VCOM View Magazine Vol. 13 | No. 1

In addition to Dr. Brolinson, Sydney has also benefitted from the mentorship of several other superb VCOM faculty members. Fred Rawlins II, DO, provided Sydney with ample opportunity to conduct research, asking her challenging questions and pushing her every day to succeed. Fred Rawlins III, DO, has also been a key part of her success. “[Dr. Rawlins, III] has been an incredible mentor during my Internal Medicine journey,” Sydney explains. “From shadowing to questions along the way to discussing future paths, he has always been supportive.” Classmate Ishan Perera isn’t surprised Sydney won the Presidential Memorial Leadership Scholarship. “Sydney is the most impressive, high achieving and compassionate person I have ever met,” Ishan says. “She works hard to create opportunity for all, to provide support no matter how small and to ensure that “ “Dr. Brolinson mentored me and guided me on how I could still do research while pursuing my goal of becoming a physician-scientist.” Sydney Moriarty, VCOM-Virginia Class of 2025

everyone is happy. Sydney is truly an amazing person.” As she completes her fourth-year rotations, Sydney knows that VCOM has prepared her for her path. “Everything from the clinical medicine lectures to connecting the dots during anatomy and physiology, to CIS sessions where we learned about the MR CLEAN + DAWN trials, to our simulations where we ran codes/rapids with ACLS, to doing standardized patients where we counseled on topics like a new cancer diagnosis or stroke, all of these experiences made a difference,” she says. “I felt prepared to dive in and learn the medicine, present new literature, and discuss assessments and plans.” Sydney plans to pursue a future in Internal Medicine and is interested in a pulmonology/critical care fellowship. She also looks forward to her next steps and hopes one day that she will be able to pay her VCOM experiences forward to the next generation of osteopathic physicians. “I am grateful for my time at VCOM,” says Sydney. “They have provided me not only with an incredible education, allowing me to feel comfortable and confident, but also with research and mentorship. I hope to carry this knowledge with me and ensure that one day when I am in the position to mentor, I can do the same for the next generation.”

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