Resident connects her musical past to her present life in medicine

Rozalyn Chok, who is completing her third year in the general pediatrics program, recently wrote for the Canadian Medical Association Journal about an experience she had as a pianist in a New York mental health institution.

Chok completed her undergraduate degree in piano performance at Juilliard in New York City before pursuing medicine. She was inspired to write this article after encountering a patient during her residency at the University of Alberta. “I often refer to my music training and career as a ‘past life,’ something that is very separate from my current life as a pediatric resident. However, as I progress in my training, I am realizing that the performing arts and medicine have more in common than I initially thought. Though the medium is different, communication and connection are at the core of each discipline. I was reminded of this in a surprising and powerful way in the patient encounter I describe in my essay,” says Chok.

She has received a good response about her essay and heard how music has played an important role in people’s lives, especially those with mental illness or dementia. Chok will be starting her subspecialty residency in pediatric hematology/oncology at the University of British Columbia in July.

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