What makes someone want to become a physician?
For five graduates of the MD program at the University of Toronto's Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the answers are as unique as they are personal. As they look ahead to residency, the five members of the Class of 2025 share what drew them to medicine and what they've learned along the way.
The following is an edited and condensed version of what they had to say:
Hannah Kozlowski
Up next: Internal medicine residency, the University of British Columbia
I made the decision to become a physician in high school. I took pleasure in working with people and was fascinated by the concept that each person's body and biology was unique. During my undergraduate degree at U of T, I came to love research. Researchers have the ability to change the lives of thousands or millions of people; the reach is amazing. When I learned that I could combine medicine and research, I dedicated myself to becoming a clinician-scientist.
The people I met while at Temerty Medicine have been inspiring. They are some of the best people, all-around, that I have ever met. Their contributions to the community inspired me to be an active member of the MD/PhD community, no matter how busy I became.
I am passionate about bringing new technologies from scientific labs to patient care. During my PhD, I worked with Professor Warren Chan of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering to develop molecular diagnostic technologies that can be used outside hospital laboratories - we developed a diagnostic test for COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic. I want to continue developing new tests so people living outside big cities can still receive reliable and timely diagnoses. I do not believe that cost or distance to a hospital should be a barrier to receiving quality medical care.
Andrew D'Elia
Up next: Plastic and reconstructive surgery residency, the University of Toronto
Coming from a family with no history in the medical profession, pursuing medicine was a bit of a leap of faith. From a young age, I loved science and learning about how technology and living things worked. I pursued undergraduate training in biomedical engineering, where I studied theory and design-thinking strategies to develop solutions to health care and industry challenges.
Alongside my exploration of coding, computer design, and prototyping, I learned that I also really enjoyed interacting with clients (usually patients), who would share their stories as we worked to engineer solutions to challenges in their daily lives. While being part of the design process was deeply rewarding, creating a relationship with patients and feeling my efforts directly impact their lives was even more so. It was for this reason that I ultimately decided to pursue a career as a physician.
I am thrilled to be starting my residency. Contrary to the public perception of plastic surgery as a simply cosmetic specialty, I learned early in my medical training that plastics is a highly innovative field that calls upon engineering principles. It's rare that someone finds a career that enriches so many passions at once - the opportunity to combine my interest in hands-on work, engineering, and research made me realize that plastics was for me.
Zizo Al-Daqqaq
Up next: Urology residency, the University of Ottawa
Growing up, I wanted to be a professional soccer player. I was drawn to the idea of something with no ceiling, a pursuit where you could keep growing, refining and pushing yourself. Then I realized that medicine offers that same kind of infinite horizon. I trained as a registered nurse (RN) before starting medical school. There weren't any physicians in my immediate or extended family, but the idea of stepping into that role and building something from the ground up made it all the more motivating.
Early in medical school, I worked part-time as an RN in orthopedics and was encouraged to explore urology. I did a bit of shadowing, dipped my toes into research and that was it. I found my people, and I found my path.
Having worked in many different health-care settings as an RN, including intensive care, public health and inpatient medicine/surgery, I felt prepared for my clinical years of medical school. Entering medicine with an established comfort in clinical settings allowed me the freedom to focus on learning over logistics.
I'm passionate about the long game: building relationships with patients, helping them preserve their health and independence, and being someone they can trust through the good and the bad. That kind of continuity means a lot to me. I'm also drawn to longevity, not just in terms of years, but in helping people live well across those years.
Samiha Mohsen
Up next: Dermatology residency, the University of Calgary
Growing up in Egypt, I was surrounded by the world of medicine. Both my parents were doctors, and I had the privilege of witnessing the deep bonds they formed with their patients. I fell in love with science early and through research, I discovered the thrill of asking hard questions and finding answers that could help people. My journey brought me to Canada for my master's and medical training, where my commitment to becoming a physician only deepened. Choosing medicine felt like coming home.
I'm most passionate about being there for patients. Holding their hands through moments of distress. Offering answers when I can. And most importantly, making sure they know they're not alone facing something chronic or acute. That human connection means everything to me.
I fell in love with almost every rotation during clerkship. Dermatology brought all of it together, with the added challenge and beauty of viewing the skin as a window into what's happening inside the body. I was also struck by how visible and distressing skin disease can be.
I'm both excited and a little nervous to take on the added responsibility of residency and building my knowledge and skills. I look forward to growing into someone patients and colleagues can depend on, while continuing to learn every day.
Bianka Bezuidenhout
Up next: Neurosurgery residency, the University of Toronto
I was born and raised in South Africa, where health care was often a privilege, not a given. From a young age, I witnessed the devastating impact that disparities in access and quality of care could have.
I've walked alongside family members through long, complex health-care journeys, navigating systems, translating medical information and sometimes just being there during long nights when no one else could be. I've also had my own experiences with the health-care system, which taught me firsthand how vulnerable it feels to be on the other side of the stretcher.
Throughout medical school, I explored many different paths, but the moment I walked into a neurosurgery operating room, I knew this was exactly where I wanted, and needed, to be. I'm passionate about the intersection of medicine and identity, how disease affects not just the body but the person, their goals, and their sense of self. Especially in neurosurgery, preserving or restoring that sense of self is everything.
I'm looking forward to stepping into the role of being someone's doctor. As the first doctor in my family, this moment is deeply personal. I know what it's like to navigate systems without a medical background, to feel lost in health-care spaces that aren't built for everyone. That perspective drives me to use this new privilege for good. Wherever I can, I want to pay forward the support I received, and help others believe that they, too, belong.
