Steven Hudak (04MD), FACS, a reconstructive urologist who serves as the urology residency program director at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas, often tells trainees that when he started medical school, he had almost no familiarity with urology, much less reconstructive urology.

Wanakee Carr (14MD) grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. From a young age, her parents taught her to see her education as a means by which she could be a support to her community. Carr now fulfills that role practicing obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) in Des Moines—work that she didn’t expect would become her calling when she first started medical school.

Mgbechi Erondu, MD, MFA, serves as a clinical assistant professor in Stanford Medicine’s Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine. A pediatric palliative care specialist, Erondu simultaneously completed a Master of Fine Arts at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop during her medical training at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. We caught up with her to reflect on her career as a physician-writer.

By supporting scholarship in ethics and the arts, the UI Carver College of Medicine’s Humanities Distinction Track gives medical students space to explore the artistic and philosophical side of medicine during medical training. Students have completed projects ranging from novels, memoirs, and poetry collections to scholarly writing, photography, and more in search of a deeper understanding of medicine.

University of Iowa medicine alum Wanakee Carr finds meaning in the care she provides as a doctor practicing obstetrics and gynecology in the Des Moines area. She describes helping bring a new child into the world as “such a beautiful experience.”

For Marc Doobay, MPAS, PA-C, the road to a career as a physician assistant (PA) and becoming a passionate educator and advocate for the field isn’t one’s usual path. Initially pursuing a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, he soon realized his true calling lay in the PA profession—a choice driven by his desire for balance and a connection to the patient-centered, team-based care model.

Little-known fact: In addition to graduate programs in medicine, physician assistant studies, and biomedical sciences, the UI Carver College of Medicine offers undergraduate degrees in radiation sciences and nuclear medicine technology. We chatted with Samantha Nguyen, a first-generation student who earned a Bachelor of Sciences in Radiation Sciences at the University of Iowa, about her career path and what her day-to-day looks like now.

For some medical students, the calling to serve others is not just the foundation for their careers—it’s their guiding star. The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine’s Service Distinction Track exists to help these students gain experience working with medically underserved, marginalized, and rural populations during medical school and inform them on important topics related to service-oriented health careers.

Carver College of Medicine grad Kyle Glienke reflects on his calling to rural and agricultural medicine and his place in Storm Lake, Iowa — the community he loves.