I had always planned on taking at least one gap year after graduating college. One important reason was that I was feeling pulled in a few different directions by my interests as a global health major, a participant in the startup/entrepreneurial scene at my campus, and a student researcher studying healthcare and data regulation. I wanted the chance to expand my professional network in these fields, and to further explore my interests and the roles that I might be able to fill with a career in the medical field.
There were a few other things I wanted to prioritize as well: hands-on/experiential learning experiences, acquiring tangible skills that I could use in my career, working with interdisciplinary teams, and, on a personal front, living in a big city like Chicago for the first time and exploring all that it had to offer!
When I found out about the Master of Science in Law program as a senior in college, it sounded too good to be true. I loved the idea of being able to customize my didactic and experiential learning through a master’s program whose very mission was to train students to work at the intersections of law, business, technology, STEM, and healthcare. I was also looking forward to meeting like-minded classmates and broadening my perspectives from interactions with peers from varied career and life experiences.
The MSL opened my eyes to so many new things, and I draw from what I learned on a regular basis. This includes specific knowledge regarding healthcare innovation and regulation; generalizable skills I acquired for how to “think like a lawyer” and how to research and navigate my way through evolving legal topics; important skills in writing, negotiations, and project management; and an overall excitement and confidence about bringing together and working with multidisciplinary teams.
Being a student at Northwestern Law, I also had the opportunity to be active in various other ways – I performed community service in Chicago public schools, joined innovation labs affiliated with Northwestern and its networks (The Garage/Propel/MATTER), became a part of annual law school traditions, and learned and worked with other Northwestern professional students in various capacities. I also came away with a great group of friends that I still keep in touch with. I felt like I was able to blend three gap year experiences into one, given all the curricular and extra-curricular options that are built into the MSL program.
Some of the staff and faculty that I got to work closely with during the MSL also became an important part of my support system as I began applying for medical school. I was able to go to them for advice (about career planning, networking, interview prep) and also to have their endorsement through letters of recommendation.
My experiences from the MSL program also helped me find opportunities to excel during my second gap year. I was ultimately able to directly apply the things that I learned in the MSL to work as the project coordinator for a large, multidisciplinary project with the Chicago Department of Public Health – a project that involved public health, data regulation, and technology. I was also very fortunate to obtain a sponsorship to briefly go abroad to work on more healthcare innovation type projects!
When I applied to medical schools, the MSL program came up in every application and interview. Schools wanted to hear more about what the MSL was, why I did it, and how the things I learned would translate into a career as a future physician. I really had a lot to say and show for what I did in those 9 months in the MSL!
As a medical student, I’ve continued to get involved in various medical-legal partnership opportunities, including projects around asylum medicine training (e.g., training healthcare students and providers on how to conduct forensic evaluations, write affidavits, and testify in court); projects that involve connecting patients to social and legal aid resources in the community; and qualitative research to learn community perspectives when it comes to mobile health technologies.
In short, I completed a master’s degree in law focusing my studies and independent research on healthcare/data regulation, while also gaining hands-experience by founding a student-led startup through the MSL’s Entrepreneurship Lab, and working on a multidisciplinary team (med, law, public health, public policy) to consult for an international nonprofit through the Health and Human Rights course. These were all formative experiences for me that helped shape the kind of medical student I am now, and the kind of physician and advocate that I plan to be in the future.
– Alice Lu (MSL ’19)
Second Year Medical Student at University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine
