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Pathology Resident, PGY-3 Brooke Army Medical Center, and United States Army Captain, USA

Book recommendation? I would go with my favorite book, “Behave: The Biology of Humans at our Best and Worst” by Robert Sapolsky. I majored in Neuroscience and Behavior during my undergraduate years at Florida Atlantic University and have always been fascinated by humans, particularly our brains. This book changed the way I think about human nature and our behavior. Not only will this book help you understand yourself and others better, it is a well-written and entertaining read. Honestly, it was a close call between Sapiens and Behave, but as an aspiring neuropathologist, suggesting a book based on brain science just felt right.

Professional ambitions? I aim to continue to serve my country in uniform and to use the pathology knowledge I am acquiring during residency to provide accurate diagnoses for future patients. After residency, I'll be attending Neuropathology fellowship training at the University of Florida and using that training to practice as a neuropathologist in the Army for years to come.

I intend to serve the whole twenty years of active-duty service in the Army and hone my pathology and teaching skills during that time. I enjoy teaching and want to explain pathophysiology to others in simple language, like Dr Goljan and Dr Sattar did for me while I was a medical student. In pursuit of this goal, I intend to continue to grow the YouTube channel Pathagonia, which my good friend and colleague Dr Hwang and I started during residency. It has been a lot of fun to create content for it, and it has helped both of us in our studies and our goals of becoming better doctors and educators.

I also intend to publish my first book this year and plan to continue honing my writing skills throughout my lifetime. Writing has been therapeutic and has helped me find balance in medicine. After my time in the military, I plan on writing more, continuing to practice pathology, and hopefully finding somewhere to teach. All of that, ideally mixed with some surfing and yoga with my wife and family.

Inspiring mentor or educator? I am fortunate enough to have had several mentors throughout my lifetime, but three come to mind for this question. The first mentor I have is not in the field of medicine, but without his help, I don’t believe I would be a doctor or an officer. Ben Fox helped me grow personally and professionally when I moved to South Florida and was trying to find a new direction and meaning in my life and career.

Another prominent figure is Kamran Mirza, who has had the most direct impact on my pathology career. Ironically, I have never met Mirza in person, but I met him online while doing a virtual Pathology Elective rotation at Loyola in my fourth year of medical school. Mirza volunteered to meet with me to discuss my CV, explain more about pathology, practice for my residency interviews, and even write a paper or two together. His investment in helping me further my career has inspired me to attempt to do the same for others if they ask me.

Last but certainly not least, Benjamin Ramos was the mentor assigned to me by my residency program. Ramos came to BAMC in my first year of residency, and after talking about philosophy for much of our first sign-out, I have often sought his advice. Ramos has helped me realize there is more to life than medicine and work. Becoming a physician is an honor and a privilege, but it is also encouraged to have hobbies outside of medicine, to find balance, and even go for a motorcycle ride. Ramos helped reinforce that while the RISE and passing boards are important, ultimately, it is about becoming better doctors for our patients. He inspired me to read not for a score on some exam like we were conditioned to do all our lives but to read for our patients.

All three of these mentors freely give their time and attention for the betterment of those that they mentor.