Koumudi Thirunagaru ’16 : The rewarding and challenging road to becoming a doctor

Koumudi Thirunagaru ‘16 knows she stands on big shoulders—the shoulders of many women who have trailblazed into careers in the STEM fields. “I think it can be challenging to become a physician … a long road as a woman … it takes true zeal to want to be a part of this group of people.” She has the zeal. She had it as an undergraduate biology major at Caldwell University with double minors in chemistry and Spanish. She had it as a doctoral student at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. And she has it now as a second-year resident at St. Luke’s University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, preparing to become an Ob-gyn. 

“Long hours, long days, short years … rewarding … scary … challenging … with a huge learning curve from college to medical school and an even bigger one from medical school to residency,” says Thirunagaru. But along with the rigor she appreciates the many women “who have done it before us.”   

Thirunagaru learned to stay focused while studying in Caldwell’s Natural Sciences Department. She established close relationships with her professors and appreciated how she could get in touch with them whenever she needed assistance. Caldwell provided a solid foundation for medical school especially with its upper-level biology courses. She took the Spanish minor so she could learn medical Spanish, which she uses now with many of her patients. As an undergraduate, Thirunagaru also enjoyed engaging in Caldwell’s pillar of service through Midnight Runs serving the homeless in New York City, leading hunger food drives for those in need and mentoring children at an after-school center. Today she still has a heart for service but not as much time as she would like due to residency, so her service comes in the form of mentoring other students and helping them with their medical school applications and statements as they rise through the ranks.

She enjoyed being in Washington, D.C., for medical school, appreciating the diversity, the melting pot of cultures, food and languages. In Thirunagaru’s third year the pandemic hit and students could not enter the hospital. Rotations were done online. Her plan to go abroad was delayed, and instead she helped provide the local community with COVID policies and protocols. She now looks forward to visiting the Central African country of Cameroon for two weeks to work in a rural hospital. 

Becoming a doctor takes hard work and dedication, but Thirunagaru keeps the bigger picture and the end goal ever present in her mind. “It is truly a privilege to go through this rigorous training to be able to care for people in their most vulnerable times.”