It’s hard to believe
it is almost finals week and the end of the fall semester. The Thanksgiving
break serves as a great chance to recharge, prepare and have fun before the end
of a busy semester!
Here are a few tips to
keep in mind when going home for Thanksgiving break:
Take this time to review your
schedule for next semester and see if any classes you are interested in have
open spots! Choosing a class that will fulfill you rather than just fulfill a
requirement can help soothe the soul.
Connect with alums using UVM
Connect! This resource will allow you to connect with UVM alumni who have similar
career interests. Use the time this week to reach out to potential mentors who
are happy to connect with you to learn more about a chosen field.
Create or polish your resume!
With the start of a new semester you probably have an interest to apply to opportunities
for the summer and/or fall, so using this time is a great way to get ahead on
preparing for that search. For assistance, check out the Career Center’s Resume
Module at go.uvm.edu/ccbb for further instruction on creating a strong resume.
Take
time to relax and take care of yourself- whatever that means for you. Whether
that’s cozying up with your favorite Netflix show, grabbing brunch with some
friends, traveling to see family, or maybe a combination of the three.
Thanksgiving break allows us to have a week off with no class obligations. So, if you can balance this time away by preparing yourself for the end of the semester, having fun, and taking time to rest you’ll return to UVM ready to close out 2022 feeling strong.
🔆Where will your degree take you? There are endless possibilities!🔆
Many students believe that their undergraduate studies will directly impact what employment opportunities they find. For some students, they may pursue a career related to their major. Others will find career opportunities unrelated to their major. This is normal!
Matt Wilkerson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Paragon One, a career advisory network. He explains that an undergraduate major provides a structure for how to develop career skills like communication and problem solving, which will serve you well in any career field you pursue. Matt’s advice? “Don’t fall prey to the idea that your major is a life or death decision.”
What’s the takeaway? Take time to discover your interests and build upon the eight career competencies of critical thinking and problem solving, teamwork, professionalism, communication, leadership, technology skills, self-development, and equity and inclusion awareness. Any major you pursue will allow you to build and develop these skills.
Outside of her PA program, Lindsey Brown encourages the importance of self-care.
Lindsey Brown graduated from UVM in 2020 with a degree in Biochemistry and is now a second-year physician assistant student at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Manchester, New Hampshire. During her undergraduate years, Brown gained meaningful exposure to a variety of medical environments, through shadowing and hands-on healthcare experience.
While at UVM, Brown contemplated her career options in medicine while participating in impactful experiential activities. She volunteered in Child Life at the UVM Medical Center, and valued the opportunity to play a positive role in the lives of hospitalized children. Brown also gained leadership experience through serving as an orientation leader, a WEventure leader, and participating in an 11-day medical mission trip to Chantilly, Jamaica. Her most intense health-related experiences were gained in her role as a caregiver for the elderly through Home Instead Senior Care. Her responsibilities ranged from bathing, providing palliative and hospice care, and providing companionship to clients. Shadowing various health care providers also gave her valuable insight. Lindsey believes all these experiences were meaningful, motivating, and further strengthened her passion to become a health care provider. After reflecting on her values and future goals, Lindsey concluded that becoming a PA would best allow her to dedicate her career to patients while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
The first year of PA school, known as the didactic year, is “like trying to drink from a fire hose.” However, Brown recommends that you must “take as many sips” as possible.
Lindsey shared that her UVM pre-health advisor provided a piece of advice that made a large impact on her application process to PA school. The advisor encouraged her to keep a pre-health journal to write about each experience that had an impact on her pre-health journey, which turned out to be especially useful when writing her personal statement and in the interview process.
Following graduation from UVM and while applying to PA school, Brown continued to work in health care, improving her patient interaction skills, gaining a better understanding of the hospital environment, and learning about various medical conditions. She took a full month off directly before starting PA school in order to relax, get organized, and prepare to put her best foot forward as she embarked on her professional training.
Soon after becoming a PA student, Lindsey recalls being told by a peer mentor that the first year of PA school, known as the didactic year, is “like trying to drink from a fire hose”. Lindsey’s own advice is to “take as many sips” as possible in order to retain a great amount of the information. She also shares how important it is to use the support systems available throughout PA school. She has found the connections she has made with her PA school peers to be extremely valuable. Now in the clinical phase of her training, she is busy rotating through multiple specialty areas. At the time of this interview, she was completing a 5-week pediatrics rotation in Manchester, NH. Although pediatrics is a field that has always intrigued her, she has also enjoyed other rotations in family medicine, dermatology, and OB/Gyn. She finds the clinical year highly rewarding, allowing her to learn about a wide variety of patient conditions, while directly applying her newfound knowledge, and seeing the impact of her care on others.
