Who is your biggest inspiration in life?

It’s a very cliche answer but I would say my parents. When I was younger I always saw my dad as a huge role model and he definitely had a huge impact on me deciding to pursue the medical field. Being around him as he worked through his medical training definitely impacted my decision to pursue this field since a young age. As I became older, I saw how my mom was the glue that kept everything together, organized, and functioning while my dad was working. She helped shape many of my morals and beliefs, which I think are important for being a good human being. The personal and professional values that my parents instilled in me over the years continue to help guide me to be a good son, brother, husband and physician.

What is a piece of advice you would give current medical school students?

It’s obviously important to gain a strong understanding of the medical knowledge taught during the pre-clinical years in medical school. Almost equally important, though, is finding healthy habits to help cope with the inevitable stressors that await throughout your medical training.I recall seeing many of my peers, including myself, throw away healthy habits and prior hobbies because of the constant struggle to not fall behind in learning the massive waves of material we were given. Unless you really put in the effort, it becomes very easy to put your hobbies on the side for the sake of “finishing up another lecture”. Even when you do make your mental health a priority and learn to incorporate it into your day to day routine, I don’t think it’s unusual to feel that you could be spending your time studying more. The best advice I can give is find the right balance of work and relaxation that works for you, and try to make it something that’s sustainable in the long term.

Was there a point in medical school where you were afraid you were not going to make it?

The first block that I had was neurology and I almost failed. I knew exactly how many questions I needed to get right on the final exam when I went upstairs for the post exam review. As I went through each question I remember thinking to myself “Oh my God, there’s another question that I got wrong.” I kept imagining myself standing in front of the review committee if I failed the block, getting kicked out of medical school and never becoming a doctor. Self doubt started to creep in as well and I began wondering “If I nearly failed something this early on in medical school, how the heck am I going to get through the rest of it.” Thankfully, I passed the neurology block and none of those things happened, but I can still re-live the anxiety I felt by thinking back to that day.

If you had to give a piece of advice to your first year medical school self, what would it be?

The realization that I wasn’t at the top of my medical school class was a big pill to swallow and was a humbling realization after doing well in college. I walked into medical school expecting myself to get 90’s on tests, but that unfortunately was not the reality.  Despite studying and reviewing material for each exam within the limited time I had, it was just a fact that some people were able to retain the information better than others. Also, medical school is a marathon and not a sprint. Giving all my energy and focus to each exam, which entailed giving up hobbies and things of interest to me, was something I realized wasn’t sustainable. I had to learn to balance personal time with school stuff. Getting lower grades than I previously got in college was a combination of the sheer volume of information you’re expected to know, and me understanding “what’s important to me” in the big picture of life. In the end, I would say don’t be so hard on yourself when you’re trying to balance studying with mental sanity, and you’re suddenly getting 70’s and 80’s on exams.Your goal in life is not to get 90’s on everything. Your goal is to become a good doctor who cares for his/her patients and can help them. If you can come out of medical school with a strong foundation to build on during residency, then that is the most important thing in my opinion. 

What was an obstacle that you consistently saw yourself having to overcome throughout this process?

I don’t know if there was one day, but there were numerous times in medical school when I wondered if I was cut out for this profession. There were times that despite studying and feeling like I had a solid understanding of the information, the test scores didn’t correlate with how confident I felt about the material. It was pretty disheartening but, looking back, there were a few positive things that came from those experiences. The musculoskeletal system was one of the systems where I felt confident about the material and it translated to all the exams I took. Seeing my interest in MSK translate to medical school tests helped give me the confidence to pursue the field I’m currently in, PM&R. Though disheartening, those experiences also helped teach me how to study more efficiently and be more accepting of unexpected outcomes while learning from them.

Has medical school changed the way you view this field?

I remember the idea of becoming a physician prior to medical school was one thing. There is stark change that I remember the idea of becoming a physician when I was a kid was one of awe. Unfortunately, during medical school there were numerous times where I felt I had to sacrifice personal interests and obligations for the sake of my medical training, and this slowly chipped away at that feeling. The idea of “delayed gratification” is so inherent to the medical field that it’s something we force ourselves to accept as normal, and it may force us to push off things that are personal and important to us. Eventually this can chip away at us and make us more jaded as medical providers. This is why learning to balance personal obligations with your medical training during medical school is so important. That way, you don’t feel like you’re giving up your entire life to this profession, but rather learning to co-exist with it. Having that balance will also translate to better patient care, and help preserve that “child-like” wonderment you had for this profession as a kid.

What is one thing you learned through the journey of medical school that you carry with you today?

I learned how important it is to appreciate what you have accomplished. After years of working towards getting into medical school, you finally get that letter in the mail and think to yourself, “Yes, I did it!”. For me, that appreciation lasted about 30 minutes before my mind jumped to the next objective. I began thinking “okay this is going to be a grind, it’s going to be hard, and it’s going to be expensive, and the next couple of years are just going to be work, work, work.” What happened to all those years of waiting for this exact moment? Achievements are seen, appreciated momentarily, and then almost forgotten, and pretty quickly you start thinking “what’s next?”.  You can go your whole life trying to look for the next thing without actually feeling happy with what you have in the moment. Learn to appreciate your accomplishments during every part of this journey; getting into medical school, passing that exam you studied your butt off for, getting through your boards, finally matching into residency, and graduating from medical school. 

Why is it that you still believe in this profession and field, despite everything that the journey entails?

Going through medical school is a grueling and anxiety ridden process, but you come out the other side as a physician. It’s a career that garners respect from your patients and colleagues, responsibility toward the community you serve, and a sense of reward for what you do everyday. It’s tough to appreciate that when you’re in the thick of it, studying for tests and board exams, but once you come out the other side and take a step back, you can see that you’ll be impacting patients’ lives with every decision you make. If you’re able to come out of your medical training and balance any med school-induced jadedness with your previous pre-med idealism towards medicine, I think you’ll come out as a great physician. Your patients will reiterate that to you, whether it be directly or indirectly. You’ll feel like you’re making a change every single day.

Interview Conducted By: Saumya Vodapally

Saumya Vodapally is currently a junior pre med undergraduate student at the University of Connecticut double majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. In her free time she loves reading, playing with her dog, spending time with family, working out, and As someone who is passionate about mental health, she was able to converse with Dr. Shashank Vodapally to learn about his medical journey.

Posted on November 16th, 2020. Follow us on Instagram at (@medical.minds.matter).