Julianne Reardon MD’15 with Gina Chen MD’15
Where are you from?
Juliann: So I’m from Uxbridge, Mass.
Gina: And I’m from Needham, Massachusetts.
Did you go to undergrad in New England as well?
Juliann: Yeah, so I was at MIT, and then…
Gina: I was PLME, so I was here.
How did going to MIT change your trajectory in terms of medicine? Were you interested in medicine at MIT?
Juliann: I actually wasn’t, I was thinking of going into aerospace engineering. And then right after the first few classes I knew that it wasn’t for me but I really loved my pre-med classes and that’s when I knew, at least with volunteering and all that, that I wanted to go into medicine. And at least for trajectory wise I think with any school you’re challenged and pushed to your limits, and I knew that after graduating from MIT I could do anything. So going to med school was a challenge but I knew that I could get through it.
And you, as a PLME, had to decide pretty early that you were going to go into medicine so what influenced that decision. How did you know that medicine was the path for you?
Gina: So, both of my parents are both primary care doctors. They told us, me and my brother, NOT to be doctors when we grew up because they are very overburdened and stressed all the time. But I got to spend some time working in their office when I was in high school and I really liked what they did. So, that was sort of how I ended up here, and I felt like I had a good realistic idea of what I was getting myself into since I had seen what my parents lives are like. So that’s how I decided.
What’s your specialty?
Gina: Internal Medicine
Juliann: Pediatrics.
And I’m assuming you are good friends?
Both: Yes!
How long have you known each other?
Juliann: Since first year.
Were you guys roommates?
Both: We lived down the street!
Gina: We’d bring lots of cookies back and forth, from one house to the other, watch TV together, you know…
If you could give a piece of advice to an incoming medical student at Brown, what would it be?
Juliann: I think to enjoy it. I think that everything happens so quickly that it’s really difficult to take a step back and really look at what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve done, and it really is amazing.
Gina: I feel the same. Also, keeping perspective… sometimes it feels like it will be a big deal to spend those extra hours studying for something, that it’s gonna make or break your exam, but it won’t! So you can take an hour to spend time with your friends watching Television, or baking cookies…
Take a nap?
Both: Take a nap!
