Jyote Boora

I was inspired to pursue psychiatry during my third year of medical school’s clinical psychiatry rotation at the University of Alberta Hospital. During that time, I worked with a number of incredible psychiatrists who believed in my abilities and gave me the autonomy early on to make decisions for my patients. Further, the core emphasis of psychiatric care via the biopsychosocial model – the interconnection between biology, psychology and social factors – was something that intuitively made sense to me, and something I felt was not as emphasized in other disciplines.

Prior to medicine, I was passionate about my work volunteering with at-risk youth in my hometown. Many of these experiences brought me in close proximity to issues of mental illness, substance use, poverty and marginalization, which are issues that we deal with frequently in psychiatry. While this background “set the frame” for my interest in the field, I will never forget my very first and memorable patients during my psychiatry clerkship rotation whom we were able to help through treatment and care. A profound aspect of this work is being able to walk alongside our patients as they heal. It is the stories and experiences of our patients, and our ability to reduce their suffering in such meaningful ways that continues to draw me to this field.

I specifically chose UBC as I was highly impressed with its track record as a medical and psychiatric training institution; its reputation superseded itself as many other residents and psychiatrists I had worked with had recommended UBC during my clerkship years. Moreover, I think that UBC has also chosen me to some extent and for this I am incredibly grateful. Thus far, my experiences with clinical preceptors in various fields of medicine and psychiatry has been wonderful. The opportunity to train and learn from both world-class experts, as well as attending physicians who are recent graduates of the program, brings a wide breadth of teaching exposure that is invaluable to a junior resident such as myself.

My current research interests within psychiatry are at the intersection of mental disorders and the law, which I am undertaking under the supervision of Dr. Tonia Nicholls. Specifically, I wish to study childhood adversity and concurrent substance use disorders in patients who are diagnosed with a mental illness, while being in conflict with the law. My research work will address the impact of adverse and positive childhood experiences, and the development of childhood resilience.

As I’ve alluded to, matching to UBC for psychiatry has quite honestly been a dream come true for me. However, I think the next thing on my bucket list would be to go skydiving, as well as attaining my private pilot’s license. I think had I not become a physician I would have likely become a pilot, and so I’m excited for the opportunity to be able to pursue these interests in the future.