Dr. Andrieu Aguinaldo on internal medicine residency in CA

UMHS 2023 residency Match Dr. Andrieu Aguinaldo starts an internal medicine residency this summer at Prime West Consortium, West Anaheim Medical Center in Anaheim, California. Born and raised in California, Dr. Aguinaldo is pleased to be returning to his home state for residency.

The UMHS Endeavour spoke to Dr. Aguinaldo about matching in California, his upcoming internal medicine residency, why he chose UMHS over other medical schools, growing up in California, why he enjoyed studying medicine in St. Kitts, the many people who helped him along the way, the challenges he faced doing clinical rotations during the COVID-19 pandemic how UMHS Academic Affairs helped him through the Match process, the difference between internal medicine and family medicine, and more. 

Through all of his clinical rotations, he rotated through seven different hospitals across five different states. Several rotations were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His entire fourth year consisted entirely of visiting/away electives and sub-internships in California and Arizona.  He said he believes these rotations and the contacts he met along the way "were significant factors to obtaining many interviews primarily from both states and eventually residency in California."

He graduated last year and took a year off before Match to work as a Clinical Research Coordinator in Lomita, California. "I had the opportunity to work on more than 15 Clinical Trials that focused on significant analysis on cutting-edge treatment for a variety of diseases, ranging from COVID-19 to Eosinophilic Duodenitis"—which is a rare condition causing inflammation throughout the digestive system.

UMHS spoke to this amazing young doctor about his experience at UMHS and his incredible road to residency.

Matching in California

UMHS Endeavour: Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us. And you recently matched at Prime West Consortium - West Anaheim Medical Center in California. Congratulations! We're getting more and more UMHS grads that are matching in California. How does it feel matching in California, your home state?

Dr. Andrieu Aguinaldo: It's simple. It’s wonderful and such a great relief to not only just Match, but also Match close to my hometown where I plan to build my career in medicine. Matching close to home for me was really important because from the start of residency, I can begin to implement both the short-term and the long-term goals that I envisioned being a part of my entire medical career.

Excellent. Tell us what you hope to accomplish during your residency.

Well, for short-term goals, just to be the best intern that I can be for my residency program. We're just finishing medical school and we have so much to learn. It’s going to be a lifelong learning experience. I just want to be receptive, and take in as much knowledge so that I may become the best physician that I can be. For long-term goals, I plan to branch out in primary care medicine where I can impact the most patients’ lives in Los Angeles. I can begin building connections in the medical field with many colleagues, whether it's nurses, physicians, PAs, NPs, or other staff who will be a part of the medical career I want to build. I see myself in a mix of both clinical medicine and higher medical education as well. I’m open to new and exciting experiences.

When it came time to apply to med school, I know you have a lot of really excellent med schools out there in California. What made you decide on attending UMHS for med school?

UMHS provided a close nit environment that would allow me self-invest to grow to become the best version of myself. That's something I believe we should all be striving for. The opportunities that UMHS provides, especially in customizing my third- and fourth-year clinical rotations, really attracted me. I wanted to build connections that would eventually help me achieve residency match in California. I'm very thankful for all the help and the opportunity that was given to me.

Can you tell us one or two things that you liked the most about studying at UMHS?

UMHS shines with its small class sizes. I think that provides an intimate environment that allows the student, who still has so much to learn, to be engaged in what you are trying to improve on. And you don't feel lost as if you're in a larger class and you always feel comfortable approaching your professors or peers about improving on whatever knowledge or skill set you want.

Dr. Andrieu Aguinaldo enjoying the wood trails in Portland, Maine during the UMHS pre-clinical 5th semester in the fall. Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Aguinaldo.

And are there any professors in St. Kitts or Maine or staff in the New York office or anybody in your clinical rotations that you would like to mention that really helped you on your journey to matching?

I could think of a few. I definitely would like to be thankful for Dr. Komaldeep Singh and Dr. William Lavigne in my third year, and then Dr. Marc Matthews in my fourth year. Mr. Jonathan Timen from the UMHS administration was critical in shaping my third and fourth year to make for a smoother transition, even with the challenges during my clinical years. It’s with that sense of community and helping each other, that I never felt alone even when times get tough during rotations.

