WORTHINGTON -- Anna McDowell is one of two 2009 recipients of the Gloria Segal Award, given in recognition of her outstanding academic and professional performance during her clinical psychiatry rotations at Mayo Medical School College of Medicine (MMS).
The Minnesota Psychiatric Society presents the Segal award annually to two fourth-year medical students -- one from MMS and one from the University of Minnesota. McDowell received the award at a ceremony in the Twin Cities on June 13.
A 2001 Worthington High School (WHS) graduate, McDowell is the daughter of Frank and Marilyn McDowell, Worthington. In 2005, she earned a B.A. in biology at Luther College and completed her M.D. degree at MMS in May 2009.
"I had thought about medicine as a possible career choice while I was in high school," admitted McDowell, one of the 2001 WHS valedictorians, "but I remember not wanting to tell anyone I was considering it because I was worried about disappointing myself or others if I wasn't accepted to medical school."
Those worries are far behind her now, as McDowell began a residency in psychiatry in late June at the University of Washington, Seattle. At this point, McDowell plans to follow her three-year residency there with additional fellowship training in pediatric psychiatry.
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"When I started medical school, psychiatry was the only thing I knew I didn't want to do," laughed McDowell. "I liked my pediatrics rotation, because, usually, kids get better, and then when I did my psychiatry rotation, I really liked it.
"Typically, you have more time with psychiatric patients and can get to know them better, and that part was really attractive to me," offered McDowell.
McDowell recalls enjoying biology and learning about cell function as far back as fifth grade.
"I thought it was fascinating to learn about human biology and the basic processes of how we live every day," recalled McDowell.
Although McDowell spent two summers during her college years working with laboratory researchers at the University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota, she found it hard to imagine herself in a career that she found "too removed from people." It was a three-week trip to Tanzania during her junior year of college that cemented her resolve to become a physician.
"We were looking at the health care system in Tanzania in three different settings," explained McDowell. "First, at a private hospital funded by the Lutheran church, then at a public hospital run by the Tanzanian government and finally in the bush with a University of Minnesota-trained doctor.
"After that experience, I decided I really needed to try to get into medical school and if for some reason that didn't work, I'd figure out something else."
Now settled as a full-fledged physician at the University of Washington Medical Center, McDowell is amused by those who think her experiences in Seattle might introduce her to the characters popularized on television's "Grey's Anatomy."
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"There is no such hospital as Seattle Grace, in reality," debunked McDowell, who is, however, working at Seattle's VA hospital and Seattle Children's Hospital.
Having found her calling in psychiatry, and pediatric psychiatry in particular, McDowell points out there is a "huge shortage of psychiatrists, especially for children and in Minnesota," and she is anticipating a rewarding career in assisting people in coping with mental illness.
"If you can help those suffering from mental illness when they're young, maybe they'll struggle less when they're older," theorized McDowell. "Maybe I'm a ridiculous optimist, but I'm looking forward to it."
