Getting Involved to Build Community: Nikhil Nadler

Diving into student organizations is one way that second-year College of Medicine Nikhil Nadler channels his boundless energy into opportunities to learn and help.

It was NEOMED’s focus on helping people in underserved areas that attracted Nadler to the University in the first place. “That’s something I’ve always thought was a valuable and very noble goal of the school,’’ he says. Participating in the NEOMED chapter of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) offers him all kinds of ways to build community.

Nadler recently helped organize the annual Aesculapius Charity Ball, which raised funds for two student scholarships.  He’s also involved with planning the University’s annual health fair, which invites the community into the NEW Center. AMSA is a fantastic organization to be a part of, he says, and it’s gratifying to see the community appreciation for events like the health fair.

AMSA offers many opportunities to be mentored and get perspective on important decisions, like trying to choose a specialty or where to go for a residency.  Attending conferences is also encouraged, says Nadler. This winter, he and two other students were selected to present research done through NEOMED’s Summer Research Fellowship Program at the Pathology Educators Conference in Las Vegas.

NEOMED curriculum in perspective

Beyond the honor of winning the “Most Distinguished Poster” award with his two classmates, Nadler also appreciated the perspective he gained on curriculum at other institutions by attending the national conference.

“We got to learn what other medical schools do in their education. Especially with NEOMED going through curricular changes ourselves, it was very interesting to get different perspectives from all other medical schools across the country,’’ he says.

Attending the Pathology Educators Conference gave Nadler the chance to think about whether he would like to pursue pathology. And through student interest groups, NEOMED brings in physicians from a wide variety of specialties so that students can get to know what’s involved in many different fields. “They all interest me!’’ says Nadler. “There are countless opportunities in medicine and figuring out what you want to do is definitely a challenge. NEOMED has given me all the tools that I need to make that decision.”