Alumni Spotlight: Dhruv Sethi
Meet Dhruv, an alumni member from Eta Chapter at Virginia Commonwealth University.
After graduating in 2015, Dhruv began attending VCU School of Medicine and is now a 4th year medical student applying for ophthalmology residencies. Even throughout medical school, Dhruv still found ways to contribute his time and effort to DEM.
He proudly served on the National Executive Committee from 2017-2019 as the National Executive Vice President. He recalls everyone on NEC being such down-to-earth individuals that they became an influential support system and motivating factor as he went through medical school; the NEC would rely on one another and unite together as a team. As said by Dhruv, “when push comes to shove, pursuing your career is the most important and NEC is there to support you.”
As the National EVP ‘17-’19, one of his main responsibilities was to plan NatCon 2019, hosted by Gamma Chapter at College Park, Maryland (Dhruv wants to give a special shoutout to Ali from Gamma chapter for making things much easier for him during planning)! During this time, juggling the responsibilities of serving as National EVP alongside his busy schedule with medical school was strenuous. However, the more responsibilities Dhruv had, the more incentive it gave him to become extra organized so he could manage his time wisely in order to stay on top of all his responsibilities. An important piece of advice he gave for DEM members who have to balance between various responsibilities, is to be able to differentiate between what one wants to do and what one needs to do because prioritizing is key.
One of his favorite DEMories is attending NatCon in 2018 (hosted by Zeta Chapter at Orlando, Florida) with his little (Brandon) and grand-little (Patrick). Dhruv describes NatCon as an opportunity to meet like-minded people who share a common background with one another. Not only has the organization given him great DEMories at NatCon, but strong friendships that have made a significant impact on his life. He mentions how the friendships he has created are “such blessings because they’re the people that you go to whenever you need to.” He is extremely proud to be in DEM because he believes our mission statement of uniting pre-health individuals from diverse backgrounds is impactful across colleges nationwide.
Not only has Dhruv made a positive influence in DEM, but has also gone above and beyond to develop an app called mHealth Wellness. This inspiration emerged after Dhruv learned that approximately only 13% of patients receive education about their chronic health condition. Therefore, mHealth Wellness focuses on increasing patient compliance by educating patients about their condition so patients can play an active role in increasing their health outcome. Dhruv explains how mHealth Wellness provides “tips and education for patients to better learn about and manage their condition, and what it means for them in regards to lifestyle changes.”
mHealth Wellness currently has 5 apps that are available on both iOS and Android (eyeRx, eyeAMD, easyDiabetes, complexCataract, and easyGlaucoma). If you would like to read more about mHealth Wellness and Dhruv’s contribution, please take the time to read this article: https://www.news.vcu.edu/article/Taking_an_integrated_approach_to_health_care_from_the_doctors?fbclid=IwAR0fJMQtXoskZkw1rLECznfttkG2Ijx0xpVSI0yXUrRn4uK5VAOXL-PYZkE
Check out the website for mHealth Wellness!
https://www.mhealthwellness.com/
~A few fun questions to get to know Dhruv a little more~
Q: Favorite guilty pleasure song?
A: Sunset Lover by Petit Biscuit
Q: Is cereal soup?
A: YES, because you can’t say it’s not. There’s cold soup, milky/creamy soups so why shouldn’t cereal be considered as soup.
Q: Is hot dog a sandwich?
A: A HOT DOG IS A HOT DOG.
Q: Pineapple on pizza?
A: Depends on the mood.
Q: Favorite show you’re currently binge-watching?
A: Sherlock!
Q: What is something popular now that people will be embarrassed of in 5 years
A: TBA-we’ll see in 5 years.
Dhruv Sethi (pictured on the left) with his little, Brandon (pictured on the right) and g-little, Patrick (middle) who were involved with the development of apps for mHealth Wellness.
Dhruv, Patrick, and Brandon with Audrey, another DEMber involved with mHealth Wellness.