Are there any other things that you would like to talk about that we haven't covered about your upcoming residency or about UMHS in general?

I think it's important for me to share for anyone who's watching this, that whatever it is you want to do, you just have to trust in yourself and build that confidence. And it's with that confidence, that the skill, the connections, and whatever it is you need to be successful, will come your way. But it's the confidence that will take you the distance, especially during the tough times, and it will also help you enjoy the process and the victories that you will eventually achieve. So, I hope that you all take that to heart.

That’s sound advice. Anything else that you want to add about UMHS or about your upcoming residency?

 I'm just excited to start and it may seem like a huge challenge, and residency will be, and that's totally fine. But residency is a unique opportunity rather than a regular job that we're not sure if it's going to be a long career. This is something that we're going to build for the rest of our lives and it will become part of our identity. The impact on people we care for is just special and these unique experiences will also be a part of their lives. And I think that's awesome.

Dr. Andrieu Aguinaldo at the conclusion of his 4th-year Inpatient Medicine Sub-internship at Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley, CA. Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Aguinaldo. 

People who helped during med school

In addition to the guidance that you received from Jonathan Timen in Academic & Student Affairs, you encountered a lot of great people in clinical rotations. Can you share some of that experience with us?

Dr. Singh—he was the third-year resident when I was in my first rotation on internal medicine in Connecticut. He felt more like an attending to me because he took so much time to help me adjust and improve for the rest of my clinical rotations. He treated me more like a resident and started training me as such. Through that rotation with him, I saw clinical scenarios differently. He really got me into the right mindset from my first day on the floors.

Dr. Lavigne is an OBGYN attending in Georgia. And I'll be honest, OBGYN wasn't expected to be one of my favorite subjects. But somehow, he got me to appreciate OBGYN and how to truly enjoy the most difficult concepts. And of all the attendings I’ve worked with, I remember him the most because he just cared about his students and their experiences. Medical students mean so much to him in how he played a role in the physician they would eventually become. So, I'm extremely thankful to have worked with him.

I mentioned Dr. Marc Matthews, whom I met during my ICU sub-internship. He was one of the attending surgeons. I was in my ICU rotation and one of the patients I was helping caring for needed to have an emergency procedure. But because of the status of the patient, we couldn't move him down to the OR. So, they did the opposite. The surgical team came to us, set up a sterile field in the ICU, and performed the surgery. This was not your common surgical scenario.

Wow.

Yeah. And I was like, "Oh, cool, we get to watch," from the fishbowl where you can look into the patient room. But somehow, I met eyes with the attending surgeon. He pointed straight at me said, "Come in and come here." He had me participate in the surgery. I actually helped with the opening and the closing for the fasciotomy for that patient. Of all the surgical experiences I’ve had, this one holds a special place for me. It started from just a simple observation opportunity to full on participating in the surgery. I still text him every now and then to let him know how I’m doing. He did not know who I was initially but just like the best attendings out there, he wanted to give avid students the opportunity to make the most out of experiences. I'm thankful for him for that.

Growing up in California

We’ve talked about you being a native Californian. Can you just tell us about yourself and where you're originally from? You went to undergraduate at University of California in Riverside where you got your bachelor's in biological science with a focus in medical biology, and obviously you're a true California guy. Did you always want to be a doctor?

It's safe to say yes—from definitely high school onward, I wanted to become a doctor. Everyone has different experiences in how they move toward a medical career. I grew up in Eagle Rock, but moved to Rancho Palos Verdes, California in my teens. I went to UC Riverside for my undergrad. My mom, who's actually an internist, gave me the initial inspiration to become a doctor, but that's really where it stops. She was so supportive to let me explore other careers or what I'm good at to make sure that the career that I'm stepping into is something that I'm going to love for the rest of my life. When people find out that my mom is a doctor, sometimes they will say, "Oh, your mom must have really told you to become a doctor." But for me, it was an organic appreciation of how I fell in love with medicine. And so, throughout my undergraduate, I would go into different clubs and organizations to hone my passion for medicine. An interesting project I worked on, is the American Medical Student Association Chapter (AMSA) at UC Riverside. I was one of the founding officers that helped re-opened that chapter and it's still running today. I got the chance to share my growing passion for medicine while also helping others discover their passion. These experiences helped me inspire others to make the best versions of ourselves. And that's something that I've carried with me since high school. Even if we're not at our destination yet, we're always trying to get a little better every day.

