IT’S GAME ON WITH ROXANNE ILAGAN
CURRENT POSITION: Medical Scribe at Beaumont Health
LOCATION: Detroit, Michigan
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DEGREE: B.S. in Neuroscience, minor in Asian Languages and Cultures
GRADUATION YEAR: 2016
ACTIVITIES AT MICHIGAN: Michigan Pops Orchestra, Michigan Academic Competitions (Quiz Bowl), Filipino American Student Association, Maize Rage, Global Scholars Program
MICHIGAN POPS ORCHESTRA INSTRUMENT: Viola
Watch Roxanne’s favorite Pops performance while you read about her Pops Life!
KELLY COMPTON, our Pops Life correspondent, sits down with Roxanne to talk about cherished memories, persevering through challenges, and blazing her own path forward.
KC: Roxanne, tell us a little bit about your experience in the Michigan Pops Orchestra over the years!
RI: I joined Pops right when I got to Michigan and played viola! I remember watching YouTube videos about Pops before I started, so I already knew I wanted to join by the time I arrived on campus. I loved playing all of the movie and video game soundtracks, and I did Pops Small Ensembles freshman year. I was in Pops almost all four years; I took one semester off to study for the MCAT.
KC: What was your musical background before you got to Michigan?
RI: I started playing viola in 4th grade because my older sister had also picked that instrument, but she only stuck with it for two years. I continued playing through high school and also did the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra in addition to my school orchestras.
KC: What kind of Pops small ensemble were you in?
RI: I was in a video game music-only string quartet! We played Legends of Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and Super Mario. The group unfortunately ended up dissolving because the one person who had arranged pretty much all of our music graduated. The rest of us were kind of...too lazy to take over after that.
KC: What was your favorite Pops concert?
RI: I loved the first concert I was in (I actually still have the poster in my room!): the “Pops Takes Flight” concert. I remember that concert specifically because we played “Up,” and “Up” is one of my favorite soundtracks. We also played “How to Train Your Dragon” for that concert and it was amazing!
KC: What were some of your favorite social memories?
RI: We had a pretty tight viola section - we’d often get together before a concert to watch a movie related to the concert!
KC: What have you been up to since you graduated from Michigan?
RI: After I graduated from Michigan, I did Wayne State’s “Master’s of Science in Basic Medical Sciences” program, which was a two year Masters focused on getting students into professional schools (such as Medical or Dental school). I also retook my MCAT, and right now I’m living at home and working as an Emergency Room scribe. I’m starting at Wayne State for medical school in July, so this past year has been my chill year off.
KC: That’s funny that you mention this being your “chill” year, because I’ve heard that working as a scribe can be pretty difficult! How are you liking that job?
RI: There are definitely varying opinions about working as a scribe! I tried to hold off from working as a scribe for a couple years because I had heard similar things. What ended up happening is I applied to medical school last year and it didn’t work out, so I wanted more clinical experience when I re-applied. I know a lot of people have had pretty negative experiences with specific scribe companies (Scribe America, Proscribe, etc.), but I really like my job since I was hired by the hospital (Beaumont Grosse Pointe). It’s a very small community hospital, so everyone gets to know you very well. I thought I would dread working night shifts, but that hasn’t been the case. I’ve really enjoyed my past year working there and I feel like I’ve learned a lot. I’ll be doing this until June or so, then I start med school in July.
KC: How would you describe the job of a medical scribe?
RI: My job is to follow the medical staff and take notes for them. This includes going into patient rooms and documenting details of their present illness (aka what brought them to the ER). Working in an ER can get really hectic depending on how many patients are coming in on a given day, so it definitely requires being a very good listener and always paying attention. Typing fast is important! It’s also pretty important to have some kind of medical background. Though there are a lot of terms that you won’t know, you have to be willing to learn those things if you want to be a good scribe. The job is a lot harder when you’re typing down words and don’t know what they mean in context.
KC: That’s great, it sounds like you’re essentially getting paid to shadow (plus put in some hard work)!
