Our H.E.R.O. Award -Honoring Excellent Resident Observations – was launched to highlight the personal sacrifices and educational commitment during a medical resident’s professional adult life. We realize, considering the fast moving changes in healthcare, how courageous medical residents are to embark upon a career in medicine with such an uncertain future. This award is our way of recognizing that courage.
We wanted to take a moment to introduce you to our nominees individually:
Aurora Leon Conde
Dr. Aurora Leon Conde graduated from
Anahuac University in Mexico City, Mexico. Her medical school experience was made memorable by the extensive involvement of her teachers – both in the classroom and in the hospitals with patients. She was exposed to the whole spectrum of healthcare – from private university hospitals to large community hospitals and also to under-served areas surrounding Mexico City. She also took care of the under-served population in a rural setting for one year as part of the service requirement after graduating medical school. It was this year that solidified her decision to pursue primary care.
Internal Medicine provides Dr. Leon Conde a holistic approach to the patient – she can see the patient in their entirety and incorporate their social structure, their personal values and their spirituality into her care plan for the patient. She feels strongly that the physician cannot just treat the disease, they must treat the whole patient and their circumstances. By training at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt, she was able to learn to take care of an extremely diverse patient population both in the inpatient and outpatient setting.
Dr. Leon Conde feels that this career will allow her to build connections with patients that will allow her to positively affect their lives. She cares deeply for patients and relishes the human interaction that a career in Medicine affords. When she did her internship back in Mexico, she was very drawn to patients who were dying – other doctors would often say “there is nothing more we can do.” She would search out those patients and spend time with them, supporting them and talking about things that mattered to the patient – she realized then that Medicine is all about connecting with the patient and that there is something the physician can always offer, even at the end of life.
It was very difficult for Dr. Leon Conde to move from Mexico, away from her family and friends and support structure, so that she could have the highest level of training that currently exists.
Vote for Aurora here.
If you know a resident that deserves to be recognized,
please nominate your candidate here.
