CAPS grad excels in biomedical engineering
David Miller joined the CAPS program during he 2013-14 school year in Foundations of Medicine. A standout student, David is currently a senior at Purdue University and will graduate in May with a Bachelor’s in biomedical engineering. After graduation, he will attend graduate school and pursue a PhD in biomedical engineering with a focus on biomedical imaging.
David’s experiences at CAPS helped him understand what he wanted to pursue in college. He came to CAPS knowing that he wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Participating in Foundations of Medicine connected him with medical professionals and exposed him to the wide variety of career paths within medicine. The program also provided David with hands-on experiences that allowed him to use medical devices and connect with patients. While at CAPS David also participated in FIRST Robotics which inspired his passion for engineering. He decided to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering because it perfectly meshes his passion for medicine with his passion for engineering.
Being a CAPS student also influenced where David decided to attend college. When he started looking for schools to go to he came across Purdue University because of its well known engineering programs. As David spoke with the robotics mentors about his college search, he found out that many of the FIRST Robotics alumni studied engineering at Purdue University. This inspired him to follow in their footsteps and become a Boilermaker.
Being a Foundations of Medicine student gave David the chance to get hands-on experience with medical devices, tour hospital facilities, learn medical terminology, and, most importantly, it gave him a chance to connect with patients. For a biomedical engineering student, this is a tremendous advantage. These experiences exposed David to the struggles that medical professionals and their patients face everyday, and inspired him to think of creative solutions to make their lives easier and healthier. Above all, the most important lesson he learned in FOM was the idea of person centered care. Person centered care is when physicians, nurses, pharmacists and all other medical professionals are communicating and working together to care for a patient and putting the needs of the patient first. For engineers, it is easy to get distracted by the math, materials, and mechanics, but at the end of the day the solution is for the patient. Knowing person centered care reminds Joe to put the needs of the patient above all else.
In summary, David said, “overall, participating in CAPS inspired me to make new connections, find new opportunities, and never stop exploring. I have carried these ideas with me throughout my experiences as an undergrad and I plan to continue using these skills in my future as a biomedical engineer.”