Justin Nguyen - Florida Medical Student Talks About Founding UCSB's Phi Delta Epsilon Chapter, the Importance of Building Premed Communities and Why I Can't Shoot a Basketball (#009‪)‬ How to Get Into Medical School: Pass the Mike

Hey there podcast! This is Michael Le. Thanks for tuning into another episode of Pass the Mike where I have the pleasure of sharing the narratives of imminent or current medical professionals. In short, my job is to build you a community of mentors from the folks that have come before you. I couldn't be more happy to kick this podcast off today with my blood cousin, Justin Nguyen. That's J-U-S-T-I-N SPACE N-G-U-Y-E-N. Justin graduated in 2018 from UCSB with a degree in Biological Sciences. At UCSB, he studied symbiotic relationships, culminating in a poster addressing the effects isopod parasites have on the rate of filtration of host barnacles. He continued his Ecology work investigating the roles of infectious processes in ecosystems, focusing specifically on novel, adaptive parasite-host interactions. He also spent his breaks from school supporting a community hospital's emergency physicians by scribing for them. Perhaps his claim to fame—and I can confirm this... I've had multiple interactions now where people ask me if I know THE Justin Nguyen—is his work with the International Medical Fraternity, Phi Delta Epsilon. In March 2015, he and 17 other UCSB students founded the Nu Chapter of Phi-D-E.  Phi Delta Epsilon is UCSB’s ONLY co-educational pre-medical fraternity—it provides a home for all pre-medical students. The fraternity is committed to supporting a new generation of health care professionals, as well as fostering an environment that promotes academic success and the formation of life-long friendships.

Its Guiding Principles are: Philanthropy, Deity, Equity & Education

and its Motto: Facta Non Verba, Deeds Not Words

Justin served as the working President of the Chapter, responsible for all outgoing messaging and internal affairs. His team has supported many non-profit organizations through fundraisers and have engineered opportunities include a scribing program with the neighboring Cottage Hospital and the annual William Gelfand Lecture, a lecture series designed to educate the public on current scientific topics related to medicine, ranging from social issues to new discoveries in medicine. Of the last couple of Gelfand Lectures, a talk led by Dr. Vania Manipod, a psychiatrist, caught my eye. She spoke on maintaining mental health and overcoming burnout among pre-medical students and medical students across the country.

And that was all just in undergrad. Justin has been just as prolific on his time off preparing for medical school admissions. He scribed and doubled as a medical assistant for an Orthopedic Clinic, gaining critical insight and serving as a crucial cog in a well-oiled clinical environment.

You can find Justin if you want to say hello, ask a question or learn how to shoot a basketball on e-mail at Nguyenmtjustin@gmail.com that's N-G-U-Y-E-N-M-T-J-U-S-T-I-N-AT-G-M-A-I-L-DOT-COM. It's not often you get to rekindle and learn a little more about your relatives, so I'm personally grateful to carve out some time to have a nice conversation with him today. Justin, welcome to the show.