Illinois Medicine

continue as a resident in anesthesiology at University of Washington School of Medicine. "The title 'doctor' conveys a lot more responsibility than being a student." That realization about the responsibilities ahead THE CLASS OF 2012 INCLUDES 278 DOCTOR OF MEDICINE GRADUATES: 153 IN CHICAGO, 46 IN PEORIA, 53 IN ROCKFORD AND 26 IN URBANA- CHAMPAIGN began in third-year clerkships, with "real patients and real medicine," said A.J. Mariano, MD '12, class president, who will spend a transitional residency year at Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago before returning to the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. "Sometimes we would have input that would influence a patient's manage- ment plan. That's a little daunting, because you can't just throw out guesses," he said. "You have to be careful what you say and careful what you do, because it can affect a patient. And there's a gravity to that." Koh also made an impromptu appearance at a separate ceremony earlier in the day during which 36 College of Medicine graduates had their dark green hood draped on them by doctors from their family, faculty or elsewhere who played a mentoring role in their journey through medical studies. Koh surprised Juleigh Nowinski Konchak, MD '12, his special assistant for policy at HHS while taking a year off between her second and third years of medical school, when he informed her just minutes before the ceremony that he would join her sister, Caralynn Nowinski Che- noweth, MD '07, in hooding her. Konchak continues with a residency in family medicine at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University. Azar explained that the ceremony "is rich in tradi- tion; in fact, it dates back to medieval times." Today it's a time to celebrate with "those who supported and guided you on your medical-school journey." Entering the medical profession, those people "will become beloved advisors, reli- able counselors and trusted colleagues." Christian Cain, MD '12, was hooded by Jonathan Shepherd, MD '05, both of whose families know one an- other. "I just began to mentor, give words of advice," said Shepherd, who completed training in child and adolescent psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2011. "I knew that Christian was interested in medicine ... and he wanted to follow my footsteps." Cain, who will serve his residency in surgery at Stam- ford (Conn.) Hospital/Columbia, said he wanted to enter medicine, "but I didn't exactly know how, being the first in my family to go on to professional school. Dr. Shepherd made a great impression on me, not only telling me that it was something I was able to do but showing me how I could take the steps to get there." The ceremony cemented that "this is my friend forever, mentor, brother to me." Amish Desai, MD '12, had a small crowd of doctors designated for his hooding: his aunt, Indira Shah, MD; her daughter Shefali Shah, MD; and faculty members Melvin Lopata, MD '65, Res '73, and Fred Zar, MD '79. Going to his aunt for care since he was young "has always shaped a lot of why I want to be a doctor," said Desai. "Being able to be at the bedside of the patient, both in the clinic and in the hospital, that's something I've cherished seeing both my cousin and my aunt do, and that's an incredible thing that you get in internal medicine." The examples set by all of them, especially Lopata and Zar, greatly influenced his decision to enter internal medicine with a residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He was drawn by "the ability to diagnose and clinically think about things" and that "the focus is on preventive medicine." ILLINOIS MEDICINE | 19

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