Dr. Britlyn Orgill (BIO ’11), a clinical anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Joshua Jaramillo (LAS), a trauma and critical care surgeon at St. Charles Medical Center, discussed their journey in founding the BYU Summer Pre-Med Internship Program at the 2024 Alumni Achievement Seminar. The program, which has helped over 200 students since its inception, emphasizes the importance of mentorship and research experiences. Those accepted into the program gain access to rigorous scientific research that later qualifies them for admission into prestigious medical schools across the country.
Orgill and Jaramillo’s joint presentation consisted of six lessons they learned over the course of their medical careers.
It’s not too early to give back
Orgill shared candid photos of both herself and Jaramillo in the midst of their challenging surgical residencies, illustrating just how inopportune a moment it was for them to take on a major project like the internship program.
“We were really tired.” Orgill laughed, gesturing at the photos. “Those are tired eyes. But I learned from Josh that it's not too early to give back. I reflected on how I had received great mentorship and had great privileges within my family, and I wanted to give back.”
From there, the pair started reaching out to mentors and finding labs for potential participants, in an effort to get students to Boston for a summer of research.
Research Experience and Mentorship are Crucial
As the project evolved, Orgill and Jaramillo learned how vital research experience and mentorship are when students apply to medical school. As a member of the admissions committee at Stanford Medical School, Jaramillo saw firsthand how essential research and mentorship were for the holistic development of the prospective student. “One of the most important things that my team looked at,” Jaramillo shared, “was not only the applicant’s research experience, but also what their mentors said about them. It made the biggest difference when making a decision.”
Orgill and Jaramillo realized that without access to research and mentorship opportunities, BYU students would continue to be at a disadvantage when competing for spots at prestigious universities. After receiving funding from the Simmons Cancer Center as well as the College of Life Sciences, the BYU Summer Pre-Med Internship Program began to gain traction.
This is part of a bigger plan
The significant increase in BYU student medical school acceptance rates is evidence to Orgill and Jarmillo that their efforts and the program are part of a bigger plan. Students that participate in Orgill and Jaramillo’s program are accepted at a rate of 80-100 percent, compared to the non-affiliated BYU student's acceptance rate of 40-50 percent. Orgill and Jaramillo expressed their firm belief that, without the intervention and guidance of God, their bold plan would not have come to fruition.
Though deeply passionate about the program, the pair found it challenging to continue leading the program as their professional demands grew alongside an exponentially increasing pool of applicants. Orgill shared that it was only because of “really amazing miracles and tender mercies” that they were able to sustain the growth of the program. These blessings included funding support through the Simmons Center for Cancer Research and extensive backing from BYU faculty and staff.
Students who participate in Orgill and Jaramillo’s internship program not only get into medical school at a higher rate, but they also get into top-tier medical schools that are challenging to get accepted to. Jaramillo illustrated this point by highlighting the increase in BYU students accepted to Stanford. “I was the first BYU student to attend the Stanford Medical School in many years. And now we've had multiple students accepted.”
You can balance church and medicine
Orgill and Jaramillo reminded students that integrating their faith with their professional aspirations was possible. Orgill is currently serving as the stake young women’s president while running the Summer Pre-Med Research Program and maintaining her professional demands. She hosts regular Sunday firesides with the students participating in the program to emphasize the influence of the Spirit in their research.
Act, don’t be acted upon
As the pair closed their remarks, Jaramillo referenced 2 Nephi 2:14-16, encouraging students to take initiative in shaping their own paths. “There's going to be a lot of people that are going to try to act upon you as you embark in your career,” Jaramillo warned, “You need to remember to act.”
He went on to showcase the success of internship program alumni who’ve taken initiative, pointing to former students like Sarah Nguyen, a neurosurgery resident at the University of Utah, and Jake Hogan, now a radiation oncology resident at Harvard. “These students are so incredible,” he said, “we’re raising an army for academic medicine. One day, I hope we’ll have a BYU medical school, and I look forward to showing future slides with our students not only graduating from there but also becoming faculty.”
Students left the event eager to apply for the internship program. Samantha Rowberry (BIO ’27), a student attendee, felt impressed by Orgill and Jaramillo’s remarks. "I loved how much you could see them relying on a community of other researchers when they put together this program. I loved seeing the graphs; you could see how many more students they were able to take on based on the funding and the connections they were able to have.”
For students interested in applying to the BYU Summer Pre-Med Internship Program, more information and application details can be found here.