Aspiring Docs Diaries

Meet the author:

Slavena Salve Nissan

Med Student

Slavena Salve Nissan moved to Brooklyn, New York from Baku, Azerbaijan when she was 6-years-old and comes from an ethnic minority known as the Mountain Jews. She graduated with a major in biology from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College in 2015 and after graduation, worked as a medical receptionist. She’s currently a medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where she’s continuing to explore the intricacies of her two passions: healthcare and art. You can find her poetry, photography, and thoughts on social media @slavenareina on Instagram and Twitter.

Stories by Slavena

Feb 6, 2020

Dear Me at 18

Slavena Salve Nissan

It’s 2011, and you’re in the first few weeks of college. You’ve just had this wonderfully lazy last summer of […] Read More

Jan 9, 2018

December

Slavena Salve Nissan

In December 2012, I almost quit pursuing medicine. I was a sophomore in college and wrapping up the end of […] Read More

Jan 23, 2017

P/F

Slavena Salve Nissan

Within our first 5 months, the Mount Sinai Class of 2020 has taken 5 exams and 16 quizzes as well […] Read More

Oct 19, 2016

Still Waiting for Someone to Pinch Me

Slavena Salve Nissan

Photo courtesy of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. This year’s White Coat Ceremony at Mount Sinai took […] Read More

May 2, 2016

Acceptance

Slavena Salve Nissan

I’m sitting in a bustling restaurant on the Upper West Side between two first-year medical students. It’s revisit weekend at […] Read More

Apr 5, 2016

The Interview: Part 2

Slavena Salve Nissan

Read Part 1 of this piece here. The Questions All of my interviews were one-on-one, thirty to sixty minute sessions […] Read More

Feb 23, 2016

The Interview: Part 1

Slavena Salve Nissan

My interview days were some of the best days in the entire med school admissions process. They were exhilarating, exhausting, […] Read More

Oct 26, 2015

10 Years

Slavena Salve Nissan

Last October, I went to a financial aid workshop in which one of the speakers asked us to make a […] Read More