By Jamie Hsiung
DAILY BRUIN REPORTER
[email protected]
Isaac Yang’s career plans always involved helping people,
even as he went from being a social welfare student to a medical
student.
Yang, who graduated from UCLA in 1995 with a social welfare
degree, is in his second year of studying to become a neurosurgeon
at the UCLA Medical School.
His story may be of interest to undergraduate students looking
for a major; perhaps the decision should not be too stressful.
After all, one does not always need to go to work in a field
directly related to his or her special area of study as a UCLA
undergraduate.
Volunteer experience in the emergency room at UC San Francisco
Medical Center strengthened Yang’s decision to become a
doctor.
During his four months there, where his duties ranged from
paperwork to performing CPR and talking to patients, he was
impressed with the high amount of trust patients placed in their
doctors. He compared the doctor-patient relationship to a
mother-child relationship.
After graduating from UCLA, he worked as a social welfare
outreach worker for a year, trying to get people to change
insurance. In the end, he felt he was not really helping people as
much as he could be. Becoming a doctor would have a greater impact
on people’s lives, he thought.
He loved the social welfare major at UCLA ““ even though
it’s not a typical major for someone who becomes a medical
student. The major wasn’t too competitive, and very
well-rounded, he said.
He liked how it was all about trying to help people as compared
to sociology, where it’s more academic, more about
understanding people and less about actually helping them, he
said.
Compared to his work at the Medical Center, it is not too
different, he said.
“Premeds are typically hypercompetitive, but UCLA … is
laid back … everyone helps one another,” Yang said.
He started taking medically related classes his third year with
mixed reactions from friends and family when they discovered he
wanted to switch careers. It meant continuing college longer, more
student fees and not using his undergraduate degree in the real
world.
But they were still encouraging, he said, wanting to make sure
that heading to medical school was what he really wanted ““ in
the end, the difficulties were worth it.
“The doctors wanted to help these people, and they totally
make a difference,” he said. “How could you put a price
on that?”