Dr. Mikhail de Jesus graduated from the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine’s inaugural class in 2020. After graduating, he went on to pursue his residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. In 2022, he was matched into his subspecialty training program, the cardiovascular fellowship at the University of Connecticut’s Hartford Hospital Program. Hartford Hospital has been training cardiology fellows for almost 50 years and is considered the center of the Hartford HealthCare System, comprising over 800 beds. Their fellowship training philosophy is to train outstanding cardiologists by providing their fellows with responsibility over large and complicated groups of patients within a structured and supportive teaching environment.
Dr. de Jesus is originally from New York City, having graduated from Cornell University in 2013 with a degree in Human Development. After completing his undergraduate degree, he worked as an office manager for an ophthalmologist in Houston, Texas before joining the inaugural class of Burrell College in 2016. He credits his interest in cardiology to the didactic years of his medical education, particularly his time in clinical rotations with Dr. Ed Assi, one of Burrell College’s invaluable preceptors.
A career in medicine wasn’t always in Dr. de Jesus’ plans. “Initially, I dreamed of becoming an air force pilot and then an astronaut,” recounts Dr. de Jesus. “However, when I was in the 3rd grade, my father suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm. My mother, a neurologist, quickly recognized that something was wrong with my father and made sure he received emergent care. Thanks to her, my father is still here to celebrate my upcoming graduation from Internal Medicine residency. She is my inspiration for becoming a physician.”
Dr. de Jesus says his time in residency training has been both immensely challenging and incredibly rewarding. He remarks on his gratefulness to have been placed into such a supportive program where he is receiving excellent training and building strong relationships within his program. “There were inevitably going to be difficult days, but throughout residency, I have felt supported by the program leadership, attendings, fellows, and my co-residents,” says Dr. de Jesus. “Training in a place where I feel safe identifying areas needing personal growth without worrying about negative perceptions from others has been so valuable.”
Dr. de Jesus is grateful for the lessons he learned while in medical school. “Burrell prepared me very well for residency,” notes Dr. de Jesus. “I started Day 1 of residency in the cardiac critical care unit taking care of incredibly complex patients. My ability to stay systematic with my approach to presentations, patient care, and intern responsibilities helped me keep organized. My medical knowledge stood out to my attendings and fellows. These skills that I developed while at Burrell helped me to not only handle the steep learning curve of internship/residency but also succeed during training.”
Dr. de Jesus is looking forward to learning more about the field of cardiology, for which he feels so passionate. His hope is to contribute to the ongoing research within the field in order to help make an impact on the rates of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death globally.
He is also incredibly proud to be part of the inaugural class of Burrell College, as well as a member of its growing alumni. “I feel so much pride seeing the subsequent graduating classes have excellent Matches and the growth of the school,” says Dr. de Jesus. “If you enroll at Burrell you will not only have the opportunity to make your dreams come true but also meet incredible people along the way.” In fact, Dr. de Jesus and Dr. Joya Singh both graduated from the Class of 2020 at Burrell College and are currently engaged.
Dr. de Jesus is also a member of the Burrell College Alumni Association, which provides networking, educational, and financial resources to Burrell College graduates. Membership is free to all Burrell College graduates.
