Ann Cheung, AB 2009 — Harvard Alumni in Healthcare

One of the happiest moments in my career was the day I found out I got into medical school. It was such a relief, a nice release, because it had taken many years of working towards that goal. I’m a non-traditional applicant, and I didn’t get in the first time around. Of course, that was a huge blow, especially for someone coming from a very overachieving school and background. My goal was to get into medical school and choose this career because I get to work with people in such an intimate way, and it’s so mission-driven. And because of all those struggles and challenges I faced in achieving this goal, it makes me feel that I cannot take medical school or my career for granted. It means I really take time to savor everything as if it is the last time I might be doing it.

I’m very much a kid at heart and very goofy. I like to be quirky, eccentric, and I’m lucky to be working in a field where that’s not only encouraged, but it’s also beloved. Pediatrics really fits me to a T and it’s great being able to bond with kids of all different ages. I also really love counseling my patients as they become adolescents and the parents, too. I’m specifically interested in pediatric hospitalist medicine because I love pediatric pathophysiology, and I also enjoy having intimate moments with the family in the hospital.

You’re there with them for almost 24 hours or longer, depending on how long the hospitalization is, and it’s a great opportunity to get to know the family very well and help them at this crisis point, to intervene and make sure that they don’t have to come back to the hospital again. I also enjoy teaching, and I want to continue to push myself and others to be better versions of themselves. In hospital medicine, I have the opportunity to connect with medical trainees and help them along their journey.