Robert Roundy graduated from Emory’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2019 double majoring in Biology and Spanish. He is originally from Burlington, Iowa. During his time at Emory, he was involved in mock trial, was a PHA Peer Mentor, studied abroad, was a chemistry mentor, and performed linguistics research. He is currently an M1 at Emory University School of Medicine.
We had a chance to sit down with him, ask him a few questions and talk about his pre-health journey.
What is the best advice you could give someone pursuing the same track as you?
It’s funny and has been said a lot during orientation thus far, and actually has become a meme in the class Groupme. Stay in your lane. I think it’s super easy as pre-med students and in medical school, to have a tendency to obsess about things. It’s good for a lot of things, it means we are on the right track, and getting all the important information. But at the end of the day, it goes a little bit too far sometimes and you’re so worried about what everyone else is doing you look at this other person and … you start panicking and getting worried about what everyone else is doing. But it’s really all about doing what works for you. That bleeds over into finding what you are passionate about and doing that. I think that’s a point that Anil and the whole (PHA) office has focused on.
One of the professors mentioned that the people who talk about how they did or how much they studied, they usually did so because they’re not sure about themselves. If someone says I only studied 30 minutes for a test, they’re probably lying, and if they said they studied 12 hours, they’re probably lying (or it wasn’t good studying)
You really just need to find what works for you.
Everyone has been asking how do you study? What's the best way to do something?
I think it really depends on the person. It may be flashcards or studying with friends. You really just need to be introspective enough to figure out what works for you. This is the same for studying for the MCAT and orgo. You need to see what works for you.
What has been the biggest challenge for you during your pre-med journey?
My biggest challenge was probably general chemistry. I came from a place where I had no idea how to study. It was a wake-up call. This is really similar to the stay in your lane mantra because I had to figure out what worked for me.
What has solidified medicine as the path for you?
I always talked about how I was interested in medicine, I’m good with blood. But there was always the thought that when you actually get to do it, what if I can’t handle it. The moment that really solidified it for me was when I was shadowing an orthopedic surgeon. He can just cut open a person, there was blood spilling everywhere, it was gross and everything, and I remembered my stomach growled because I was hungry. At the moment I was like “hahaha nice okay I got this. This is so cool.”
The moment I realized health, in general, was what I wanted to do, was a while back. I remember thinking “It is really neat. It’s really neat to wake up at 5 am and be so excited about what you get to do that day”
We are very privileged, as a health profession in general, to be able to have such an important role in so many people’s lives. You get to fully comprehend that when you actually experience patient interaction. You get to see the benefit of what the physician or dietician has on a person. This responsibility is just extremely unique and it’s amazing seeing all the trust and communication at work. When I was shadowing I just couldn’t stop smiling.
Even sitting in a lecture at medical school, it's crazy because I remember in 8th grade thinking to myself yeah I wanna be a doctor, and now finally being here it makes me tear up a little. *Hey Look Ma I Made It* starts playing in the background
What is something you’ve learned recently now that you’re in medical school?
I think the biggest thing, is that everyone chills out. There is a calmness that comes with the understanding that there are things in your control and things that are out of your control. I think it's very difficult to recognize these in the pre-med lifestyle. But the earlier you can identify these things, the easier your life will be. There’s a difference between prepping for M1 or the MCAT and looking at a review book to be aware of what material could or could not be tested. You know for the repetition. But that's completely different than coming in on day 1 and asking the professor about how to study for the M1 when classes haven’t even started
Lastly, the big quote I’ve been living by is “trust the process.”
