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Catching up with Hematologist/ Oncologist Dr. Rahul Gosain ('12)

Posted by Scott Harrah
October 28, 2022

UMHS graduate Dr. Rahul Gosain was part of the first UMHS graduating class back in 2012. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University-Sinai Hospital, and started a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Louisville in Kentucky in 2015. He was Medical Director at the Guthrie Corning Cancer Center in NY. Then, this past summer, he started a new position as Director of Wilmot Cancer Institute Regional Infusion Services and Medical Director of Wilmot Cancer Institute in Webster, NY.

The UMHS Endeavour recently spoke to Dr. Gosain about his many achievements.

UMHS: Dr. Gosain, can you briefly just fill us in on what you've been up to since graduation back in 2012?

Dr. Rahul Gosain: So, 2012, that is now 10 years ago. So, this is a 10-year celebration. I was part of the first graduating class for University of Medicine and Health Sciences. I'm Dr. Rahul Gosain. I am a practicing medical oncologist in upstate New York. I recently took a position with University of Rochester, Wilmot Cancer Institute as their Medical Director for their Webster location and all regional infusion sites, which includes 14 satellite community clinics. Shortly after my graduation, I did my residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. Three years thereafter, I started my fellowship at University of Louisville in hematology and oncology. Looking back at my time, during my residency or fellowship, I really think that UMHS prepared me well. That was because I was able to do all my clinical rotations at approved sites and that gave me a breadth of experience like any other US medical graduate would go through. So, the training was rigorous, the medical education that was provided was very apt for what I was looking for. All the credit goes to the team behind the scenes at UMHS getting me where I am today.

UMHS: Okay, awesome. What are some of the things that you like most about working in your field? You're in oncology and hematology, correct?

Dr. Rahul Gosain: That is correct, yes

UMHS: What are some of the new promising treatments for cancer that you're aware of or want to share with our audience?

Dr. Rahul Gosain: Yeah, so the big thing in medical oncology ends up being how fast this field is moving. Just last year we had almost 40 new drug approvals or indications. That means these drugs are actively making a difference in someone with cancer. It's not now only about treating cancer; it's can these patients live longer? Can we focus on their quality of life? The idea here ends up being can we address these patients as a whole, rather than just deal with this notion of cancer? So, the treatments have made a world of a difference. Patients are living longer. We have more cancer survivors now than ever before, and that is because of all the treatment changes in this field.

UMHS: Okay, great. I know that you created some sort of an app, can you tell us a little bit about that?

Dr. Rahul Gosain: So that was a collaboration with my brother who's also a practicing medical oncologist. The goal always has been, can we do better with educating medical students or residents or practicing physicians. Those were static mnemonic apps where you could just access and use them as study tools. Around the similar line, now we operate a Twitter handle called Oncology Brothers. Brothers—that is, of course, with my brother and I with the idea saying, "Can we keep our community medical oncologists informed with everything that's changing in the field of oncology and hematology?"

UMHS: Wow, that's amazing, and your brother's also an oncologist?

Dr. Rahul Gosain: Yeah, he's also a practicing hematologist medical oncologist who graduated from a Caribbean med school.

UMHS: Oh, wow. What's his name?

Dr. Rahul Gosain: Dr. Rohit Gosain.

UMHS: Oh, okay. So very similar to yours. Okay, excellent. Dr. Gosain, what about your medical education at UMHS do you think helped prepare you for your career in general?

Dr. Rahul Gosain: Yeah, A few things. I think when I was at UMHS, I felt well prepared for taking my standardized board exams, USMLE Step One, Step Two and Step Three. While I was doing my clinical rotations, I felt that the clinical experience again provided me to compete with all my peers applying for residency and fellowship. So, looking back in time, I really think UMHS prepared me well for all that.

UMHS: Okay. Yeah, excellent. I know this is very general, but what kind of career advice do you have for current and also prospective UMHS students who are going into medicine or thinking about going into medicine?

Dr. Rahul Gosain: So ,since I applied, things have changed some in terms of the standardized exams. In the past, there used to be a two-digit score. Then when I was going through it was a three- digit score and now it's all coming down to pass or fail. So, anyone who's coming from a Caribbean medical school, I really think we need to do a little more than a score. We need to be more involved in research; we need to be more proactive in going to a hospital system or a facility where we might be interested to do our further training and networking. I really think that if you do all that, along with good scores and good backup of medical knowledge that we gain at UMHS, I think you'll be in line for success.

UMHS: Okay, excellent. Is there anything else that you would like to add specifically about hematology and oncology that we haven't discussed?

Dr. Rahul Gosain: I'm a little biased, I think it's one of the best fields in medicine. It's very rewarding. Our patients are very special. Treatments are now talking about cancer cure, so this is a very exciting field. There is a national shortage of oncologists. So, I would strongly encourage anyone who is thinking to feel free to reach out to me and see if I can sway them in considering this as their calling.

UMHS: Okay, definitely. So, you would be open to current and prospective students contacting you if they had any questions about your specialty or any tips that you could give?

Dr. Rahul Gosain: Absolutely, I would be more than happy to.

Dr. Gosain can be reached via email at gosainrahul@gmail.com

 

Posted by Scott Harrah

Scott is Director of Digital Content & Alumni Communications Liaison at UMHS and editor of the UMHS Endeavour blog. When he's not writing about UMHS students, faculty, events, public health, alumni and UMHS research, he writes and edits Broadway theater reviews for a website he publishes in New York City, StageZine.com.

Topics: UMHS Alumni Feature

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