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To Fardeen Siddiqui ’22, meaningful connection is the hallmark of good patient care. In his pursuit to become a more compassionate physician, Fardeen now attends NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
“I had always loved the sciences, but I was unsure if direct patient care was right for me. I embarked on gaining clinical experiences during my time at UNH Manchester to find out,” he says.
“Through my experiences shadowing physicians, treating patients as a licensed nursing assistant on the orthopedic unit at Concord Hospital and volunteering in hospice care, I clearly realized that I desired to enter a profession that is focused on connecting with patients.”
Seeking to develop his research skills, Fardeen chose the biotechnology major. He was also a part of the Millyard Scholars Program, which provides scholarships and research opportunities to incoming students in biotechnology, engineering technology and biological sciences programs.
“UNH Manchester was the only program that heavily involved its biotechnology undergraduates in research and provided avenues to pursue scholarly work at an early stage in their undergraduate career,” he says.
As a Millyard Scholar, Fardeen was able to get hands-on experience with microbiology, regenerative medicine and bacteriophage treatment research. He received a UNH Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship grant to conduct independent projects and also joined the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute as a bioprocess intern.
“The Millyard Scholars Program really helped set me apart from others by providing me with a strong research background early on in my undergraduate career,” he says. “Traditionally, this level of work is reserved for graduate level students. But here, undergraduates in the biotechnology program are encouraged to explore their academic passions through inquisition and investigation.”
With a strong research background under his belt and three research papers published before graduation, Fardeen was able to set himself apart in medical school application cycles. By taking ownership of his learning journey at UNH Manchester, he felt well-equipped for the rigor of medical school.
“The university's emphasis on self-directed learning and critical thinking has been instrumental in helping me gain skills to navigate the complicated landscape of medical education,” he says. “This skill has helped me a lot in the clinical case-driven learning approach at NYU Grossman, where the curriculum encourages students to actively engage with real-world medical cases.”
Fardeen also credits the unique UNH Manchester community for having nurtured his research aspirations throughout. His advice to students is to make the most of this environment, which is harder to replicate at larger universities.
“The faculty here truly want the best for their students and often go out of their way to provide students with unique opportunities to benefit their future careers,” he says. “If you value a close-knit community, a vast number of scholarly opportunities to explore academic interests and personal connections with faculty, then UNH Manchester is the school for you.”
At NYU Grossman, Fardeen hopes to become a physician who comforts patients in times of distress and demonstrates empathy for their concerns.
“While I have refined my knowledge in the sciences, I learned that science without a connection to people does not fulfill a fundamental purpose in my life,” he says. “To me, meaningful connection is the fundamental building block for a physician-patient relationship.”