Radiology Panel
Project Pulse Winnipeg hosted a radiology interview in which three radiologists with diverse backgrounds and unique experiences were invited to provide insight and advice for future health sciences students. The highlights of this event have been summarized below, but the full recording with timestamps for each question can be found in the link below or on Project Pulse Winnipeg’s Youtube channel.
This interview was composed of the following distinguished professionals:
Dr. Esther Kim
Dr. Esther Kim was born and raised in Winnipeg, MB. She completed both her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine at the University of Manitoba and is a 4th-year Diagnostic Radiology resident and Chief Radiology Resident. Dr. Kim chose medicine because it is an ever-changing profession with innumerable chances to continuously learn and grow in many aspects. Particularly, she has pursued many leadership opportunities within and outside of the medical field, with a deep understanding and passion to improve healthcare on a broad scale.
She is honoured to be a part of the Project Pulse Winnipeg Radiology session and hopes that sharing her experiences will be inspiring to the next generation.
Dr. Jai Shankar
Dr. Jai Shankar is a professor at the University of Manitoba and a Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiologist at the Health Sciences Center. Dr. Shankar is also the principal investigator for ongoing clinical trials and a researcher. His research has received multiple grants (approx. 3 million grant money as Principal investigator) including CIHR grants. He has received many awards including, the Doctors Manitoba Medal of Excellence, Faculty of Medicine (Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation) Patient-Oriented Research Award 2017 and the Young Investigator Award, Canadian Association of Radiology. Dr. Shankar has had more than 125 publications in peer-reviewed journals, 2 book chapters, more than 80 invited lectures and more than 150 conference presentations.
Dr. Yi Yan
Dr. Yi Yan, who graduated from Jinan medical school in China and then pursued postgraduate
research through the University of Manitoba. He obtained his MSc and Ph.D. from the Department of Biochemistry and Medical genetics/CancerCare Manitoba. Dr. Yan enjoys basic medical research, but also has a passion for clinical medicine. He has undertaken an ultrasound training program in Winnipeg. Subsequently, he became a full-time sonographer at St. Boniface Hospital for 5 years. In 2018, Dr. Yan started a new journal and became a radiology resident. Now he is a PGY4 resident at the University of Manitoba.
Process of Choosing Your Field
All three professionals shared that being a radiologist wasn’t their initial choice. However, as they kept their options open, something they agree is extremely important, they explored and found out where their skills and passions lay. Their choice to become a radiologist was influenced by many other factors as well, as they had to factor in things like the opportunities available to them and what would help them support a living at the stages of life they were at. Dr. Yan talks about how although he was fortunate enough to be given an opportunity to become a radiologist, he had a backup plan and tells the audience that it is crucial to always have one. Many students, regardless of what stage in their educational journey they are at, may also feel intimidated by the future, being unsure of what career is right for them. In response to this, Dr. Shankar tells our audience: “You don’t necessarily have to know what you want to do. Take one step at a time. We can only plan for something that is in our sight and beyond that, we can’t. And it’s okay.” Dr. Shankar advises students to focus on the present, as if you do so, you will be able to explore and discover yourself, and only then will you find what you're passionate about.
Meeting the Unexpected and Staying Optimistic
It goes without saying that everyone in their life will be faced with something that they did not expect and that may throw them off track momentarily. Dr. Kim reassures our audience by saying, “life happens and it puts you in a path you weren’t expecting or you didn’t want to go, but things do work out at the end of the day. It’s okay to go through bumps throughout life”. She mentions how most people don’t go straight from A to Z, and “sometimes it's for the better, you do grow, you do learn, and you really do mature through those experiences especially if they are tough”. Dr. Yan emphasizes the importance of making mistakes and more importantly, learning from your mistakes, sharing anecdotes from his personal life. The optimistic outlook on these inevitable bumps and mistakes made in life is highly admirable, and Dr. Shankar shares the importance of optimism in the professional world. Dr. Shankar believes, “it’s the only skill that will take you further,” sharing how he was able to find a silver lining to the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on his research. He also mentions that in order to do research, you must have hope and optimism, as the point of research is to discover new things. That being said, everything about research is full of uncertainty and mystery, and you must have this hope and optimism to push you to the finish line.
Final Words: Working Hard
On the topic of using optimism to persevere through hard times, the three professionals note that this optimism is crucial during the process of studying to become a doctor, as the process is long and requires lots of hard work. However, Dr. Kim says at the end of the day, “to know that you have made an impact on someone’s life in a moment of their most difficulty and desperation makes [the hard work] worth it”. Dr. Shankar also says that while there is a lot of hard work that needs to be put into becoming a doctor, “once you’re passionate about something, all that hard work becomes so easy and you start enjoying that process”. As their final words, the three professionals all share how they believe the most important qualities one can have to help them become a health sciences professional are being optimistic, open-minded, hard-working, and able to learn from your mistakes. They share that it is a very rewarding path and Dr. Shankar closes by saying that the “key is to remember, it’s a lifelong learning. As long as you’re ready for it, it is yours.”
