.jpg)
Twenty-five years ago, a third-year medical student began his surgery core clerkship at the VA Hospital in Detroit. Although unsure of his future specialty, he was excited to experience and explore the world of medicine, make contributions to patient care, and develop his clinical skills.
At the VA, he met a surgical attending who, for some reason, took an interest in him. Through the course of the rotation, the attending provided him with additional learning opportunities, offered him a chance to work on a research project, arranged introductions with key faculty in the department, and encouraged him to present cases and topics at teaching conferences.
Ultimately, the student decided to enter internal medicine rather than surgery but the lessons learned from that attending-student relationship continue to profoundly influence the student now as a physician.
That student was me. I was fortunate to have some very dedicated mentors, and their guidance was crucial in my development as a physician and my ability to reach my professional goals.
As I completed my training, I realized how much I wanted to do the same for those who would follow me. Over the past 20 years as a faculty member at the Baylor College of Medicine, I've been privileged to do just that. I've mentored and taught hundreds of premedical students, medical students, residents, and fellows, all of whom have inspired me in different ways.
To be the most effective mentor that I could be to this next generation of physicians, I made it my mission to become as knowledgeable as possible about medical school, residency, and fellowship admissions. I researched the world of admissions, scoured every single piece of scientific literature, and spoke to hundreds of admissions personnel and faculty at conferences.
Motivated to share what I learned with students, graduates, and residents all over the world, I wrote a series of books to empower future physicians with the knowledge needed to overcome the challenges of the medical school, residency, and fellowship admissions processes.
As satisfying as it has been to help future physicians as an author, there were many talented and motivated people who were still struggling to reach their goals. A book was an excellent starting point but more was needed, especially personalized attention and guidance, to help this group achieve their goals in medicine.
This is what led me to establish MD2B Connect. Our mission at MD2B Connect is to connect you to your place in medicine. Thousands of medical school, residency, and fellowship applicants have used our services and books to land coveted positions. Through this blog and our Success in Medicine podcast, I'll show you the strategies we've used to help launch these careers.
What continues to drive me to do my best for you are those special moments when I receive an email, phone call, or text saying, "Dr. Desai, I did it! I got in." That's the feeling I want to experience with you. Thank you for letting me be a part of your journey in medicine.