Meet Matthew Pham

INDS B.A.: Clinical Diagnostic Competency

Spring 2023 Capstone

 

My INDS Degree

My interest in this degree stems from the trauma I experienced from being undiagnosed with Lupus Arthritis for roughly a year. Despite visits to a variety of physicians, it was my allergist after noticing symptoms of severe joint pain at the age of 14, who was able to figure out that I was suffering from an autoimmune condition. These events inspired me to pursue a career in medicine as a way to prevent others from going through the same thing I did. My degree in Clinical Diagnostic Competency will prepare me for a future career as a physician. This degree establishes foundational critical thinking and interpersonal skills that will provide me with the means to synthesize clinical findings to arrive at accurate diagnoses efficiently that can be communicated effectively.

Post Graduation Plans

Immediately after graduating from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) I will begin studying for my Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) using the skills gained from the course work in my degree plan. I will continue to volunteer for Suburban hospital to build a relationship with a physician who works in 9 primary care or internal medicine who I could shadow until I am accepted into medical school. In the event all the MD medical schools I applied to do not accept me, I will apply for a Special Masters Program (SMP).

Courses In My Degree Plan

Foundational Critical Thinking Skills: Developing foundational critical thinking skills and analysis will allow me to make more logical and objective inferences which will improve my diagnostic and patient management ability (PHIL 346, 350, 358, 430 / MGMT 210)

A Foundational Understanding of the Biopsychosocial Factors in Health: Developing a foundational knowledge in health-related social and natural sciences which will continuously be built upon to establish a strong clinical background  (BIO 303 / PSYC 285, 385 / SOCY 351)

Foundational Clinical Information Gathering Skills:  Developing foundational interpersonal skills in a health care setting will allow me to gather important health-related information needed to make an accurate diagnosis. (PSYC 324 / HAPP 340 / MLL 305)

Individualizes Study: Developing foundational skills in professionalism, project management, and multidisciplinary approaches will allow me to work well with other healthcare professionals to tackle processes with many different aspects such as diagnosis. (INDS 330, INDS 335, 430, 480, 490)