Studying in St. Kitts

Let’s just talk briefly about the experience in St. Kitts. Being a native Californian studying in St. Kitts, I would imagine it's a little bit warmer in St. Kitts than Southern California.

Yeah, but it's more humid, but a lot of St. Kitts did remind me of California, especially its calmness. If you've ever been to California, the weather is almost always 70 and sunny. And it's the environment in St. Kitts that really made me feel at peace when studying medicine. The combination of the kind locals, classmates, and just being in a quiet, surreal environment is what helped me to stay focused. And it's something that I will always cherish.

We hear from a lot of students that they love St. Kitts because it’s “chill” and there aren't a lot of distractions that you would get if you were going to school back in the US. You're down on this island, you're kind of isolated, but it's a very idyllic setting. Did you find that to be true that you could really focus on your studying because you were on an island?

I definitely agree, but I also think it was nice because when you did need that break, you are next door to calm beaches and weather. It helps to decompress and get ready for the upcoming rigorous expectations.

 The UMHS experience

Is there anything specific about your medical education in St. Kitts or in Maine that you can think of specifically that helped you match in internal medicine?

I think my medical education started to shine when I was in my clinical rotations. Especially fourth year, since it was all filled with away rotations. I really wanted to Match in California. To achieve that, you would need experience in California to meet the right individuals. Having the scores and the resume is important, but there's also another underrated component—connections and just exposing yourself in hospitals. So, the UMHS staff, especially Brandy Admendares, really helped me coordinate my entire fourth year to be visiting rotations. I did end up going to two locations in California and another in Arizona to fulfill my electives. The chance to be in the west made me comfortable as a visiting student because I was just trying to learn as much as possible while impressing everyone I met, especially when no one knew about UMHS. I ended up getting interviews at all those locations as a result. I think other residency programs in California gave me a chance at interviews because of my away rotations. So, I definitely got to represent UMHS.

Internal Medicine vs. Family Medicine

Could you just briefly explain the difference between internal medicine and family medicine. You could just tell us in a nutshell, for prospective students that may not understand what the difference is, what exactly is internal medicine for the layperson?

That’s a great question to ask, Scott. The Internal Medicine and Family Medicine specialties have a lot in common with a few noticeable differences. For Internal medicine, the physician may act as a primary care provider but tend to focus on the hospital setting, focusing on chronic illness management. They also have to option after residency to subspecialize into a specific organ system, like cardiology or infectious disease. Family medicine physicians have training specifically tailored to the clinic setting. As a primary care physician who can see pediatric patients, adults, elderly and even provide women’s health, family medicine doctors have the unique skill set that can adapt to any patient population for long term continuity care. Family medicine also has a variety of subspecialties to choose from as well, like sports medicine or women’s health. Both specialties allow for hospital or clinic focus of care. It just depends on the physician themselves in what is the goal of practice.

Dr. Andrieu Aguinaldo (far right) with Dr. Christine Crigler (middle), and Dr. Marc Matthews (far left) after assisting in an emergency fasciotomy during a 4th-year Critical Care Unit Sub-Internship at Valleywise Health Medicine Center in Phoenix, AZ. Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Aguinaldo.

Okay. And you say that you chose internal medicine because it represents the field that you feel you can leave the most impact on the largest number of patient lives if possible. Can you just elaborate on that notion a bit?

