Pacemaker Changed Erick’s Grandma’s Life Dramatically. So, He Added Pre Med To His BME Major.
Erick Rocher, a Goldwater Scholar is studying at Johns Hopkins University.
Welcome Back. Hope you all had a Wonderful Thanksgiving!
This week’s story is about Erick Rocher, a Goldwater Scholar studying Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
1.Erick Was Interested in BME in High School
When Erick came to Johns Hopkins, he was quite focused on majoring in Biomedical Engineering (BME).
Erick didn't really have a lot of exposure to medicine while growing up,
But he was interested in developing new treatments through through biomedical engineering,
This is what attracted him to Johns Hopkins BME where the department’s mission is “Engineering the Future of Medicine”,
And that was super exciting to Erick!
2.Erick’s Grandma Gets A Pacemaker
When Erick was at Johns Hopkins, his grandmother badly needed a pacemaker.
When she got a pacemaker, his grandma’s life experience changed dramatically, right away!
This made a big impact on Erick.
Seeing his grandma benefit immediately, he started thinking “Maybe I need to give this medicine thing a shot”,
Of course, he knew it was it was one thing to take care of your grandmother for a while, and quite another to potentially take care of someone else's!
3.Is Medicine For Me?
Once inspired to take a serious look at Medicine, Erick embarked on a set of steps to evaluate if he was cut out for Medicine.
So he decided to become an EMT.
During the summer he started doing a virtual EMT course,
Erick joined HERO - a really cool organization at JHU which stands for the Hopkins Emergency Response Organization,
HERO is an undergrad-led EMS organization.
24/7 on campus ready to respond to any emergency calls or things that happen on campus.
And that was very formative as well.
Being an EMT can be very stressful,
So, being able to build skills in the classroom, and then observe and building skills clinically, and
Then be able to actually help someone on potentially the worst day of their life.
Erick didn't know exactly what that would be like.
But he knew he needed to answer that question,
To go into medicine!
4.Sealing The Deal!
Erick was up to the challenge.
The Shifts were stressful,
Even chaotic,
When you're trying to treat a patient in an emergency.
However, Erick was convinced this is where he wanted to be.
So, combined with his research experience, he decided to become a physician engineer.
5.On with the Podcast
In the episode, Erick joins our podcast to share his undergraduate college journey at Johns Hopkins University, UG Research, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, Majoring in Biomedical Engineering, and Advice for High Schoolers.
Listen to the Podcast with Erick Rocher of Johns Hopkins on his Undergraduate Journey.(48-Minute Listen).
What did you think of Erick’s undergraduate experience?
Have a Great Week!
Venkat