Dear Doctor: Cherilyn Cecchini
The pediatrician who found her voice through writing.
With over 170K Instagram followers and a popular blog, Dr. Cherilyn Cecchini has turned community-building into an art. Her writing is featured across various medical op-ed platforms and her blog, Bag of Pediatricks, shares tips and tricks for medical students, resident physicians, and parents. We chatted over coffee about her journey into medicine and how both her grandmother and mother inspired her to become a doctor and follow her passion. Read on to learn about what drew Dr. Cecchini to pediatrics, how she found herself passionate about writing, and what’s next for her as a board member of the American Medical Women’s Association.
“I first had a feeling that I wanted to be a doctor when I was nine or ten. I had always loved science. My maternal grandmother’s uterine cancer diagnosis sparked my interest in medicine and initially oncology. When I was in high school, I took AP biology and loved it. I was also a camp counselor for kindergarteners at the time and I truly loved every moment working with them. I began to realize that pediatrics represented a great marriage of my passions and I decided then that I would continue down the road to medicine.”
Getting into Pediatrics
I attended Penn State for my undergraduate education, where I majored in biology and minored in psychology. From there, I entered medical school still with the inkling that pediatrics would be the path that I’d pursue. During the first two years at Jefferson, I spent almost eight hours a day in the classroom or in the library and essentially repeated this cycle without any exposure to the clinical side of medicine.
I began volunteering for JeffHope, a student-run clinic where I served on the Kids Committee and started to again have exposure working with children, which I loved! Still, when I started my clinical rotations, I made an effort to stay open-minded because even though I had this hunch about pediatrics, I didn’t want to be tied to it completely. I actually also really liked OB/GYN, which was surprising to me. When I was making my final decision, I was hedging between these two. Ultimately, I made my final decision after choosing to participate in several additional electives in pediatrics, which ultimately affirmed my interest in this specialty.
Starting “Bag of Pediatricks”
I started my blog about one year ago during my residency, which I completed at Children’s National Medical Center. Throughout my training, I interacted with my patients and parents on a more personal level. I realized how many conversations I was having with people who didn’t have the resources or the knowledge of where to find validated sources about the topics we were discussing during a visit. I realized that I could create a place where parents could find all the information they needed, so I started Bag of Pediatricks. I initially started blogging about hot topics, such as teething and fever phobia, while providing links to educational resources that were well-known in the medical community.
Parents were able to visit my site to access information provided by a trusted physician in a language that they understood.
As the blog grew, I discovered the value of sharing it with parents at the end of an office visit or during inpatient hospitalization. If they had a question about a particular topic that I had already written about, I would direct them to the website and even have them pull it up on their phone, so they’d have immediate access! I continue to direct patients and parents directly to the site and sometimes print different articles that I think will be helpful for specific patients. Ultimately, my aim is to do whatever I can to make it as simple and easy for them as possible.
Writing Beyond Pediatrics
I definitely loved writing in high school and college, but after transitioning to medical school, it became a forgotten interest. During residency training, I really missed having a creative outlet and given the high-stress environment, it’s easy to lose sight of the things that you love outside of medicine. One day I came across an advertisement for Doximity’s Op-(M)ed, a forum where clinicians can share thoughts and opinions on any topic. I thought it could be a great opportunity to get back into writing. I didn’t really expect it to go far and I never expected anyone to actually read my contributions. Surprisingly, my articles began to generate a lot of positive responses, which encouraged me to continue writing. My passion was re-ignited, and I was so happy to have re-discovered this creative outlet. Now, I’ve found that I have a voice within the medical community and it’s really inspiring.
Words are among the most powerful tools we have.
Platforms like Op-(M)ed are driving important conversations in healthcare and encouraging physicians to share their personal stories and to address controversial topics. I hope that these conversations encourage more people to write. In order for healthcare to be sustainable and for young doctors to continue to want to practice, these sometimes difficult conversations need to start taking place on a larger scale.
American Medical Women’s Association
I’ve always felt passionately about women in medicine and my feelings only grew stronger as I witnessed all of the barriers and frank gender discrimination that we continue to face. I was raised in a single-parent home since my parents divorced when I was nine years old. My mother single handedly raised me and my sister. Having my mom as a role model inspired me to foster independence in my career and to help other women succeed in their chosen careers.
I joined the American Medical Women’s Association during my first year of medical school. I was chosen to serve as the co-president of my local chapter during my second year at Jefferson. At the same time, I was elected to serve as secretary for the national student division. During this time, I helped to organize a wellness conference featuring speakers from all of the Philadelphia area medical schools to speak about healthy eating, sleeping and posture. I held numerous leadership roles in the organization after this and wore many hats, including serving as president of the residency division. In this position, I chose to focus again on trainee wellness and developed a wellness brochure highlighting the unfortunate statistics surrounding physician depression and suicide. The brochure was distributed to several residency programs and is accessible online.
My AMWA membership has enabled me to mentor and match students and residents with leaders in their specialties of interest. I was just elected to serve on the board of the physician division beginning in March, so I’m looking forward to next steps!
Throughout this process, I have learned that you can do a lot more with your medical degree than most realize. There’s a lot of flexibility and fluidity in medicine. It’s not a straight path and you can most certainly take plenty of detours. This is an important piece of advice that we need to give to those pursuing medicine far more often.
Lightning Round
Ideal day off in NYC…taking my dog, Baci, to the park and spending time outside!
My style is…unique, trendy, versatile.
Everybody needs some love sometimes.
I feel looked after when…my family or friends take the time to listen to my feelings.
Favorites
Chelsea go-to spots: Seven Grams, Brooklyn Bagel
Podcasts: I’m excited to listen to @theveggiemd’s new podcast, Nutrition Rounds.
Must follow Instagram accounts: @doctoranddancer and @nabeelapatail — we’ve become good friends since I moved to New York and we met through Instagram!
Favorite read: Gone with the Wind
Favorite author: Jodi Picoult — most recently read: “A Spark of Light”
You can learn more about Dr. Cherilyn Cecchini here and follow her on Instagram @drcherilyncecchini.
Know a great female doctor in NYC? We’d love to meet her, introduce us here!
