From IU to Harvard

WHEN GIOVANNI RODRIGUEZ, MD, graduated from Indiana University School of Medicine in 2020, you couldn’t have blamed her for being somewhat daunted by the path in front of her.

The first in her immigrant family to graduate from college, much less become a physician, Rodriguez had matched to one of the most competitive residency programs in the country — the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine residency program at Mass General Brigham in Boston. It was a place that, admittedly, presented opportunities for self-doubt and, at first, a mild case of impostor syndrome.

Then, there was the timing. Rodriguez landed in Boston during the fiercest point in the pre-vaccination battle with COVID-19. She was learning how to be a doctor in a public health crisis 
that left physicians grasping for effective treatments.

Due to COVID precautions, families were unable to visit their gravely ill loved ones in the hospital. They were left to ask young residents like Rodriguez whether they’d ever see their family members again. “We just really didn’t have answers,” Rodriguez said. “We were learning medicine and how to practice and dealing with these challenges every day.”

While COVID presented a steep learning curve, Rodriguez had some built-in advantages that came from her preparation at IU School of Medicine. She had taken advantage of the school’s shortened 16-month classroom curriculum and used the extra time to take electives in intensive care, pediatric emergencies, and a sub-internship in OB-GYN. As a medical student, she had learned how to start IVs, central and arterial lines, and insert breathing tubes. In surgeries, she had assisted in hernia repairs and closed surgical incisions. “I got a lot of opportunities to get hands-on experience,” she said.

Emily Walvoord, MD, the associate dean for student affairs at IU School of Medicine and a professor of pediatrics, said Rodriguez’s hard work and choice of electives was key. So, too, was the one-on-one training she and other students often enjoyed while working with attending physicians and performing procedures in clinical settings around the state.

“They’re in a lot of intense environments, taking care of complex patients,” Walvoord said. “At the same time, our students get a lot more hands-on experience compared to other medical schools and medical centers that have less wide-ranging clinical opportunities.”

Rodriguez left Indiana equipped with a diverse medical bag of experiences matched by few of her colleagues in the residency program. “It made me feel more confident when I knew how to do things,” she said. “And I picked up things a little faster.”

At Mass General Brigham, Rodriguez found her footing quickly. She took on leadership roles and was eventually chosen — by faculty and fellow residents — as one of three chief residents in the emergency department.

Today, Rodriguez, 31, is a member of Mass General’s emergency department staff. She’s engaging with medical students as an instructor. She is also pursuing a master’s in public health from Harvard School of Public Health, with a focus on health care management. Her interest is in health disparities.

She’s investigating how hospitals can improve the discharge process, including things as simple as sending patients home with instructions in their native language. Her big dream is to become a chief medical officer at a major hospital system. She credits her time in Indiana for setting her on her path.

“My time at IU School of Medicine opened up a lot of doors and opportunities for me to explore my interests,” she said, “and to then take those interests into residency and moving forward.”

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