Budding Doctor Learns the Business Side of Medicine
Alyssa Faughn
Junior, IU Department of Biology
“I enjoy CBLS because it is interesting to see how business students think about health care. Combining the perspectives of business students and science students creates a very powerful collaboration."
Alyssa Faughn, undergraduate student associate at CBLS, has never questioned that it is her destiny to pursue a career in the medical field—she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age nine, experienced stunted growth at age ten, and suffered from an undefined liver condition at age eleven. Now, she is dedicated to trying to reduce the suffering of others who face similar struggles. In addition to founding the Juvenile Diabetes Club at IU, she spends her summers working as the head girls’ counselor at a camp for children with diabetes.
Although Faughn is pursuing her bachelor of science degree in biology, she appreciates the opportunity that CBLS gives her to work with students outside of the sciences. “I enjoy CBLS because it is interesting to see how business students think about health care. Combining the perspectives of business students and science students creates a very powerful collaboration,” she says. “I believe that the best medical professionals not only excel at science, but also understand the importance of compassion, communication, epidemiology and public health, and the business infrastructure surrounding the health care field.” She says she is learning many of those skills in the three courses she is required to take as an undergraduate CBLS Student Associate.
In the future, Faughn plans to become a pediatric endocrinologist, and she also hopes to continue working at camps for diabetic children as a medical director. “Understanding the business surrounding the life sciences will help me become a doctor who not only understands the circumstances of my profession, but one who is also able to alter my practice to keep up with the trends surrounding health care,” she says.
