From the moment that I stepped onto IUPUI’s campus as an eager freshman in 2015, I have been involved in numerous opportunities that have helped shape my undergraduate studies, extracurricular interests, and future career path.
I am honored that IUPUI selected me as a 2018 Top 10 student and will be forever grateful as the institution has opened more doors to community service and research than I ever imagined possible, offered me numerous resources, such as mentors and international experiences, and has overall confirmed my passion to live a life of serving others as a physician.
Partaking in the many leadership opportunities that the Sam H. Jones Community Service Program offers since my sophomore year has led me to make valuable connections with students and staff. I have been a site leader in the campus-wide days of service, participated in alternative break trips, interned at AMPATH, a non-profit in the IU Center for Global Health, and served with IUPUI Family, School, and Neighborhood Engagement staff to improve the quality of life in underprivileged communities around Indianapolis through workforce development, research and education.
A plethora of research opportunities has also been obtainable due to IUPUI’s proximity to the School of Medicine. While I found bench research to have fascinating applications after working in a pancreatic cancer research lab, my desire to interact directly with patients and my local community led me to conduct translational research. Under Dr. Nerissa Bauer, I used qualitative research approaches to incorporate patient voice into medical interventions currently being designed. I moderated a focus group for students to provide feedback on how to translate training videos for enhancing communication between physicians and patients into an interactive game. I also conducted interviews at clinics to understand motivations for continuing an intervention for caregivers and children with ADHD and anxiety to identify what components should be refined prior to expansion.
IUPUI has provided me with an immeasurable amount of opportunities and has taught me that I can pursue anything that I set my mind to.
Amira Nafiseh, Class of 2019
Conducting interviews with stakeholders who participated in these groups allowed me to observe the necessity for support and empathy not confined to short doctor appointments. Through this experience, I was frequently exposed to clinical settings that strive to incorporate patient feedback into their models to foster a more detailed understanding of diagnoses and to improve patient health outcomes. By investing my time in translational research projects, I have observed the necessity of involving patients in their care and stepping beyond their diagnoses and medical treatments to create plans tailored to them.
The various student organizations on campus have also allowed me to further my interests and passions. The Neuroscience Club, Muslim Student Association, Medical Humanities Club, and American Medical Student Association have served as outlets for me to gain expertise in transferable skills and build my network. Additionally, Global Medical Brigades has been an integral part of my undergraduate career. Serving as a leader has allowed me to develop a stronger sense of cultural humility, increased communication, critical thinking and problem-solving skills individually and as part of a team when working through challenges on campus and abroad. As I served as a trip leader on my final brigade, I analyzed the ethical issues of students providing medical services abroad, such as the popularity among many pre-med students to participate in procedures that would be illegal in the U.S. Returning as the Co-President, I took action by incorporating discussions on ethics and culture into pre-trip meetings and joining an ethics of global health discussion group.
To investigate volunteer perceptions on the sustainability and ethics of these trips, IUPUI alumna, Priya Dave, and I conducted a study with former students to determine how volunteering abroad has affected their beliefs. We interviewed 25 students to address how these week-long service trips may or may not contribute to the resilience of underserved communities and presented our findings at the International Health Humanities Conference at Stanford University. I realize the importance of individuals leaving their comfort zones and learning about other healthcare systems, but now believe that more valuable ethical assistance would be provided to underserved areas by more long-term partnerships and healthcare professionals or by devoting more time to training students.
Planning and participating in professional events has also impacted my growth as a student on and off campus. Collaborating with the Medical Humanities Club executive board to plan and execute the first Midwest Undergraduate Medical Humanities Conference provided a novel way to engage students in humanistic approaches to medicine. By serving as a conference organizer, I devoted a significant amount of time and effort to create a space for pre-healthcare professionals to gain exposure to medical humanities topics that are not often discussed. This event provided an avenue for multiple students to present their research and resulted in the creation of a larger community of individuals interested in the interdisciplinary field of medical humanities and its role in medicine.
Overall, IUPUI has provided me with an immeasurable amount of opportunities and has taught me that I can pursue anything that I set my mind to. However, the day September 18, 2017, ultimately changed the way that I view my life and the world around me. My close family friend, Fatima Hassuneh, passed away after being hit by a school bus on campus. Fatima, an aspiring physician like myself, often came to me for advice during her freshman year on how to become more involved on campus. Knowing that she did not have the chance to partake in any of the research or service experiences that I encouraged her to apply for has driven me to always think about her as I continue my involvement. I now realize that I need to truly carry out the best life that I possibly can since we never know when our last day on this earth will be and to not take any opportunity that I am offered for granted.
Story courtesy of:
Amira Nafiseh
Class of 2019
