PreHealth Spotlight: David Cellucci

Class year: 2021
Major: Psychology/Neuroscience

Every activity you do isn't just something to put on your application. These experiences shouldn't just be checking boxes to get you an acceptance letter. You should want to have a lasting impact on all those you interact with in your experiences.

Vitals

• First year medical student at Tufts University School of Medicine

While at UMass Amherst:

• Research Assistant in Affect and Social Cognition Lab (Professor Linda Isbell, PI)
• UMass EMS Director of Administration
• Emergency Department Technician at South Shore Hospital
• Volunteer at Boys and Girls Club Amherst
• Member of iCons
• TA for Biochem 320 and Psych 330

During my undergraduate career I was involved with UMass EMS and I was able to gain my first experiences interacting with patients. I was also lucky enough to have an amazing group of mentors and friends who supported me throughout my four years at UMass.

After getting started with UMEMS, I was able to work as an Emergency Department Technician at South Shore Hospital in the summers and I consider that a very formative experience. It gave me a glimpse into the issues that are impacting the communities we serve and our healthcare system. There were very difficult shifts that left you with many questions but the people who I worked with were amazing and were always there to pass on lessons and words of wisdom.

Outside of my patient care experiences, I felt that my most meaningful experiences were with the Boys & Girls Club here in Amherst. My time there was unfortunately cut short due to the pandemic but meeting with the children after class was something I would look forward to. Whether it was helping with homework or playing Super Mario, it was a great time to just be there for them and try to be a role model.

I was also a student in the iCons Program here at UMass. It was a great opportunity to be exposed to problem based learning and self-directed research utilizing interdisciplinary teams. The program helped me build the skills necessary to communicate with others while approaching different situations to reach an outcome. iCons gave me the opportunity to begin research in my undergraduate career. I was a member of Professor Linda Isbell's Affect and Social Cognition Lab here on campus and was able to analyze implicit bias towards those with substance use issues in the Emergency Department. The project taught me, not only about the research process, but how patient experiences may differ based on certain characteristics. They were lessons that I will want to remember and instill in my future practices.

For the MCAT, build yourself a schedule and stick to it. No one is going to hold you accountable to study every day, so it is up to you to do so. If you can, which I know this is difficult, take time off from work. I took mine in the summer before my senior year. I worked minimally that summer (1-2 shifts a week that were mostly weekends). When you are studying, I would focus more on practice questions than content review. UWorld was great at combining the two. Khan academy has great videos for those topics you do need to brush up on but learning how to read the questions and pull out the relative information was a skill that needs to be sharpened. If the CARS section is something you don’t feel comfortable with do 8-10 passages per study day. Jack Westin has a ton of free passages that will help with timing and getting into the mindset of how to answer them.

At the end of the day, you are not defined by one exam. Put the effort in and it will show. Best of luck!

The application process is long. It is uneventful and then every so often you may receive wonderful news only to have to wait longer. It is a waiting game. You may interview somewhere, and they say they’ll get back to you in a certain time frame. Don’t freak out if that isn’t how it happens. I just wanted to hear the news so I could start figuring everything else out to get ready for school, but the long wait will pay off.

Tufts has been great so far. They are very inclusive, and they place an emphasis on team-based learning and problem solving which I enjoy because we all get to bounce ideas off each other and work through points of confusion.  It is also in the center of Boston which is great because it is very easy to get to from anywhere in the city on the T (when there aren't major malfunctions). The professors have all been very accessible and open to questions.

Never treat your experiences as a means to an end. This was a great lesson to read about in philosophy, but it applies greatly to your journey in medicine. Everyone you meet has an amazing lesson to provide you. Every activity you do isn’t just something to put on your application. These experiences shouldn’t just be checking boxes to get you an acceptance letter. You should want to have a lasting impact on all those you interact with in these experiences. Grades are important but the person your experiences mold you into is much more valuable. Enjoy the journey.

Published September 2022