Chritie Stawicki '22

Christie Stawicki is currently a third year student at TUSPM. Christie graduated from Penn State University with degrees in Pre-Law and Theater. After graduation, she worked in Pharmaceutical Diabetes Marketing for 2 year, which encouraged her to pursue education in medicine. Christie started a new job at the Rothman Institute in spine research and took prerequisite classes for medical school at Jefferson. She worked at Rothman Institute as a Spinal Research Fellow for three years. When shadowing a Podiatrist, Christie was shocked and pleasantly surprised at the versatility of the profession, and she envisioned a future working in podiatry. Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine was her first option for medical school; she was accepted to the School in December, and thought of the acceptance as the best Christmas present.

 

Christie is a strong believer in the idea that podiatry is the best-kept secret in the medical industry. For anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in podiatry, Christie stressed the importance of shadowing. “Shadowing a podiatrist is certainly the right step towards finding the correct niche,” said Christie. 

 

During her first semester at TUSPM, Christie remembers that her most daunting challenge was learning the best approaches to studying this new course work, especially since she had minimal exposure to medicine and science in the past. Having not taken any general science classes in Undergrad, she especially felt challenges with learning how to modify study habits for courses such as General Anatomy that required mastery of high volumes of material at once. 

 

Christie’s favorite part about her experience thus far at TUSPM has been the time working in the clinic with the wonderful clinicians and professors. Even with the Covid-19 pandemic and the current restrictions in place, the hands-on learning experience has been invaluable to Christie and to her education in Podiatric Medicine.

 

In the future, Christie says, “I see myself as a Foot and Ankle surgeon whose practice incorporates educating patients on the benefits of fitness, nutrition, and prevention of disease. As the rate of diabetic patients is staggering, preventative health and patient education is critical to achieve better outcomes. In general, I believe individuals underestimate the power of their body through their daily choices and habits. My goal is to spread this message to as many patients as I can to improve their quality of life.  As a life-long athlete who has taken part in every sport, from bodybuilding to swimming, I want to emphasize the numerous benefits of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. I want my patients to view me not only as their physician/surgeon, but also as their friend who supports and believes in their pursuits and potential. Although healthcare is constantly changing, one thing that should remain the same is the emphasis on patient-doctor relationship”.

 

 

Christie is currently the Research Coordinator for the TUSPM student chapter of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Every year at the annual ACFAS conference, the student E Board creates a research project to showcase student research. This year Christie is working with Dr. Myer to create a project that focuses on how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected Podiatric surgical practices. They have created a survey to help collect data. If you are interested in participating in the survey, please email TUSPMalumni@temple.edu.