My name is Bryce Flickinger, and I’m a fourth year medical student at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences. I was a Biology major at Denison, graduating in 2020, and took a year to work as a medical scribe before starting medical school in 2021.
What did your career exploration look like at Denison and how did you decide upon medicine?
It was ultimately my coursework at Denison that pushed me towards medicine. I was fortunate enough to have some exposure to medicine before college; my father is a physician, I had shadowed physicians during high school, and I worked in a medical office during a gap year between high school and college. While I started at Denison planning to be pre-med, I still wasn’t completely sure if I wanted to fully commit to the field. I was lucky enough to start chemistry and biology my first semester, and quickly realized where my interests lay. The more exposure I had to science – be it biology or chemistry – the more I knew I wanted a career in science, or at least a science-adjacent field. During the beginning of my junior year, I had a particularly busy semester with 3 biology courses, with labs, and was working as a TA for a 4th; despite the pressure, I found myself thriving. At some point during the semester, I realized I would never be happy unless I was working with life and things that live.
How did Denison, or your liberal arts education, prepare you for your career?
Medicine is both an art and a science; the science of medicine lies in understanding disease, and the art of medicine lies in understanding patients. Just like my degree at Denison required classes beyond biology, so too does medicine require an understanding that goes beyond just anatomy and physiology. The liberal arts model of education, where students are expected to take courses in a wide variety of diverse subjects, prepared me to make the kind of cross-connections that are necessary in diagnosing, treating, and communicating with patients. Medicine demands both a broad knowledge base across a variety of scientific disciplines and the ability to integrate and apply that information to specific cases. While understanding disease requires a scientific lens, understanding a patient requires empathy, competent communication, and a holistic view of a patient and their circumstances. These skills can’t be learned from any one subject, but the multifaceted education I received at Denison provided me with a base to build on. My liberal arts education taught me to keep an open mind, to be receptive to new ideas, and to commit to a lifetime of learning – all of which are essential in the practice of medicine.
Advice you have for students when it comes to career exploration?
It is okay to not know! A huge portion of students in my class majored in subjects you might not expect – business, engineering, computer science – come from all over the country, and most didn’t take a direct route to medicine. Very few students enter medical school knowing what field they want to go into, and most of those students change their mind at least once by graduation. The key to finding your interest is keeping an open mind – something a Denison education more than prepares you to do. Wherever you end up, the ability to learn will serve you well – just be patient with yourself as you discover where that is!
If you want to contact me, just send an email to flicki_b1@denison.edu – I’d be happy to offer whatever guidance I can.
