Name:Johnny Chen Hometown:Bedford, Texas Year in medical school:MS3 Graduation class year:2025
What inspired you to become a doctor?
After graduating from college, I took a gap year before applying to medical school. During this time, my grandmother’s health significantly deteriorated. She was diagnosed with dementia by our local neurologist. From that point onwards, she had to live in a nursing home under physician and nurse supervision. I would visit her in the evenings after work and talk with the physician. The physician had a calm and measured approach to medical care for my grandmother and helped alleviate my concerns about her health, and further inspired me to pursue medicine as a career. By seeing both me and my family in our most vulnerable state, the physician comforted us and provided us with a thorough and evidence-based plan of care.
Why did you choose the UTRGV School of Medicine?
During my interview day, I had the chance to eat lunch with current students and go on a campus tour. The UTRGV School of Medicine students seemed genuinely happy and excited to be in medical school, which was a breath of fresh air compared to some of the other schools I interviewed at. I also enjoyed the smaller class size because it helped build connections and friendships with classmates. Additionally, getting to know your professors here is easy because they have an open-door policy and are highly invested in our medical training success.
The UTRGV School of Medicine is a practicing academic medical institution. What aspect of academic medicine impacts you the most? (Educational, clinical, research, etc.)
The research aspect of academic medicine interests me the most. The research literature is vast and genuinely molds you into a life-long learner because it helps you understand how basic science molecular concepts can translate into clinically relevant therapeutics. Research provides the backbone for much of what we will do as future physicians.
What specialties of medicine or research interest you the most? Why?
Currently, the top 3 specialties of medicine that interest me the most are neurology, psychiatry, and geriatrics. I can attribute my interest in neurology and psychiatry to the fact that I majored in Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology as an undergraduate. Both the biological and psychological aspects of the brain have always fascinated me, and going through our school’s “Mind, Brain and Behavior” module further fostered my interest in the field. Geriatrics interests me because I was a Hospice volunteer, and I enjoyed talking with the elderly residents and getting to know their stories.
What is one interesting fact others might not know about you?
I love writing food reviews on Yelp. I’ve written over 250 reviews, so if you need a restaurant recommendation in the Valley, I got you!
