Victoria Adegboye has a desire to soothe fears and numb pain. This fourth-year medical student hopes to become an anesthesiologist. Her incredible ability to work with her hands, coupled with her calm demeanor and easy-going personality, might seal the deal.
"Everyone, before they have a surgery, has some level of anxiety, says Adegboye, a 24-year-old Columbus, Ohio, resident. "Theyre all thinking, I am going to be unconscious and someone is going to be operating on me."
An anesthesiologist must be confident, yet personable, and able to earn a patients trust in a short amount of time. Quickly reading a patient and determining their mood is crucial. For example, a person with a sense of humor may respond well to light joking, explains Adegboye.
"It helps calm the patients while building a relationship, she says. "They are very grateful, and I really like that."
Adegboye and other medical students in the Class of 2016 know they have matched with a residency program, but still await word of where that may be. On Friday, March 18, Adegboye and her classmates will gather for a festive event at 11:30 a.m. in E-351 in the Medical Sciences Building to find out where they will spend the next three to five years training to fully practice their chosen specialty.
The medical students have completed a months-long interview process coordinated by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) which links the program preferences of students with those of residency program directors.
"At first, I was not sure what I wanted to do in terms of a specialty, says Adegboye. "But during my third-year rotations, my friends recommended doing a two-week anesthesia elective because it was very hands-on, and I would be working with patients while doing procedures."
Adegboye worked closely with an attending physician and found that there was a lot of versatility in the field, which allowed her to work in an operating room, in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, on the patient floors, and also in a clinic or pre-operative setting. "Anesthesiologists are involved in many aspects of patient care in the hospital, she explains. "Their airway management skills make them vital during situations requiring resuscitation. I thought it was amazing that one specialty can do so many things."
Adegboye, a Nigerian immigrant who has lived in Columbus since she was nine, has been interested in medicine since junior high. "I remember we had a career day at our school where all these people came for a visit and one of them was a doctor. I always enjoyed giving back to the community through volunteering, and I also liked the challenging science and math classes in school; when I added these interests together, I got a physician, she says with a laugh.
Adegboyes parents, who are both registered nurses, also encouraged her. So it comes as no surprise that her siblings are also in the medical field. Her older sister is a home healthcare nurse in Columbus, her older brother is an internal medicine resident at University Hospitals Parma Medical Center in Parma, Ohio, and her younger sister is a first-year medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.
Adegboye, who started school early while living in Nigeria, entered The Ohio State University at age 17. She majored in biology and decided to become a UC Bearcat after visiting the College of Medicine's Diversity Interview Day. The event is designed to recruit underrepresented minority students at the College of Medicine and connects potential medical school applicants with faculty and current medical students.
"The faculty was very welcoming and encouraging. They made you feel like you were family and that you belonged at UC," says Adegboye. "I knew I had to come here.
UC faculty are glad that their efforts were persuasive in attracting Adegboye.
"Victoria has shined during her time at the College of Medicine, explains Christopher Lewis, MD, assistant dean in COM Office of Diversity and Inclusion. "She has a coveted mix of clinical skills, knowledge, empathy, and professionalism that will make her an excellent physician.
As one of her preceptors commented during her anesthesia rotation, "Victoria is a highly motivated student who was always an active participant in patient care activities. She has a great eagerness and desire to learn about perioperative medicine and anesthesia. She has a wonderful bedside manner and interacted very well with patients and family members. She was always pleasant to the staff and patients and exhibited great communication skills. She also did well in learning perioperative and procedural skills. She was a pleasure to have on service and will surely do well in her medical career.
