In her personal statement for fellowship applications, Odessa Pulido, MS/Biomed '13,
DO '17, describes how, as a child, she and her dad, Ben, picked up discarded bottles
and cans while walking along the highway on evenings and weekends near Kalihi, Honolulu,
where she grew up. Selling bags filled with the litter to recycling centers, the family
could buy bigger bags of rice and formula for Pulido and her two younger sisters.
If there was enough money left over, “I would be able to get a new sparkly pen that
my friends had,” Pulido wrote.
“When I look back to my childhood, I can now see the little things that my family had to sacrifice and do in order to give my sisters and me a chance at being successful in life,” the essay continues. “Even in the midst of the pain and uncertainty, I can say that my experiences growing up in a low-income family with two immigrant parents helped establish a foundation for me today.”
Present day sees Pulido approaching graduation from residency, during which she has been a standout general surgeon. Next, a yearlong trauma fellowship at Cooper University Health Care. Her story is one of persevering, pursuing passions and being prepared for whatever comes her way.
As a child, education was very important to Pulido’s family. She spent her spare time volunteering in a free clinic for underserved communities and left the Hawaii islands to major in biology at Seattle University. Pulido then took a gap year to support her family during the national financial crisis, helping her mother with a small business that cared for elderly patients and, in the process, strengthening her medical school application by shadowing and volunteering in health care.
From there, Pulido enrolled in PCOM's Masters in Biomedical Sciences program, concentrating in organizational leadership. She then completed the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) program and matched into PCOM's general surgery residency. During that time, Pulido was very active in the Student National Medical Association, winning Biomedical Science Student of the Year, first-year DO Student of the Year, as well as intern of the year (twice).
Over her dozen years as part of the PCOM community, Pulido credits a host of faculty and administrators—including David Kuo, DO '96, associate dean of Graduate Medical Education, and Art Sesso, DO '81, chair of the Department of Surgery—for encouraging her and helping her channel her potential and passion for trauma surgery and critical care.
Pulido thrives in the trauma operating room, where physicians are “fixing things immediately.” Trauma requires technical surgical capability while “pushing my mind to treat critically ill patients,” she said. It's that combination of skills and ability, applied in trauma cases, which makes Pulido feel like the most complete physician and “fully utilized.”
“I take pride in what I do, and I understand the gravity of our jobs,” Pulido said. “You want to make sure people are healthy and come out of the hospital safely; you are bringing these people back to their family and society. There are big tasks and small tasks in medicine, and they are equally important in getting someone home safely and in a timely manner. That's what I take pride in and what my family has always instilled in me. It's your responsibility to give back what you gain.”
Pulido gained a lot from her parents, writing in her personal statement that the time she spent picking up bottles and cans with her dad “was one of the earliest experiences as a member of a team, in this case with a goal of basic survival. … It produced in me a sense of calm knowing that small and consistent actions can produce something beautiful. My life has forced me to be creative and flexible when resources are scarce.”
Her mother, Lilia, whom Pulido calls her biggest supporter, died a week before Pulido's
graduation from PCOM's DO program. As Lilia was fighting breast cancer, Pulido said
she leaned on Lina Sizer, DO '11, who was a breast surgery fellow at the time, to
help her interpret the situation. “She was there through a lot of it,” Pulido said.
“I'm continually thankful for that.”
Throughout the various challenges Pulido experienced in medical school and residency, including her mother's passing and travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic that severely limited the time she could see family in person, Pulido said “what was the saving grace for me and what gave my family piece of mind was the second family I built here. I couldn't have gotten through a lot of med school without my PCOM medical school family and residency family that I gained.”
Pulido’s biggest advice for medical students and residents is to take breaks from studying or working in order to decompress and reflect (for Pulido, it's playing guitar, singing and photography) and, most of all, to live in the present instead of always striving for the future.
“There's always going to be a test, something you're striving for or something you want to apply to or big thing you want to do,” Pulido said. “You can't keep living for the future and neglect the present. And setbacks are OK. As long as you follow your passions, apply yourself and do your best, you're going to end up where you're supposed to end up.”
For the past 125 years, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a “whole person” approach to care—treating people, not just symptoms. PCOM, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. PCOM students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, PCOM provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
Brandon Lausch
Executive Director, Strategic Communications
Email: brandonla@pcom.edu
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