Shadowing Experience (Job shadowing/informational interview) — Natalie Alexander (Class 2029) 4 points

    

    On Thursday, January 8, 2026, I had the opportunity to shadow a physician in the Department of Hematology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and receive a campus tour of UT Health Science Center. I began the day with my clinical shadowing in the pediatric Hematology clinic under the direction of Dr. Parul Rai. During this session, I assisted Dr. Rai with anything she needed at her desk and went with her to each patient appointment. During each check-up, I kept a list of all of the patients she was seeing throughout the day and provided them with any supplemental paperwork they needed. It was very insightful to see the various blood-borne complications that each patient faced and how that impacted how often Dr. Rai saw each patient. Some of the conditions I saw throughout the day were sickle cell disease and hemophilia. After my time at St. Jude concluded, I spent the remainder of the day at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center for a campus tour and meeting with one of the MDs. The visit was scheduled after I connected with the Assistant Dean of Admissions at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Students (ABRCMS). He offered to give me the tour of the institution himself which I greatly appreciated — this reflects the importance of building relationships because this connection I made at ABRCMS has opened so many doors for me. On the tour, I was able to see the medical school classrooms, simulation labs, library and study spaces, and connect with various students on-campus to hear about their experiences at this institution. The highlight of my tour experience was being introduced to one of the professors who specializes in pathology — the specialty I am currently interested in. She talked to me about what her typical day looks like and why she was drawn to pathology as a specialty. At the conclusion of our conversation, she shared her contact information and since then we have stayed in touch. I am incredibly grateful for the experiences I received at both St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as well as the University of Tennessee Health Science Center because they both provided me with shadowing and networking opportunities I can continue to cultivate and pursue throughout my time and undergraduate school and prior to applying to professional school. The connections I made throughout the day solidified in my mind the importance of networking in every space you enter because you never know what doors that connection could open for you.

 

By Natalie Alexander