This episode features an amazing conversation with Rutgers University junior, Hardee Bhavsar. 10 months ago, at the start of the pandemic, Hardee was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and had to undergo six months of chemotherapy as well as two surgeries in order to fight it. Now, after overcoming her battle with cancer, she started her own non-profit/community service organization at Rutgers called Answer for Cancer.

I believe many people will also benefit from our discussion of her current experiences in attending college during a pandemic, her origins of interest in medicine, and her experiences in shadowing and clinical care settings. In relation to her new cancer support service organization Answer for Cancer, we also discussed how she started it and how she is growing her organization to spread their message. 

This episode features an enriching discussion with University of Toledo College of Medicine student Avinash Rajasekaran. Avi completed his undergraduate degree in biomolecular science and a business administration minor at the University of Michigan and is now a third-year medical student pursuing internal medicine. This is another interview with a med school student in which I learned a lot about their application process, the rigor of medical school, common pre-med concerns, his take on some life lessons.

I believe many people will benefit from our discussion of his decision to pursue a business minor to pair with his degree in biomolecular sciences, his advice on pre-med extracurricular activities like volunteering, research, shadowing, as well as his hobbies, and his grounded advice and personal experience with MCAT prep, having taken it more than once, which I found very insightful. We also discuss the med school application process, different types of interview styles that schools use to test their applicants, and we reminisce about pre-COVID times in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan.

This episode features a great discussion with Sarvani Kuruganti. Sarvani completed her undergrad at Emory University, and initially, a pre-med student who even went as far as taking the MCAT, switched gears to pursue her passion in public health, specifically social epidemiology. She then took a gap year during which she worked as a teaching assistant and conducted research at Rutgers University. After her gap year, Sarvani completed a very unique and rigorous Master of Public Health degree from New York University’s accelerated program. As a former pre-med and an MPH degree holder, she is highly qualified and very experienced within the world of pre-health and currently working in public health.

I believe many people will benefit from our discussion of her experiences as a pre-med at Emory, her time conducting research at Emory, as well as her other extracurriculars, and her decision to take a gap year followed by her pursuit of a masters degree in public health. We also discuss her time traveling during the NYU MPH program, as it was a global public health program that took her to countries like Argentina and Spain.

This episode features an enriching discussion with Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine student Ali Tahir. Ali is a fourth-year student pursuing internal medicine. Ali is also the co-founder of BreakThru Mentoring, a pre-med and medical student mentorship network. Personally, it was great to catch up with Ali because we know each other from a few years ago, as he was one of my tutors for AP Chem and Bio at a local academy. Now, he’s close to entering residency, and I’m in the middle of my pre-med journey, so it was great to pick his brain about common pre-med concerns and get his take on some life lessons.

I believe many people will benefit from our discussion of his decision to pursue a major in Rutger’s Business school as opposed to a traditional science-based major, his initial struggles switching from business to pre-med, and his grounded advice about MCAT prep (which I found very insightful since it’s coming up in my future)! 

We also discuss the differences between MD and DO schools, not only in their education but other aspects of the medical journey that students may not be exposed to from traditional pre-med tracks which usually emphasize MD schools. My favorite parts of this episode were when we discussed why he decided to go directly into medical school despite admitting he did not have as much clinical experience as his peers who were pre-med from the start, as well as his explanation of internal medicine and why there is an increase in the number of medical students opting for this field of medicine.

Welcome to Health Outlook, a podcast and interview series focused on helping pre-health students understand various fields within the world of healthcare. Each episode, I interview pre-health students, health professionals, and anyone else doing meaningful work or service in healthcare. 

This episode features an amazing conversation with 2 fellow pre-med students, Esha Kode, and Sanjana Chekuri, who are founders of a mental health non-profit organization, Happy 2 Thrive. Esha is a freshman at The College of New Jersey, studying psychology. She is a social entrepreneur, mental health advocate, and the first-ever Miss Teen India Worldwide. Sanjana is a junior at Rutgers University. She is also a social entrepreneur, mental health advocate, model, and dancer. Both Esha and Sanjana shared great stories and even some valuable advice for other pre-health students!

I believe many people will benefit from our discussion of their current experiences in attending college during a pandemic, their origins of interest in medicine, and their experiences in shadowing and clinical care settings. In relation to their mental health organization Happy 2 Thrive, we also discussed: how they started and grew their organization as well as some possible future plans to grow and spread their message. Lastly, we discussed the effect of social media and their modeling and pageant careers on their own mental health. This was a very entertaining and informative conversation, and I believe any aspiring physician, whether you’re in high school, college, or even further in the process, will be able to take something away from this episode!

Health Outlook is a podcast centered on sharing the stories of pre-health students, public health and medical professionals, and others within healthcare to help future health professionals understand the many paths that lay in front of them.

In this episode, Dr. Raja Cheruvu and I discuss his journey to becoming a board-certified radiologist, including his time as an accelerated medical program student at Boston University, his decision to apply for a medical school scholarship with the Air Force as well as his time serving post-residency domestically and internationally. Dr. Cheruvu also explains how his profession has changed due to the pandemic and how he sees clinical care changing for the greater good. This was an enriching conversation for me, and I hope those who listen to this episode take something from our discussion of the journey to becoming a physician!

Welcome to Health Outlook, a podcast and interview series focused on helping pre-health students understand various fields within the world of healthcare. My name is Anirudh Maddali, and I will be interviewing pre-health students, health professionals, and anyone else doing meaningful work or service in healthcare. My goal for this podcast is to help those like me in their pre-health journey to understand the many possible paths we may take to creating a better world around us and improving healthcare on an individual level.

The first episode of Health Outlook features an enriching conversation with Washington University in St. Louis graduate Rithvik Kondai. Rithvik is a Psychology-Neuroscience-Philosophy major, which he refers to as “PNP”. Initially a pre-med student at WashU, Rithvik switched gears and began working in addiction science and harm reduction care. In this episode, we discuss the importance of research for pre-health students, his extracurriculars, and his public health work in addiction science. Thank you for listening, and let’s jump right into our conversation with Rithvik!