Definitely. For internal medicine, the focus, is on the hospital setting, but that doesn't prevent us from working in the clinic. My philosophy is a little more of the old-school medicine where the patients that I see in clinic are still the same patients that I want to see in the hospital should they need to be admitted. And I think that continuity of care is important for building relationships with patients while improving quality of care of a long time. It also allows the patient to feel more comfortable should they have to go to hospital. One of the scariest things for is to be admitted to the hospital, and not knowing someone that has been caring for them for years is there. For me, being there for my patients both in the clinic and hospital can directly improve the overall outcome for treatment. It’s through the care for my patients that I know I may also be positively affecting their family as well, and that’s important to me, too.

UMHS Academic & Student Affairs

You mentioned Jonathan Timen earlier, and one of the things I wanted to touch on is our students and graduates are always talking about the guidance they receive from the Academic & Student Affairs department, namely people like Patrick McCormick and Jonathan. Without getting too specific, what are some of the ways that Patrick or Jonathan and his team helped you when it came to a time to apply for your match in residency?

I worked with mostly Jonathan and Patrick McCormick during my entire residency application process. Their honesty in what they see face value in the applicant before they even talk to you in important. If you schedule an appointment with them over the phone and they're flexible, they take a look at what you have as a student and they use their experience to tell you the reality of everything and what can you do to improve yourself. That honesty helped me to round my application and highlight my strengths as an applicant to residency programs. And when it came to interviewing, Jonathan coached me to remind myself, "They're interviewing you because they saw some really strong potential in you and you shouldn't think anything else other than that." He even took time to work on small concepts like how you should be talking or how you should present yourself, all very important. I'm appreciative of it all.

Let's talk about your personal interests. You say that you love things like cooking and sports and playing board games when you have the time. And I hear that you're actually in the process on working on publishing a board game with your artist friends for the past year. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

I think everyone should always have something to enjoy outside of school, it's important. I take medicine seriously and it's my passion. And even with that, there's always the opportunity to enjoy something else with others, whether it is cooking or sports or board games, and for me, it's just spending quality time and just building good memories. I love board games because it allows me to have that competitive scenery or just enjoy a relaxed evening depending on how everyone's feeling. I'm really into strategy and just thinking how I can play the best of what I've been given in this game or even just to have fun, mess around with your friends, make a lot of good memories and just have a lot of laughs. I’m currently designing a game myself with my friends and am hoping to publish it. We want to see how our ideas look and just put it against some of the best board games that we’ve gotten the chance to play.

Dr. Andrieu Aguinaldo after assisting in a cardiac pacemaker implantation at Larkin Community Hospital, Miami, FL during his surgical core rotation. Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Aguinaldo.

Clinical rotations during the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic affected your clinical rotations a lot due to the many restrictions and having some rotations that were actually canceled. How did you manage to make the best of a scary time period and succeed? Let's just briefly talk about those early days of the pandemic and how you got through your third and fourth year of rotations during that time. What were your experiences like?

It was tough time for everyone and I remember mine vividly because I had just finished my fifth semester in Maine just before the COVID pandemic started. I began studying for my Step 1 in early 2020. Shortly after, constant cancellations made exam scheduling difficult. Staying focused while studying was challenging with so much happening. I was even lucky enough to volunteer at research center to expose myself to the clinic environment during the pandemic. That initial experience ended up turning into a research rotation, and a paid job as a clinical research coordinator that gave me a lot of experience before residency.

Even during clinical rotations, I experienced several cancellations in core rotations. But I was fortunate that UMHS staff were able to quickly help find substitute rotations and reschedule to help me stay on pace for residency application season. I even got the chance to move from Georgia and experience Florida because of the changes during my third year. That quick pivot was important because I didn't have to miss any more time after that. And yes, I had to move, but it was fun going to Florida, it was a refreshing change of scenery. The pandemic was an unfortunate thing we had to deal with, but it's an experience that began to really strengthen my patience in this whole medical education process, and we hadn't even begun third year yet.

After the pandemic restrictions were lifted for med students, you started your very first core rotation in internal medicine on July 1st, 2020, and that was at the Griffin Hospital in Shelton, Connecticut. And you said you were the only med student on service for three months. That must have been challenging, right?

