Did you know that your veins move depending on the weather? In warmer temperatures, or after working out, veins rise to the surface of the skin to dispel body heat. In cold weather, they shrink closer to the bone to keep the body warm. This process, part of the body’s natural adaptation to maintain equilibrium, is one of the phenomenons that persuaded Josef Khalifeh to major in Human Physiology. He finds it simply fascinating.
Khalifeh added a business minor to his educational goals when he decided that someday he might like to own his own medical practice. And the chemistry minor — that was a given considering all of his pre-med requirements.
“I counted and through some weeks I spent 80 hours in the library last term,” Khalifeh said. “It was ridiculous.”
Khalifeh’s academic endeavors are driven by the underlying desire to become a physician in the field of internal medicine, a career path inspired by a family struggle with medical issues. The 20-year-old hopes to eventually help the surrounding community by setting up free healthcare clinics in impoverished areas of the country.
“You feel really good when you help someone. You get a head rush,” he said. “I feel good that I helped that person, and that’s what helps drive me.”
Khalifeh also pushes himself to learn medical practices in the field. Each week he volunteers in the Sacred Heart Medical Center emergency room maintaining patient rooms and providing assistant to medical technicians. Over winter break, Khalifeh was invited to the Ronald Reagan-UCLA Medical Center. This summer, Khalifeh will travel to Panama with a group of medical students, working with approximately 55 patients over the course of a week.
“It’s nerve wracking looking at all of the schooling I have to do. It makes me nervous. I can’t say that I never have any doubts,” Khalifeh said. “You can’t look at the long road. It’s too overwhelming. You just have to go one step at a time.”
His appearance in the university’s “You Will” promotional video sparked a connection with UO Alum and UCLA Patient Healthcare Liaison Michael Richards. After discovering Khalifeh’s medical ambition and inviting him to visit UCLA, where he shadowed shifts in a Level-One trauma unit, Richards has become a personal and professional mentor for the inspiring doctor.
“What makes Josef special is that he is such a good person. He takes care of his family and he is just a wonderful young man,” Richards said. “What I hope for Josef is that…he finds in medicine a career that will give him satisfaction in life, as it has for many others.”
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25 Ducks: Josef Khalifeh is pushing himself to heal the impoverished
Sami Edge
May 1, 2013
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