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Student and Faculty Profiles

Meet Sarah Jane...

Class: 2008
Hometown: Mystic, Connecticut
Undergrad: Middlebury College
Major: English
Program: M.D.

I had barely swallowed my first word when my grandmother declared two prophecies: Sarah was going to be tall, and she was going to be a doctor. Now, keep in mind that these divinations were coming from a woman who was almost 4’11” with the help of a perm, and who struggled with illness for years after her appendicitis was misdiagnosed. By the time my grandmother died, I was the second-shortest kid in the entire class, and traumatized by the video we had to watch in seventh grade about the removal of parasitic worms. But, lo and behold, I sprouted up to a respectable 5’7” and am now about to embark on a career as a family physician.

As a former English major, UConn allowed me to pursue my passions in medicine while giving me a solid base in clinical skills and knowledge. During my two years in UConn’s post-baccalaureate program, I attended a conference on poetry and medicine. While in medical school at UConn, I had the freedom to share a poem during a class in problem-based learning; to receive wisdom from participants in a literature and medicine book group; and to coach female prisoners in using journal-writing as therapy.

As a medical student, I was energized and inspired by the family physicians I met on a third year rotation, and realized that all of my interests fit perfectly within the scope of family medicine: building a strong doctor-patient relationship, caring for people throughout their lives, and allowing for diverse approaches to healing. I subsequently matched into a phenomenal family medicine residency at Tufts University in Boston and plan to advocate the importance of primary care and to be the best family doc I can be. I think my grandmother would have been proud.