COM resident of the month

Name: Alejandro Wolf, DO

Medical school attended/year graduated: Pacific Northwest University College of Osteopathic Medicine, graduated in 2017

Residency/fellowship at UNMC: Anatomic and clinical pathology residency

Program director: Scott Lauer, MD

How long is your training program and how long have you been at UNMC?

The training is four years, and I am in fourth year, near the end of my training (graduate in June).

What do you like the most about your training program?

First, let me state that the people who work in pathology are for the most part well rounded and naturally affable. In our program, we have faculty and residents that are rising stars in the medical world. What I like the most about our program is Kim Martin, our coordinator, and the residents’ atmosphere: we are very social people and enjoy relating to each other and interacting with medical staff and patients. We are a very supportive group of residents.

What challenges do you foresee in graduate medical education in the future?

The picture is quite complex and reflects the challenges of society. In regards to diversity and inclusion, we have achieved significant gains. Still, I am concerned with the fact that while the degree of education and diversity in medicine is so rich, we can be quite distant from each other. There are so many countries and cultures represented in the resident, fellow, faculty pool, yet we rarely become aware of each other’s celebrations and joys that are unique to each person’s country of origin or culture. I wish for a channel, maybe the HOA monthly bulletin, to share with others the most salient holidays to celebrate. The resident’s lounge could feature a traditional meal or beverage, or at least a poster, about different traditions on a monthly basis.

These are just ideas to make us more aware of each other and sensitive to what other medical staff are going through. For example, we all have learned to celebrate aspects of Christmas, but we rarely hear that our Muslim brothers and sisters embark on a monthlong period of daytime fasting called Ramadan. They deserve our encouragement for spiritual and personal growth. A step further, consideration is probably well-deserved when the hours of fasting may take a toll on their vigor. Likewise, there are many traditions of our medical staff that go unnoticed, and, in my opinion, we should try to make it better in this regard. Let’s hear their voices and learn to speak a common language, to be happy for each other.

List some accomplishments that you are proud of:

• I have written two books, mainly about philosophy of life and the search of the human soul, and the most recent one about philosophy of running. Both need some editing and are unpublished, but I am in no rush.
• When I was living in Jerusalem, I learned that if I learn to appreciate the attributes of the people around me, it will be much easier for me to like them; and if I learn to like everyone around me, I will always be surrounded by people that I like. Thus, that simple exercise has allowed me to have very happy moments in my life.
• I play guitar, piano and the drums (and have earned awards for playing the drums), and that has given me an increased sense of self-worth, especially when things in other realms have gone not so well.
• The last accomplishment I want to share is that whenever I had a hard time coping with something, I talked it over or I wrote it down. When that failed, I talked to a psychologist or a counselor. I am proud of that, because so far I have had many hardships, particularly growing up, but, somehow, I have been resilient in one way or another.
  

  Tell us three things about you that others may not know:

  • At one point I was undecided between applying to the Jewish seminary to become a Rabbi and medical school; I chose to do medical school first.
  • In 2006, I was in the island of Ios, Greece, and the only ferry broke down and needed to be repaired, so I was kind of stranded for five extra days there. I met a man of Gypsy/Roma heritage who taught me some fancy drumming beats. We played every evening in the beach and we even earned some money.
  • Lastly, although heavily accented, if needed, I am able to speak in five different languages (Spanish, English, Italian, French, and Hebrew).