Outside of her studies, Lindsey pays attention to self-care. She does this by studying in a comfortable Outside of her studies, Lindsey pays attention to self-care. She does this by studying in a comfortable environment with light music and a candle, as well as getting a massage at the end of semesters to relieve tension and have something to look forward to. Brown enjoys boating, spending time on the water, hiking, and spending time with her new French Bulldog, Tito. Lindsey will be spending this summer, May-November in Northern Vermont for five clinical rotations, where she is looking forward to the Vermont summers.
“We don’t think about our feet before we have a problem with them.”
Murisa is a third year DPM (Doctor of Podiatric Medicine) student at Des Moines University in Iowa. A 2017 graduate, Murisa studied Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry at UVM. During her undergraduate career, Murisa worked as a RA and a building manager at the Davis Center. She also served as a volunteer mentor through the DREAM-Riverside program, which Murisa described as a “rewarding experience.”
When reflecting on her choice to pursue a career in healthcare, Murisa discussed how her passion for medicine “clicked when [I] started scribing.” Murisa’s scribing (and, later, shadowing) experience was highly valuable, as it helped her to gain a better understanding of different medical specialties and allowed her to discern which career path was right for her. When asked why she chose podiatric medicine, Murisa noted that, “We don’t think about our feet before we have a problem with them.” She went on to say that there is a “great work-life balance” in this field, and the ability to engage in “hands-on” clinical procedures that yield “tangible” results drew Murisa to this branch of medicine.
Upon reflecting on her time in medical school thus far, Murisa acknowledged with a laugh that “[I] never studied so much in my life.” Nonetheless, she has experienced many key moments that have “affirmed [her] choice” to pursue a career in the health professions. Murisa speaks highly of the friends that she has made and the physicians who serve as faculty members within the College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery at Des Moines University. Murisa described her professors as “passionate [about podiatric medicine]” and “very willing to teach,” noting that they often address medical students as “Student Doctor.”
Outside of academics, Murisa enjoys spending time with her friends and taking walks along one of the lakes in her town. A lesson that Murisa learned during undergrad which still rings true today was that “You still have to make time for you,” regardless of hectic schedules and rigorous coursework. When asked what advice she would give current students interested in pursuing a medical career, Murisa encouraged students to expand their understanding of the medical field by shadowing a wide variety of physicians with different specialties, stating “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to try new opportunities.”
Dr. Ethan Jones at his practice in Burlington, VT.
Dr. Ethan Jones graduated from the UVM College of Nursing and Health Sciences with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2016.
After taking a gap year to complete a few additional science pre-requisite courses, Dr. Jones graduated with a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree in 2021 from the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Jones now practices in a Burlington primary care optometry practice.
Dr. Ethan Jones graduated from the UVM College of Nursing and Health Sciences with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2016. After taking a gap year to complete a few additional science pre-requisite courses, Dr. Jones graduated with a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree in 2021 from the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Jones now practices in a Burlington primary care optometry practice.
Dr. Jones found his path to becoming an Optometrist after serving as a technician at a local Burlington, Vermont optometry clinic between his Junior and Senior years of undergraduate at UVM. This was the primary experience that encouraged him to become an optometrist, slightly altering his career path that was originally focused on Speech Pathology. Dr. Jones was also involved on campus as a member of the co-ed, service based Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity. He explained this experience to be very rewarding to give back to the community and build connections with other members of the fraternity.
When asked about his experiences in Optometry school, Dr. Jones describes the classes, labs, and clinical experience to be extremely rewarding. As a first-year student, he would attend classes from 8:00 am until noon, followed by a lunch break, then labs in the afternoon on top of studying materials. As second-year students, his cohort would attend clinics and then would be involved in clinics or shadowing experiences. The third and fourth years become focused on mo clinic and board examinations. Dr. Jones says that while the material is rigorous, it is highly rewarding in the end. One thing that stuck out to Dr. Jones was the differences in regions in the US from the Southeast to the Northeast and how this plays out in health care.
Now in his practice, Dr. Jones reports one of the most rewarding parts of his job to be interpreting the unique conditions and symptoms of patients. He described each encounter as “not cookie cutter” and noted his focus was always on finding the end-result that works best for the patient.
Outside of schooling and his current profession, Dr. Jones enjoys playing disc golf in the spring, summer, and fall months before the winter begins, which is when he enjoys playing board games with a group of friends. When asked about one piece of advice he would give to students, Dr. Jones shared that, in his experience, all the schooling, studying, and work is well worth it in the end. Keeping this goal in mind can be motivating for students in pre-health career paths.
