48. IMG Roadmap Series #63: Dr. Noor Sajjadi, ENT

Have you ever considered becoming an ENT resident?

In this week’s episode, Dr. Noor Sajjadi, a newly minted intern in the highly competitive field of otolaryngology and a non-traditional US-IMG, inspires us with her story of resilience, dedication and most importantly, intentionality.

Having been born and raised in the United States, Dr. Noor, despite being three months into her undergraduate degree program at UC Berkeley, made the difficult decision of enrolling into a five year medical program at the Aga Khan University in Pakistan.

Throughout her medical education, Dr. Noor always operated under the principles of hard work, determination and intentionality. As soon as she discovered her interest in the field of otolaryngology, and with her goal of practicing in the US in mind, every decision she made thenceforth was geared towards achieving that dream.

While in medical school, she pursued US clinical rotations and after having graduated in 2016, engaged in several research opportunities both clinical and basic science oriented.

One of her research fellowships was in the auditory lab at Stanford University in the basic science capacity, and despite it not being heavily clinical, it gave her the opportunity to have a comparatively holistic understanding of the field.

Her first time applying for residency in the ENT field was in 2019, which at first did not yield results. However, Dr. Noor used this as a learning experience and sought valuable feedback, which eventually led to her landing the match in 2020.

As such, this episode focuses offers these priceless takeaways:

• The importance of knowing the statistics and exact figures in the application process.
• How to twist your perceived short-comings and market your non-traditional IMG nature as an asset.
• The importance of asking for feedback.
• The importance of being intentional and clear in what you want to achieve.
• Why confidence and belief in yourself is a game-changer.

You can contact Dr. Noor to find out more about her inspiring story via Instagram @thestrugglingdoc

Listen to the full podcast at the links below:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-img-roadmap/id1490731292

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/45NNJ7ewtqynqyssbwm1xz

Google Podcasts:https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1490731292/the-img-roadmap-podcast

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-img-roadmap-GE0MMg