September Spotlight: Casey Hokanson

Our spotlight this month is Casey Hokanson, a first-year medical student in the University of Minnesota Medical School. Casey engaged with the PHSRC in many ways during his undergraduate years, from taking AHS 3401: Writing a Personal Statement and AHS 1612: The Future Physician - The Life and Work of a Physician, to meeting with PHSRC career counselors in 30-minute appointments. And, we're thrilled to now have Casey featured on the Wall of Success in our 2-565 Moos Tower office! 

If reading Casey's spotlight inspires you to explore health careers, find volunteer or job opportunities for pre-health students, or connect with other resources to support your journey to a health program, make sure to come to the Health Careers Fair on Tuesday, October 3rd from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. in the Coffman Great Hall. 

Hey everyone! I hope my experiences in medicine and the lessons I’ve learned along the way can provide some value to you today! Thank you for taking the time to read a little about me. If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out at [email protected]. You are important to me, and I would love to support you on this formative, challenging, meaningful journey if there is any way I can!

I grew up in Shakopee, MN. I had a wonderful time exploring academics, music, sports, and community engagement! 

In college at the University of Minnesota, I considered or tried out a variety of programs until I finally landed on Human Physiology and a minor in Developmental Psychology. I also joined the Honors Program which opened up some great opportunities, like my biomedical ethics honors seminar with the legendary Dr. Carl Elliott. I chased after nearly every opportunity I could find for research, patient care, shadowing, and volunteering with the communities most dear to my heart. Some of my most valuable experiences from undergrad include helping run an inspiring summer camp for children impacted by a parent’s cancer, volunteering at the incredible M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital, and conducting meaningful global health research with fantastic University of Minnesota faculty!

Outside of school, I enjoy sports, music, food, board games, reading, and most importantly, people! 

It sounds like you started off not knowing that you wanted to pursue medicine. How did you go about exploring health careers? How do you think this exploration contributed to your confidence in pursuing medicine?

I started college in the fall of 2020, living at home, and often locked down due to the pandemic. In high school, I had gathered that I was strong in STEM subjects and found most of the content to be quite interesting! Biology in particular captivated my interest; however, I had an open mind about my career options. I started off majoring in biomedical engineering because it sounded like the best springboard into engineering, medicine, math, or research, which were the four fields I was juggling in my mind at the time. I tried to utilize every resource available to guide my journey of exploration. I spent countless hours researching all I could about each of these career paths. In the beginning, the most helpful experiences were asking a variety of questions to essentially every professional in each of these careers that I knew or could find. Through what I learned about the educational paths, work responsibilities, and day-to-day opportunities of these jobs and the advice I got as I spoke with all these professionals, I was guided to shift my focus toward medicine. 

Did your understanding of the medical profession evolve throughout undergrad? How so?

By learning as much as I could about the various careers in the medical world from YouTube videos, talking to any person with any sort of medical background that I could find, and embracing opportunities to experience the medical world firsthand, I ultimately decided to pursue becoming a doctor! I had a formative conversation with a Physician Assistant/Associate who urged me to embrace the extra years of schooling for deeper knowledge and more specialization opportunities. Another formative experience was my year of working as a medical scribe in a local emergency department. One event at this job that solidified my decision to become a physician was the night Dr. Avendaño handled a stroke case as the only doctor on the night shift. She met the paramedics at the door, quickly narrowed the differential diagnosis, and confidently directed the entire medical team. Due to her effective leadership and rapid decision-making, the patient survived the stroke. I am determined to become a physician so I can one day be a leader in the medical team, a lifelong learner, and a public servant who works tirelessly to provide excellent care for my patients.

What are you most excited about as you start medical school, and start your career as a physician?

I am most excited about the patient-facing experiences in medical school. As an undergraduate, I learned how to learn science. Medical school will include a lot more of that. While understanding pathophysiology, diagnoses, and treatments is fascinating, the part of medicine that sustains me the most is the people! Every patient has a story that is valuable to me. I am passionate about forging longitudinal relationships with the patients and families I have the privilege of caring for so I can better support their holistic health. I am especially motivated to care for children as their curiosity, creativity, and resilience bring daily inspiration and joy! 

Medicine is the vocation I have chosen in order to support the marginalized in communities beloved to me, here and abroad. We live in an unjust world with unequal access to essential care. I will dedicate my life to understanding the circumstances of the most underserved, partnering with communities to amplify marginalized voices, and advocating for my patients as if they were my own brother or mother or child. As a future physician, my lifelong goals are to invest in the lives and well-being of the communities I have the honor of serving and to tear down the health disparities that kill the people we love. 

What advice would you give to current undergraduate pre-health students?

My pre-health journey was full of constant challenges. If you’re doing it right, yours will too. It should push you and stretch you, challenge your assumptions, expose you to the uncomfortable, diversify your perspectives, and make you a better person. For me, some doors opened that I never expected. Other doors slammed shut that I was banking on. But I persevered, and it all worked out. Some exams went well. Others didn’t. Yet here I am, in med school. Those exams don’t matter anymore. Some pre-health experiences you’ll love, and they will bring great joy and value to your life and others. Some pre-experiences will help you learn what you don’t enjoy and can’t handle long-term. These are valuable as well. I got a ton of advice. I would have made many more mistakes and faced many more roadblocks if I hadn’t learned as much as I could from the people ahead of me on this road. Some people told me I was wasting my time pursuing medicine. There are other careers that are easier to get into and pay more. It’s true! But I’m not here for the money, nor the comfortability. Why are you pursuing healthcare? I knew what I was signing up for, and I still can’t imagine spending my life in any other field. Some people supported me through the toughest trials. Those are the people I chose to surround myself with, and still do as I continue in my education. In fact, there is no way I could be here today without them! Find the people who will support you on this journey. You can’t do it alone. 

Anything else you'd like to share with PHSRC Pulse readers?

You are so valuable. Your time is valuable. Your work is valuable. Your value does not come from your accomplishments, your grades, your jobs, your experiences, your publications, your networking… This has a lot of implications, and the more confident you can be in your inherent value, the more it will benefit you. 

In my experience, there are several companies and systems that want to take advantage of the insecurity and desperation of pre-health students. If you can be confident that you are valuable and worthy of being treated well, you hopefully won’t succumb to these forces. 

While your value does not come from your work, I believe it is vitally important to value your work. There are so many incredible pre-health opportunities out there. I encourage you to pursue the ones you’re actually passionate about. What do you love doing? What populations are you most motivated to serve? What topics are you most inspired to study? By focusing on the opportunities that were most valuable to me, and not worrying about building the “perfect” application, I was able to spend most of my undergraduate career serving marginalized populations, spreading love and joy to children and families, and seeking to improve health outcomes where there are vast disparities. 

What are the passions you are going to pursue on this journey? When you’re writing an article for the next generation of healthcare leaders, what parts of your experience will you value the most? What is the impact you desire to leave on this world?

Thank you, Casey, for taking the time to share your story and perspectives with PHSRC Pulse readers!