Julianna Richards, Current MD Candidate
BU Major & Graduation Date:
Cellular and Molecular Biology with a Specialization in Genetics; January 2023
Current School and Year:
Emory School of Medicine, M1
Preferred Pronouns:
She/Her
Hometown:
Berkley, MA
What school are you attending and what you are studying?
I am a first year medical student attending Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Emory was a program that always stood out to me. I loved my time at Boston University and the surrounding community and wanted to continue to work with similar patient populations. Like BMC, Grady Hospital, Emory’s primary clinical site, serves as a safety net hospital serving the Atlanta community. It was really important to me to attend a program that not only put an emphasis on their community, but had the infrastructure and resources to provide their students with a diverse patient population. I had served a similar demographic while in Boston and could not imagine not continuing my efforts in health equity, addiction medicine, and volunteering with at-risk populations. Similar to the patients Emory works with, Emory’s student body is extremely diverse and with its truly pass-fail curriculum, provides a collaborative learning community that I am incredibly grateful for. The medical students are placed into 4 “societies” and within those societies we are broken into small groups that are led by a faculty advisor who will follow us for the duration of our time at Emory. This is a component that fortunately many programs are adopting, and personally makes me feel that much more connected to the students and faculty surrounding me.
Is there a specialization and/or specific population you are interested in?
I am still VERY early on into my medical education journey but have definitely found myself gravitating to certain areas- whether that be through clinical, volunteer, or research experiences that I have had. Currently, I’d like to say that I am leaning towards a surgical specialty- stuck somewhere between general surgery or perhaps OBGYN. I have been fortunate enough to have been selected as a Coordinator for the Emory medical student run Harriet Tubman Women’s Clinic, a fully student run and operated OBGYN clinic for uninsured/underinsured women in the Atlanta area. This opportunity has granted me more experience in the field of women’s health and has further reinforced my desire to work with underserved populations.
What are one or two of your favorite experiences/activities and why?
While I was a student at BU, I worked at MGH as a medical scribe in the emergency department. While this was my first truly clinical experience, I learned more from this position than most of my other experiences. Working in the ED and working directly with attendings was foundational to my understanding of the medical field as a whole; the flow of a hospital stay, the dynamics and cooperativity between various healthcare professionals, and even more pertinent to my life now; what questions to ask patients and why, what the relationship between patient and physician can look like depending on severity of disease/circumstance, and how to work amongst a healthcare team. If anyone has the opportunity to work in a position like this one prior to medical school, or any medical professional school, I would highly recommend it.
Another amazing experience I had was through my time working as a medical assistant in a dermatology clinic. It was VERY different from my experience in the ED, but granted me more hands-on learning and clinical skills. I had a greater opportunity to work directly with patients, work on patient interviewing, administrative tasks, and assisted in procedures.
Did you take gap years?
I took about 1 and a half gap years. I graduated a semester early from BU, took the MCAT in January, and stayed in Boston for the remainder of the academic year. During that time I continued working as a medical scribe at MGH, volunteered at a women’s shelter, as well as a medical assistant at a Suboxone clinic in Quincy. The next year I moved back home (do anything you can to save money!), and began working as a medical assistant at a dermatology clinic up until moving to Atlanta to begin medical school.
What was your favorite BU course and why?
My favorite course as BI 310: Human Structure and Function with Dr. Tsolias. This was one of the only anatomy courses I took while at BU and it was during my last semester senior year. Up until this point, most of my coursework was heavily focused on cellular and molecular biology, which I still loved, but taking an anatomy class truly reassured me that I really DID want to go into medicine. In that course I was able to connect my passion for science with human biology and reinforce my desire to go apply to medical school.
Were you involved in any clubs/groups at BU?
While at BU I was a member of two different Greek organizations; one social and one professional. I was a member of Delta Gamma, where I served as our Director of Service, working closely to organize service events focused on our sorority’s philanthropy, Service for Sight, an organization that serves the blind and visually impaired. I was also a member of AED, Boston University’s premedical honor’s fraternity. Through this organization I was connected to many students with similar career goals and life passions as me.
Have you always known you wanted to be a doctor? What/who has been your biggest inspiration?
I definitely always knew I wanted to go into medicine. I made sure to explore other fields to be sure that my childhood dream was not simply a childhood dream, but the more I explored, the more I found myself always coming back to wanting to go to medical school. I would probably credit that passion to my mother, who is a nurse, and for most of my life encouraged me to follow in her footsteps.
What resources at BU did you find most helpful or want to spotlight that others might not know about?
I worked closely with the pre-health office and made sure to attend/watch recordings of several of the panels, talks, and workshops that they hosted. I worked directly with Rachel starting my sophomore year and continued to meet with her regularly throughout my time at BU and during my gap year for advice and feedback on my applications, interviews, and ultimately my decision on which school to attend. Especially once in the application phase, I highly recommend using their interview workshops and practicing with other students as much as you can!
What are your hobbies/What do you like to do for fun outside of the classroom?
Outside of the classroom I have always been into personal fitness. For the past several years I have been into weight lifting, but recently have made the switch over to mostly running. (Probably since the weather here is much more agreeable than in Boston!) I also love to cook and bake, and spend time with my friends, family, and my cat Theo.
Are there any tips/advice you would like to share with current pre-health students?
I think my biggest advice would be to do what you enjoy. I know there is a lot of pressure to check certain boxes and complete X amount of hours of different activities while preparing your application. But speaking from my own experience, I found that the things that interviewers and admissions committees liked to ask about/talk about the most with me were the things I was truly passionate about. So volunteer with organizations that mean something to you, and work within populations or fields that are most interesting to you; even if you think they may not sound as “impressive,” because I guarantee that when asked about these experiences both on your applications or on interview day, you’ll have a lot more meaningful things to say and reflect on than something you chose out of prestige rather than interest.