RI: It essentially is! I shadowed previously but not as much as I could have. Scribing is like shadowing on steroids for 40 hours a week.
KC: What made you want to go into medicine?
RI: I was one of the stereotypical, “I’ve wanted to do this since I was a child” type of people. I never had an “aha moment” per se; my parents were nurses and my relatives were doctors. I was always around medicine, so over time being exposed to medicine and visiting the hospital so much made me want to pursue it as a career.
KC: If you could share advice with current pre-med students in Pops, what would you want people to know from your own experiences?
RI: If you’re passionate about it, just keep going. I did not anticipate taking three gap years or anything like that. I was in this rigid mindset of thinking I was going to go to Michigan and start med school right after, and I never got out of that mindset so I didn’t let myself realize that I could fail and pick myself up. Taking gap years is perfectly fine, especially if you think it’ll make you a stronger applicant.
KC: Do you think being in Pops helped you at all in your medical pursuits?
RI: Yes, in that Pops was something that I did because I truly enjoyed it. It was a way for me to relax every week, which I think everyone needs to be successful.
KC: For people applying to medical school for multiple cycles, would you recommend looking into a scribe job or taking a bit of time to get a Master’s degree?
RI: For sure! A lot of people apply to medical school every year and the reality is most people don’t get in. The entire process REALLY sucks -- it’s expensive and a lot of work but if you want to get there eventually, you need to be continually trying to improve your application. Make sure that you have a back-up plan if you don’t get in the first time. I knew what my “problems” were from undergrad; my GPA wasn’t great, my MCAT could have been better, and I needed more hands-on exposure, so over the past couple of years I worked myself to improve my application in these 3 areas. Knowing your own weaknesses and improving on them is essential.
KC: What advice would you give students on not getting burned out during the application process?
RI: Find things that you enjoy! Hobbies are good. I’m in an orchestra now, the Detroit Medical Orchestra, and that’s been a good stress reliever. Even after college, medical schools like to see that you’re doing things outside of school or your job, so I wanted to find experiences that helped my application but also made me happy. I was determined to continue volunteering after undergrad, so now I volunteer at a children’s hospital playing video games with the kids. I also enjoy cooking, so I volunteer with a program where we teach low-income adults and children how to make cheap and healthy meals. Besides working on your application, make sure to spend time with friends and do things you enjoy! I keep up with a lot of my college friends pretty often despite our different paths and my time spent with them always helped motivate me in my goals.
ROXANNE’S FAVORITES
PLACES TO EAT IN A2: Seoul Street, Belly Deli, Pacific Rim, and Fritas. Can't just pick one, they're just so good and different from your ordinary restaurants!
RESTAURANT MEAL EVER: For my 21st birthday, I invited 15 of my friends to a dinner at Aventura. They had us in a private room and we bought tons of tapas and paella to share amongst each other. One of my favorite meals, not just for the delicious food, but the experience of sharing it with all of my friends.
THING TO COOK: Steak! I love to sous-vide my steaks and finish them off in a cast iron.
VIDEO GAME AND VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACK: Game…Pokémon, specifically gold and silver. I find them very fun and have a lot of nostalgia surrounding them.
Soundtrack…Legends of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony! I know I'm cheating as it includes music from multiple games, but it's really good and I've seen the Legends of Zelda touring symphony twice
MICHIGAN BASKETBALL MOMENT: This is hard because I have a lot of good memories in the Maize Rage, including when I got several posters on ESPN. That being said, my favorite moment was actually after I graduated: last year's Jordan Poole buzzer beater 3-pointer against Houston in the second round of the NCAA tournament
DETROIT SPORTS STAR: Miguel Cabrera. He may have dropped off a bit recently, but he's legendary here and I have a photo with him!
I was at Benihana for my birthday dinner and he was in front with his family. I asked for a picture before we all got seated, and then they ended up sitting at the table next to us during dinner :)
DATE WITH YOUR SWEETIE: Eating at a great restaurant and doing an activity like arcade games, put-put golfing, or fowling
3/1/19