Never Forget Your Why: Bridging the Worlds of Engineering and Medicine

His physician father’s compassionate care set the tone for the type of physician Chris Norberg wants to be.

As Norberg approaches Match Day 2024 on March 15, he eagerly awaits his next step toward an internal medicine career and can’t wait to use his M.D. and engineering background to become a compassionate doctor, just like his dad.

Follow the Miller School of Medicine on social media for live Match Day coverage.

Talk a bit about your path leading up to medical school.

From early on, I was set on becoming a physician. Even though, as I grew, there were career options I explored, I always kept coming back to medicine. I did my undergraduate at Florida Gulf Coast and master’s at UM, both in biomedical engineering, with the goal of ultimately bridging the worlds of engineering and medicine to produce more efficient, effective and affordable methods of patient care.

Why did you choose the Miller School for your education?

From the beginning, Miami was my first choice for medical school, and I was so grateful to be accepted. It is an institution with many academic opportunities that would allow me to be a good diagnostician and learn from some of the best physicians in the country.

What have these past four years been like for you?

Medical school was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It was not easy, but it was a great decision.

My main goal was to become the best doctor I could be, and I hope to continue that as I move into residency. Through my time here I was also part of Medical Students as Teachers, an organization that helps offer resources to entering medical students or even current medical students that are in new phases in medical school. I also was admitted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

How was your experience with the NextGenMD curriculum?

NextGenMD has been an excellent opportunity for the medical students at Miller because it’s allowed us to get into the field and start working with the patients from the start. On top of that, my longitudinal clinical educator, Dr. Melanie Helfman, was exceptionally impactful. I always knew I had a support system outside of my family that I could go to, but it’s invaluable to speak with somebody who understands what we’re going through and guides us into our roles as physicians.

What kind of specialty do you want to pursue?

Internal medicine, for me, was something that I truly fell in love with. When I entered medical school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I jumped around specialties, such as pediatrics, OBGYN and surgery. As I went through my clerkships, I had the opportunity to try internal medicine and said, ‘Oh, man, this is it!’ I loved the ability to play Sherlock Holmes and eventually become a master diagnostician.

How are you approaching Match Day?

It has been a culmination of my entire life leading up to this point. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor and the best I could be. Being able to come to this final juncture of my education, to get into residency, has been immense.

As we approach Match Day, there’s a natural kind of anxiety that comes with it, but there’s a lot of excitement, too. I’ve always been told and always viewed anxiety and excitement as the same emotion. Seeing all my friends and myself end up at the places we’re hoping for is going to be something extraordinary and I’m very excited about that.

What advice would you give to the upcoming classes?

Never forget your why. Whether it be the person, the scenario, the physician you spoke with, or whatever drove you into medicine, never forget it.

Tags: Match Day, Match Day 2024, medical education