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Hometown: Des Moines, Iowa
College and major: Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis., Biology
Likely to do on a free weekend: "Something outdoors. I like to mountain bike, snowboard in the winter, exercise a lot to try to keep myself sane. Or, go to Manhattan, see a play, hear good jazz music, eat Chinese food. I just like the fact that in 105 blocks there is so much diversity."
Guilty Pleasure: "Peachy Penguins candy. They're these amazing gummi penguins that are the best thing ever. And the only place I've ever seen them is in a candy store in Galena, Ill."
Best Advice from Parents: "Treat everyone with respect," and, "If you sign your name to something, make sure it's something you are proud of."
Best Advice from College Professors: "There's more to life than science. Enjoy art, music, literature, friends, fine wines or foods. Expand your world." |
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Meet John Giudicessi,
Mayo M.D./Ph.D. Class of 2012
John Giudicessi had heard stories about Mayo Clinic's legendary commitment to patient care, but he never expected to experience it the second week of Mayo Medical School.
"I was with my mentor, making rounds in rheumatology just learning the lay of the land, and then we got this amazing patient," recalls the first-year MMS student from Des Moines, Iowa, enrolled in the M.D.-Ph.D. dual degree program. "We were with the patient from 9:15 to noon because we had to make sure all the patient's needs were met. This patient had been to clinics and doctors all over the country, and until Mayo, no one had diagnosed or treated the condition correctly. It really amazed me to see the Mayo reputation in action. I'll never forget how great it was to really work with a patient, to feel like we were really making a difference."
Of the many extraordinary details John witnessed that day, two stand out: First is the fact that the patient brought an entire suitcase full of paper medical records to Mayo - many years' worth of reports from other institutions. Second: John got to help review the paperwork to help make sense of all the patient had been through. Says John: "So here I am, my second week of medical school, poring through all these test result reports, all this patient data. It was so great to be with my mentor to see how to begin to make sense of it all."
Why Medical School?
A biology major who graduated from Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis., John had his first Mayo experience in the summer between his junior and senior years in college when he interned in a Mayo molecular biology research lab studying model organisms. After college graduation he took a research position at Cold Spring Harbor labs on Long Island, N.Y., doing research on RNA-interference.
As fascinating as molecular biology research is to him, John realized that he wanted more of a human connection with his research. He wanted to interact with patients, and to apply his insights from the molecular level of disease to patients' lives through clinical practice. Going to medical school became his first priority - and Mayo's dual degree fit his needs perfectly.
Says John: "This way I don't have to choose between the two degrees. I feel really fortunate to be in a program that has both great clinical care and great research - and a program designed to accommodate them both."
Why Mayo Medical School?
In addition to the opportunity to pursue two degrees at once in a top school, John chose MMS for its philosophy. "I really, really like the collaborative culture here, and how patients are at the center of it. You see it in the physicians, the researchers, our professors - on every level. As students, we really pull together because we're on a Pass/Fail curriculum. There's not this sense of cutthroat competition." Instead, John says, MMS works like this: "Everyone gets together to study so everyone gets through it together."
From his dual degrees, John wants consummate professionalism, outstanding scholarship, and the skills to provide exemplary patient care. It's a lot to ask of both Mayo and himself, he knows. But it's not too much.
Says John: "I know I'm in the right place for me. Everything I see here tells me that the Mayo model of patient-centered care will prepare me to be the kind of professional I want to be: focused on patients, and at the same time, dedicated to experimental research and academic medicine so I can serve my patients better."
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