Vishal K. Patel: Pre-med at Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University pre-med student Vishal K. Patel wanted to be a baseball player until he was 12. However, when Patel reached high school he realized that medicine was what he really wanted to go into.

Patel's mother is a Postal Worker for the United States Postal Service, and his father is a salesman for IBM. "Both of my parents brought a sense of dedication and work ethic into my house," said Patel. His mother, Vibhuti Patel, 49, says that she doesn't mind whatever profession her son chooses so long as it turns a quick profit. "My main concern for Vishal is that the money he makes help him pay off his loans and put money in his pocket quickly." His father, Kamlesh Patel, 49, agreed "as long as it is able to support him in the current economy, its ok with me," he said.

Patel, 19, was born in Flushing and grew up in Floral Park. When Patel was ten he and his family moved to New Hyde Park. Throughout his life his grandmother had been in out of surgeries for her legs and heart, and after each surgery it would take her a long time to recover. Shortly after doctors determined that her health would improve, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Patel says that watching his grandmother go in and out of hospitals, and watching her health diminish now, brought him to medicine. Kapila Patel, 77, only speaks Gujatari, the Patel family native language. With her grandson acting as a translator, she said she supports whatever decision her grandson makes, although she is looking forward to his medical education. According to Patel his grandmother said "she feels more at ease knowing that a member of her family would one day be able to help her and she would not have to rely on a hospice service or nursing home to take care of her."

Patel said that his Hindu culture calls for him to take responsibility for the care of his parents, and that this weighed into his choice of profession. "I felt a lot of pressure going into college," said Patel. "I would say my decision was 30 percent fiscal responsibility for my parents, 50 percent what I wanted to do and 20 percent for the money." Being a medical student also offers a lot of pressures according to Patel. "My chemistry work load is hard. I took AP Chemistry in high school, but the stuff here is much harder." Patel is also responsible for weekly quizzes that he must take and pass to move forward. His biology sequence is also difficult. "I find the bio to be easier, but it is still not a joke." According to Patel's friend, Derek Nu, freshman, he and Patel have spent several nights this semester up until 4a.m. working on quizzes or trying to get through a homework assignment.

Although Patel said he does feel quite a bit of pressure, he still has not decided what area of medicine he is going to enter. Right now, he said he is torn between dentistry and physical therapy, but he says that it could change. "It all depends on what I learn about each profession, and what I hear about other professions I have not yet considered," he said. "All I know for sure right now is that I want to go into medicine."