Josh Jaramillo, associate dean of admissions for the BYU School of Medicine, spoke to students and staff during International Education Week about the new BYU medical school and different routes to medicine.
Jaramillo is a medical doctor (MD) and a trauma and critical care surgeon. He studied Latin American studies at BYU before beginning his medical journey. The goal of his lecture was to encourage students who are not in pre-med majors to consider looking into medicine.
“As an admissions dean to a new medical school, we’re looking for students from all backgrounds,” Jaramillo said. “My hope is that some of you who are studying international relations of its different flavors might consider a future in medicine.”
Jaramillo's mission in Spain and his love for Hispanic culture and its history led to his choice of studies. He became the president of the Association of Latin American Studies and completed an internship in Italy that involved Italians who immigrated to Argentina.
After his internship experience, he worked for Teach for America in New Orleans and realized that there were a lot of people living in poverty who needed help. He felt that the best way to help people facing these health disparities was to go back to school and become a doctor.
“We moved back to Colorado, where I’m from, and at the University of Colorado ... I signed up for all the prerequisites essentially in two semesters,” Jaramillo said. “So I was taking Chem 105, 106 and 107 all at the same time.”
After graduating, he began medical school at Stanford and did his residency program at Stanford and Harvard. During his studies, he had the opportunity to practice global medicine in Guatemala and Zimbabwe.
While studying at Stanford, he realized that he was the only BYU student to have been admitted to medical school in 15 years.
“I got involved with the admissions committee because I was suspicious there was a bias, and I learned that there really actually wasn't,” Jaramillo said. “The issue was that our students, though they were very smart and had good grades, didn't have the research experience or the academic physician mentors' support compared to their peers at other institutions.”
When Jaramillo left Stanford to go to Harvard, he felt a strong impression that he needed to help BYU students have similar experiences that he had. With the help of Harvard faculty members, he created a program that helped BYU students join Harvard research labs over the summer, and his program has had a lot of success in giving BYU students the research experience they need.
Now, as the Associate Dean of Admissions for the BYU School of Medicine, Jaramillo can continue his pursuit of helping BYU students be successful in medicine.
He is passionate about the BYU School of Medicine because of its Christ-like mission and aims.
“Our focus is going to align with caring for God's children throughout the world, in a number of capacities,” Jaramillo said.
Jaramillo shared that the BYU Medical School will stand out from other universities in many different ways. They will focus on hiring faculty members with teaching strengths, connecting with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' humanitarian efforts, building a curriculum that is both academic and spiritually based, reducing costs and increasing opportunities for international students to join their program as their school continues to grow.
Jaramillo went over what the curriculum will look like and how it will be different from other medical schools. One of the big differences is that BYU will provide a class in its preclinical curriculum titled “Becoming a Christ-Centered Physician,” which will integrate ideas of medicine and spirituality.
The school's areas of research are inspired by its focus on global health and humanitarian research.
“The domains … will be … maternal newborn and child health, infectious disease and immunization (and) noncommunicable diseases, which can mean a lot of different things,” he said.
Jaramillo shared about the miracles they have experienced throughout the process.
“Doors are being opened, hearts are being softened, people are being put in our pathway, people who the Lord has prepared for years to help us accomplish our tasks,” he said.
After Jaramillo's remarks, a Q&A was held and tacos were served.
Students from many different majors came to learn about the new school of medicine and had a variety of takeaways.
Kimball Moffat, a student studying political science, said he found the BYU Medical School's emphasis on global health to be unique.
“What separates BYU’s School of Medicine from other med schools is that it looks like they will have an embedded global health curriculum,” Moffat said.
Audrey Chase, a freshman studying French, said that the lecture changed her perspective on medicine.
“I love that he talked about how it's super flexible, because a lot of the things in the medical world kind of scare me, but I love the aims that they have,” Chase said.
For more information on the BYU School of Medicine, visit the BYU School of Medicine homepage.