Thomas Pak is a third-year Psychiatry Resident at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. With a strong commitment to medical education and advocacy, Thomas Pak previously served as chair of the medical education team for the American Medical Student Association. Since 2021, he has been actively involved with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), currently serving on the council and having contributed to the Advisory Committee for Medical School Programs. Thomas Pak brings valuable insights and a trainee perspective to the NBME, enhancing communication and collaboration within the medical community.
Why do you volunteer for NBME? What first motivated you to volunteer, and has that changed throughout your tenure? Has NBME volunteer service helped you advance professionally or personally? If yes, how?
- I volunteered for NBME to provide a trainee perspective and advocate for trainees. NBME plays a critical role in our medical education, making many of the shelf exams, along with working with FSMB to make the USMLE Step Exams. In the American Medical Association, and American Medical student association, we wrote policies to help improve medical education. However, it also involved working with medical education organizations, such as NBME. This was especially important during the Covid Pandemic, and we saw many changes included the discontinuation of Step 2 Clinical Skills. I joined the NBME in 2021 and it was highly informative to see the process in which NBME makes decisions. In the NBME, there are many passionate people about medical education and test psychometrics. I also appreciated how they set up mentoring in the beginning to get me better incorporated at the NBME. The experiences at NBME have motivated me to continue to be involved in medical education. I currently serve as the chair of medical education committee for the Resident Fellow Section of AMA. I am also involved in the Clinical Learning Environment (CLE) committee of the University of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Which of your strengths are best exhibited in committee service? (ex. Being an active listener, playing devil's advocate, clinical knowledge, etc.)
- One of my strengths is effective communication, which encompasses active listening and thoughtful dialogue. My medical school training served as a strong basis for developing my communication skills through working with patients. My psychiatry residency further advanced my communication, as we train in the verbal and non-verbal cues of the patients. My PhD in Neuroscience also helped in my analytical skills and being able to communicate advance topics in a structured and engaging way.
What would you tell someone new to volunteering for NBME?
- To embrace the experience and meet with as many people as possible. There are so many passionate and accomplished people at NBME.
Recommend a TV show, movie, or book and tell us why you recommend it?
- The scariest book I have ever read was a non-fiction account from a psychiatrist called “I Know You Really Love Me: A Psychiatrist's Account of Stalking and Obsessive Love,” written by Dr. Doreen Orion. It delved into the psychiatrist account of a patient who developed erotomania to the psychiatrist, and the stalking and harassment that ensued.
- The most important book I read in my medical career path though was “When Breath turns to Air” by the late Dr. Paul Kalanithi. Dr. Paul Kalanithi was a neurosurgeon who passed away from lung cancer. The book accounts his life and battle with lung cancer; and the book made me reflect the importance of the life we have on earth, and living each day to the fullest.
If you hadn't followed your current career path, what would you have liked to do?
- If I was not a doctor, I would have loved to pursue a career as a K-Pop artist. It has been cool to see K-Pop become more mainstream, and some of my patients refer to me as BTS. At the latest child psychiatry conference (AACAP), I got to perform K-Pop dance choreography for a talent show.