I had no expectations of what a clinical rotation was going to be like, and I was hoping I would be there with someone to teach me how to go about meeting expectations as a medical student on the floors. On the first day, I had shown up early but realized was when orientation started, I was the only one assigned there. And so, the residents made me feel welcomed, and they made me feel like a resident at times. I'd blend in because the staff couldn't tell that I was a med student. And I think that made my experience unique because I got to see from a perspective of what a resident experience like was. And this was July 1^st, so, a lot of these residents were just recently med students. We were all learning together. It’s something I'm appreciative of because it impacted how I approached every rotation after. In the end, I learned that we were not expected to know everything, even as a resident, but the expectation of having the will to find out answers and to learn that so that you are prepared for the next situation.

In July 2020, we were all working from home and there was no vaccine yet, so that must have been rather intimidating for med students just going into a hospital with COVID being around and everybody was so paranoid at that time period.

It was never really intimidating at all. The senior residents had already been handling this pandemic for a while, they were much more comfortable already. And they were great at teaching how to quickly adjust. There honestly wasn't much of a transition when it came to dealing with COVID patients. The hospitals had their precautions in place. They were quite strict, definitely different from what they may be now, but I think that the strictness of it really made COVID less of a concern when I was rotating.

Since we’ve discussed COVID so much, what do you think most med students have learned from the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic? What are one or two things about the pandemic you feel that have helped you personally become a better doctor that is?

Another great question, Scott. I think the most important things that came from this pandemic experience is how our patience and perseverance were tested in a well-documented but new environment. Many medical students, had to adapt on the fly to many changes where the answer was not always clear. From the simplest things like unexpected rotations canceling or limited patient interactions really showed how the COVID-19 pandemic made rotating in clinical rotations difficult. I’m sure it made students study harder to make sure they remain up-to-date and prepared for rotations. Those who trained during this pandemic were tested mentally if they wanted to remain in the field of medicine.

Absolutely.

And I think it's really important moving forward as a future physician to maintain those two qualities in being a persevering and a patient individual. We never know the magnitude of the next of world events that may happen or how that will put another strain on the future medical providers. I hope all will help to inspire others to demonstrate similar qualities and while working together as a team, keep those qualities which will eventually translate into quality healthcare.

All excellent points. Finally, is there anything else that you'd like to add about your residency or UMHS or anything in general about medicine that we haven't covered that you want to add in closing?

It’s important to stay positive in this whole medical school experience. None of us are born doctors when we start this process. By no means are we supposed to be perfect. Whether it's matching at a prestigious university, matching in California, or just matching at all, and it's all a really hard achievement, and something to be proud of. But none of it is meant to intimidate anyone who's looking to go into medicine, regardless of the background. What's important is that you have to trust yourself and trust the process of what you can take from every experience, both good and bad. Because I've had my good experiences and I've had my bad experiences. And you use moments to mold yourself into the individual that you envision making an impact in whatever it is that you want to do in life.

It's something that you have to take to heart because all those difficult things that we're going to have to do; the endless studying, the waiting, the extra workload that you did not expect to have the next day when you thought you finished all your work, that's going to be tested through your patience and perseverance. It's those qualities that will shine through when the times get tough, and you'll be proud of yourself that you trusted your process. No matter how slow or fast things may be going, just enjoy the ride. I know I enjoyed mine!

I just do want to say thank you to every single student, resident, attending and every single person I ever worked with. And this is also a message to all those people that are reading this blog. Every person you meet is going to teach you something, and it's important that you listen. Whether it's a good or a bad experience, you never know the things that you're going to pick up along the way from those you're going to work with. And that's honestly more important sometimes than what you learn in lectures. Those life experiences are going to come in handy when you are put in a situation where books and classroom stuff are not necessarily going to give a clear answer. It’s the life experience that will shape you as a doctor.

I just want to share my gratitude and thanks to everyone for helping me get to where I am now. I hope that I may get a chance to pay it forward and help those I can in their medical journey.

 Contact Dr. Andrieu Aguinaldo via email at aaguinaldo@umhs-sk.net

UMHS YouTube interview with Dr. Andrieu Aguinaldo

(Top photo): Dr. Andrieu Aguinaldo. Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Aguinaldo.