Hometown: Birmingham, AL

Name of Undergraduate Institution: Auburn University

Major(s)/Minor(s) in College: Biomedical Sciences Major; Public Health Minor

Name of Medical School: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine MD/MPH

Contact Info: Rudolphdavis92@Gmail.com

Where are you currently at in your career path and why did you decide to pursue this career path?

I am a third-year student in an MD/MPH program. I originally fell in love with medicine as a child, because I saw it as a way to make a change in the world around me and affect the lives of many people. I chose to get involved in public health to learn better ways to affect change on a larger level and to learn implementation skills when taking interventions to communities of color through quality improvement, health care economics and entrepreneurship.

If you could go back and have a chat with your naïve college freshman self, what would you tell him?

Stay true to the process no matter how hard it gets; you have to go through it to get to the place you want to be in life. Stay hungry.

What advice would you give to someone looking to pursue a similar path as yours?

If you don’t come from a family or network with many young physicians, find someone a few years older than you in your career path and make them your mentor. Just stay in their ear and ask them what you need to look out for. It’s a tough road when you go through it alone.

What advice would you give to someone getting ready to start their application process to medical schools?

Start early. My school had a committee which made us basically complete our application and get letters before spring break of junior year; by having all my ducks in a row it made my application process much less stressful. Look into programs like the Fee Assistance Program by the AAMC; it saved me thousands of dollars in application and secondary fees and allowed me to save up money to take many more interviews than would have been possible.

What is it like attending school in your city/town?

Going to school in Miami is LIT! All professional schools are hard but when you don’t have to walk thru snow and you can still go to the beach after tests, it makes your life much less stressful. It is also a very diverse community and university where you will have a patient population you will only see in places like Miami, LA, or NY.

Who are some of your favorite musicians? Favorite books? Shows? Movies?

• Musicians: Wale, J. Cole, Kendrick, Anderson.Paak, Solange, Kehlani, Childish Gambino, Big KRIT, Ty $, Kanye.
• Books: Think and Grow Rich, Letters to A Young Brother, How to Make Friends and Influence People, The Audacity of Hope, Outliers, and the Freakonomics series
• Shows: House of Cards, Narcos, OITNB, Ballers, Breaking Bad, Atlanta, Insecure Podcasts
• Podcasts: How I Built This, Bodega Boys, Code Switch, Freakonomics Radio, The Brilliant Idiots, Tax Season, The Read, Start Up

Thanks a lot for your advice and for sharing a bit about yourself with us Rudy! It is very much appreciated! Best of luck to you as you continue to trek through your MD/MPH program!

Health Career Spotlights Home Page

Posted on January 4th, 2017