I’m a first-year medical student at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, on my way to becoming an emergency physician. To put it simply, I want to save people. Not too long ago, that goal didn’t seem possible.
I wanted to be a doctor but didn’t know the path to get there. I am the first woman in my family to receive a formal education and no one in the family was involved in the medical field. In my senior year at Hunter College, I learned about the Bridges to Medicine program sponsored by the Associated Medical Schools of New York, one of 17 state-supported AMSNY Scholars in Medicine and Science programs helping to address the physician shortage in rural and medically underserved areas across New York State, and in specialties where the need is greatest.
The need for competent, compassionate medical care everywhere is something I learned about at an early age. I was six years old, living in Pakistan, when my three-month-old baby brother died from an undiagnosed hole in his heart, something that could have been repaired with the right resources – resources that didn’t exist in our community. In Brooklyn, where I live now, I was in third grade when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She only spoke Urdu, so as a child, I served as her translator at medical appointments. There weren’t many women oncologists at the time, or Pakistani doctors, and she didn’t get information about follow-up care. The cancer returned twelve years later and was fatal.
These experiences made me want to become a doctor, to provide care for people like my mom, who would have appreciated being cared for by a doctor who understood her language and her culture. Here in Brooklyn, there are more than 85,000 South Asians, according to New York City Planning, and Pakistani Americans are one of the fastest growing Asian ethnic groups. We need doctors like me.
I’m now looking forward to the challenges of being an emergency physician, where you never know what’s coming next. Every patient who comes in is different. No day is the same.
There are some 1,600 students in the various programs around New York that are supported by AMSNY. In the Bridges to Medicine program, we spend a year after earning an undergraduate degree taking courses and getting the support we need to succeed in medical school. We have access to SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University faculty members and students who have taken this journey before us, all of whom are saying, “You can do this, we are in your corner.” We have mentors, people we can ask for help when we need it. The support here is wonderful. It makes me believe that I can and will succeed in becoming a doctor.
I am so grateful for AMSNY’s longstanding support for the Bridges to Medicine program. I would not be in medical school without it. I also thank Governor Kathy Hochul and the members of the New York State Legislature for allocating $3.6 million in the last state budget to support these programs, as well as $1.25 million for the AMSNY Scholarship in Medicine program, which helps reduce financial barriers for students committed to practicing in medically underserved areas of New York State after completing their medical education. Completion of an AMSNY Scholars in Medicine and Science program is a prerequisite for the scholarship.
By training and preparing future physicians, AMSNY’s programs help ensure access to high-quality medical care and better patient outcomes for New Yorkers. Continued state investment is critical for these programs to continue and grow. As lawmakers consider the upcoming state budget, I hope they will continue to provide strong support so that future classes of medical students can benefit from the same opportunities I have had. This is an investment not only in future doctors, but in better health for all New Yorkers.
Rubia Shahbaz is a medical student at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn.
