Our Student Profile for May is Arina Litarov
Arina grew up in Long Island, New York and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Stony Brook University. The medical field was something Arina was always interested in, but she was unsure of which path to take. After receiving her undergrad degree Arina took a year off to try and improve her MCAT scores. She decided to try something different and attend medical school in the Caribbean on the island of St. Marteen. After experiencing a great deal of unfortunate events while at this school, Arina realized this was not the right path for her and decided to come home. When she arrived home she was still undecided about which direction to take in the medical field. That was until many friends and family who were in a medical profession encouraged her to try Podiatry because it was an up and coming field. So she took their advice and shadowed a Podiatrist at a private office in Bay Shore, Long Island. After this experience she fell in love with podiatry as this was what she wanted to do. She applied to TUSPM shortly after and was accepted.
Arina described her experience at Temple so far as being great. She thoroughly enjoys the classes with the clinicians because they explain the different cases they have seen and really demonstrate what she can expect to see in the future. She finds that having the clinic right on campus is very unique and beneficial to the students.
Since starting podiatry school Arina has seen a huge improvement in her grades and studying habits. She is thoroughly enjoying all that she is learning about podiatry. Recently she received a 100 percent in her dermatology class, which she says is one of her proudest accomplishments to date. “I’m excited to take what I am learning and apply it to the real world”.
For anyone who is considering the field of Podiatry Arina suggests to explore it because it is an interesting field with numerous specialties and it is a different path to go in the medical field. Arina is very grateful that she discovered podiatry.
Right now Arina’s main goal is to pass her upcoming Boards in July so she can start seeing patients in the clinic. After graduation she hopes to have a residency in Florida, Philadelphia, or New York. She believes she would benefit the most in Florida because their laws and regulations for podiatry are broader than other states. Therefore she would see more cases, which would give more experience and exposure.
Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine has been a great experience so far for Arina. In just two years she has grown to love the City of Philadelphia, made lots of new friends, has seen an improvement in her school work effort and has met her current boyfriend in one of her classes. They have been helping each other get through TUSPM. Arina is excited to what is in store for her future.