spectator! My go-to activities are running, biking, hiking, volleyball, and making the most of the home-gym movement. We also enjoy cooking together while listening to our favorite music and podcasts.
Naveed Farrukh, PGY-3
Recorded in August 2020 when Naveed was a PGY-2 resident.
Where did you grow up? Where did you go to medical school?
Grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and went to medical school there at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Unique big little city with an institution that shaped me and helped me chase my dreams.
Why did you choose UMMC for residency?
I heard about University of Maryland from faculty at our institution, but also about the medical school from ours friends and liked that the program gave off a vibe of being a community – from the University structure to the residents to the patients. The program more specifically encouraged dialogue with its residents and valued our input. They made me feel like they were going to work with my strengths and weaknesses to help me become better. I also liked the diversity in the program with residents from all over the country as well as Maryland residents.
What do you value most about the program?
My favorite part has been the dialogue and support that you receive from people throughout the program and in the hospital. From the big picture there is good communication and support to the residents from our program and in the day to day there is a good emphasis amongst our residents to share feedback, help each other improve, cover for each other. I also love the spirit of learning from several of my fellow residents – that drive gets me excited. What I loved about the program was on full display during the early, discombobulating days of the COVID crisis – our program worked well to ensure our safety and also swiftly moved to make changes to help ensure we were running as smoothly as possible despite the loss of many of the conventional ways we ran things.
What are your career goals and how has UMMC helped you achieve them?
Firstly I have loved working with cancer patients and think they are a special population to help through a particularly challenging time in their lives. This makes me interested in Hematology and Oncology. However on the other hand, I am also interested in informatics and love the inpatient setting where you can see a broad differential as you work through cases. This makes me wonder about a career as an academic hospitalist clinically and doing administrative work within the hospital. Here at UMMS I've gotten to reach out to faculty easily and the program has a formal structure in place to encourage mentorship as well as a schedule that allows time for research work. It also helps to be at a university where there are a lot of projects working to improve our patient care.
What neighborhood do you live in and what do you love about Baltimore?
I live right downtown, a 5 minute walk away from the hospital. Wouldn't trade it for the world, because coming and going to work is so easy and it gives me time to spend enjoying doing other things.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Live and breathe soccer. Mainly watching the game, in particular, my beloved club Liverpool. If you follow the beautiful game, don't let my favorite club turn you off we have plenty of other fans and we all live harmoniously….for the most part.
Roxana Amirahmadi, 2021 Graduate
Recorded in August 2020 when Roxi was a PGY-3 resident. She is currently a first year fellow in critical care medicine at the NIH.
Where did you grow up? Where did you go to medical school?
I grew up in Princeton, NJ and went to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Why did you choose UMMC for residency?
UMMC takes care of a patient population with significant health disparities that can lead to complex medical conditions with high acuity. I wanted to train in a program that would prepare me to take care of patients with complex social backgrounds and medical needs in a variety of settings. With the hospital's close relationship with the Baltimore VA medical center and its location in the heart of downtown Baltimore, I knew I would be able to care for and learn from a diverse patient population with complicated medical backgrounds. Additionally, the program offers a strong support structure for residents to establish mentorship with faculty who can help them pursue their career interests.
What do you value most about the program?
Even though we are a large program, all the residents know and really care about each other. I also love that we are exposed to very high acuity medicine early on in our training, which prepares us to manage and handle anything that comes our way.
What are your career goals and how has UMMC helped you achieve them?
I want to become a pulmonary and critical care medicine specialist. Our program has helped me achieve this goal by providing many opportunities to learn how to care for extremely sick and complicated patients on the floors and in the medical ICU and cardiac care units. Additionally, there are a lot of mentorship and research opportunities offered to residents to help them pursue their chosen career paths after residency.
What neighborhood do you live in and what do you love about Baltimore?
I live in Mount Vernon, which is a neighborhood just a 5-10-minute drive from the hospital. I love the neighborhood because it has several large parks where you can relax in a green space but still be in the middle of the city. It is also a very historic part of Baltimore and the buildings and architecture are very well preserved, which gives the neighborhood a unique kind of charm. With the Baltimore School for the Arts and the Peabody School in the neighborhood, you also will often find live performances happening around the neighborhood, which gives the community its uniquely artistic and lively energy.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time I take walks in my neighborhood or to Inner Harbor with my co-residents after work or on days off several times per week (a lot of our residents live in or near Mount Vernon, which makes it really for us to see each other). I also really enjoy baking and going on hikes in nearby parks around the city.
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