Welcome to the Mentor Hall of Fame

The Mentor Hall of Fame honors members of the osteopathic family for outstanding excellence in mentorship and support to osteopathic medical students, interns, residents and new-in-practice physicians, promoting the spirit of osteopathic philosophy, principals and practice. Names of all nominees for Mentor of the Year are included on a plaque that has been created to commemorate all those inducted into the Mentor Hall of Fame now proudly displayed in the AOA Board of Trustees Board Room at AOA Headquarters.

All of the mentor stories submitted reflect how a mentor has made a difference in the life of a mentee. Mentoring students, interns, residents, and young physicians is a vital role to the osteopathic profession. Our mentor spotlight features such stories.

2006 AOA MENTOR OF THE YEAR FINALIST
Humayun Chaudhry, DO

College:NYCOM

Time Mentored
Being that I met Dr. Chaudhry a few weeks before school started while visiting the campus, I have had the pleasure of having him as a mentor since the start of my medical school career, in 2002. Dr. Chaudhry helped me through my first two years of medical school, gave great advice on boards, encouraged me to apply for the OMM Fellowship, supported me in starting my Masters in Business and has always been the best listener throughout my clinical rotations and now, through my residency application process.

Mentor Qualities
Dr. Chaudhry has many qualities that make him the BEST mentor. He is not only knowledgeable about the medical school process and medical careers, but he also has many life experiences that enabled him to be my mentor in both academic and nonacademic issues. Dr. Chaudhry is not only an attending at a NY hospital, but is also a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force, has a Masters in Public Health from Harvard, a Masters in Anatomy from NYU, teaches at NYCOM, holds the position of Chair of Internal Medicine at NYCOM and has a wonderful family also! He is extremely well rounded which not only serves as an inspiration, but makes it comforting that I can approach him with almost any situation I am handling!

Mentor Characteristics Adopted:
I have learned so much about personal and professional behavior through both observing and talking to Dr. Chaudhry. Whether it be leadership "power" words, dealing with the politics of medicine, presenting my thoughts in an efficient manner, learning how to articulate my thoughts and concerns, and observing great work ethic are just a few traits I have tried to apply to my life and behavior. My best memory of Dr. Chaudhry relating to personal/professional traits happened a month prior to my first clinical rotation. He took the time to advise me on proper behavior in a hospital, how to prepare for rounds, proper interaction with patients and their families, importance of team work with the residents and other students, and most of all he stressed not to be late! This experience is something I have never forgotten and I feel has helped me tremendously throughout my clinical rotations.

Mentor Impact:
Dr. Chaudhry is not only my mentor, but is my friend. In fact, I consider him a close friend of mine. When I first started medical school, I was considering dropping out. Not only did I have the normal anxiety that accompanies the overwhelming feeling of fear due to the workload and responsibility of medical school, but I had lost my father just a few weeks before my orientation to medical school. I never shared these feelings with Dr. Chaudhry, but somehow he picked up on them. He always checked on me after every set of exams and encouraged me to keep up the good work. He checked in with me frequently, and always had great timing. Any day that I was feeling down, I would always find Dr. Chaudhry there to "pick" me up. The initial feelings of fear turned into the start of my building self-confidence. I slowly believed that I would pass every test and started to push myself to new limits. Joining the Masters in Business curriculum, applying and becoming an OMM predoctoral fellow, becoming class president and receiving a number of scholarships has brought me to a new level I never thought possible. Reflecting on my medical school path, I cannot imagine it without Dr. Chaudhry. Or at very least, I could not imagine being as successful as I am today without his knowledge, presence, advice and friendship.

Mentor Stories
I have so many favorite memories of Dr. Chaudhry. The two that stand out most are as follows:

1. As mentioned earlier, I served as Class President during my second year of medical school. The class officers would meet with Dr. Chaudhry weekly as he held the title of "Preclinical Dean" at that time. One day while I was in a very stressful mood due to a school issue and I ran into Dr. Chaudhry in the parking lot. Dr. Chaudhry noticed that I was upset and so he inquired as to what was wrong. My level of anger was so high that I just started telling him the situation without even taking a breathe of air! Although I usually don't curse, a curse word slipped out and at that time, I stopped and with my eyes and mouth wide open and probably as pale as can be, I said, "Oh my god, I just cursed in front of my mentor"! Dr. Chaudhry told me that it was okay and made me feel comfortable. After talking about my problem in depth, I felt better and thought it would be a good time to start heading home. As I was saying goodbye and walking away, Dr. Chaudhry said, "Hey Hala, don't ever say 'bleep (curse word)' again!" I started laughing and he smiled. He said, "I am glad to have put a smile on your face, now go home and forget about this problem. You have one job right now, and that is to study."

2. During my second year of medical school, I became very sick with what started out as a sinus infection, but became more severe. I was still showing up to classes and to my officer meetings with Dr. Chaudhry. He noticed that I was progressively getting worse and had encouraged me to make an appointment with my primary care physician. Although I usually took his advice, I did not this time. I pushed myself more and more because I had two upcoming exams, renal and GI. The week of exams, I became even more ill and had to be taken to the hospital. I was scared due to my illness and for the upcoming exams. Dr. Chaudhry was notified by a friend that I was at the hospital and he took the time to call me and check on me. He knew the Emergency Room attending well and after they spoke, I felt more at ease. After getting discharged from the hospital, Dr. Chaudhry called me and told me that I had the option of postponing my exams. I was so relieved. I took the exams the following week and did very well. Without his care and concern, I don’t feel that I would have had a similar outcome.

These are just two of MANY stories. I assure you that Dr. Chaudhry deserves this title. He does not know that I have entered him, so I will be so excited to deliver the news if he is chosen! He is an exceptional person and physician and I know he would wear this title well!

Thank you for your time in reading my experiences!

Submitted by: Hala H. Sabry, OMS IV*

Look for the other nomination in next month's
Mentor Spotlight!

* This is the original nomination submitted; minor formatting and/or grammatical errors have been revised.

If you have any comments or questions, please contact: cbaggett@osteopathic.org, or 1-800-621-1773, Ext. 8141.