Alumni Profiles: Arnav Agarwal ’14
Arnav Agarwal ’14 graduated from the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University and completed his medical school training in Toronto. He is now an Internal Medicine resident physician at the University of Toronto. Arnav is passionate about clinical epidemiology research related to evidence synthesis and clinical guideline development, and has co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. His work has also encompassed a broad spectrum of community engagement, advocacy and leadership endeavours. Arnav is striving to pursue a clinician-scientist path in the future, and hopes to contribute to clinically impactful, patient-centered clinical research to guide changes in how we understand evidence and translate it to medical practice moving forward. While at McMaster, he was the recipient of many awards including the Honour M, President’s Award of Excellence, and the Albert Lager Prize for Student Initiative. In 2016, Arnav was recognized with the McMaster Arch Award; an award that honours recent graduates for success in career endeavours, interesting or innovative accomplishments, or notable contributions to society.
1. Why did you choose to come to McMaster?
I finished my high-school journey, bright-eyed and excited for opportunities to continue growing. Despite this enthusiasm, there was an undeniable nervousness as I turned the page on a new chapter: what would university be like? Would I find friends? Would I find supports to lift me up as I jumped to the next academic level? What would moving away from home mean?
McMaster had an answer to every question. A vibrant community filled with opportunities tailored for students from all walks of life, being a Marauder meant appreciating and valuing differences — while belonging to something that made us the same. Being a part of the McMaster community meant embracing the energy of dynamic residence communities, finding support groups and extracurricular activities at every corner of the campus that allowed you to find your place in the jigsaw, experiencing the warmth of passionate faculty as they supported you through every twist and turn in your academic journey — and finding home away from home.
I chose McMaster because I was passionate about nurturing myself on academic and personal levels. I chose McMaster because I wanted a network of trust and safety alongside a community that was renowned for its academic, leadership and extracurricular opportunities. I will always be grateful that McMaster chose me back.
2. What are some of the highlights of your career?
Finding deep-rooted passions for clinical medicine, academic research and advocacy work — and mentors and teams to work with to pursue these passions — has been the highlight of my career.
As an Internal Medicine resident, I have the privilege of walking into a hospital every day and learning: learning from brilliant staff physicians, nurses, and other members of our allied health teams; learning from talented and compassionate fellow colleagues; and perhaps most importantly, learning from my patients. The privilege to make a lasting difference in the lives of patients and families is unparalleled — and the greatest gift is to have a job that allows me to be a part of their narratives, while learning from them and growing with them.
McMaster gave me some of the greatest gifts in my career. It gave me my primary mentor (Distinguished Professor Dr. Gordon Guyatt ‘77) who has been the backbone of a blossoming interest in research related to systematic reviews, clinical guideline development, research methodology and knowledge translation. It gave me a network of incredible collaborators and mentors to work alongside and learn from in research and community engagement, and nurtured my interests in understanding public health and health policy issues on a deeper level in order to begin advocating around them. It sowed the seeds for an interest in clinical medicine and working with patients, while instilling an ever-growing appreciation for what ‘evidence-based medicine’ truly means.
The highlights of my career are developing myself into a newly minted physician, an emerging advocate around public health and health systems issues, and an avid researcher passionate about clinical epidemiology and evidence synthesis. I am incredibly grateful to the McMaster community for having supported me — and continuing to do so — on my journey.
3. What has been your greatest challenge?
For a long time, I have defined my greatest challenge as having been ‘time’. Competing interests between family, clinical responsibilities, extracurricular interests, research and an array of other commitments make it seemingly challenging to find the right amount of time to invest due attention to everything.
On deeper reflection, perhaps my greatest challenge has been embracing that time is finite, and recognizing the importance of prioritizing the commitments that matter most to me. Trying to balance a handful of different responsibilities equally at all times is close to impossible, and it is often the commitments that are most important to us that we forego. Recognizing what matters most to me — family, and being a good physician — and what is most important for me to be at my best — ‘me’ time, and self-care — has helped me establish a new balance, and one that helps me put forward the best version of me towards every aspect of my personal and professional lives. This continues to be a work in progress.
4. What would you like to be remembered or known for?
I would like to be remembered as a ‘family man’ who places his family and friends first, and has the capacity to celebrate their tallest highs with them, while lifting them up in their starkest lows.
I would like to be remembered as a physician who listens to his patients and values their narratives — as one who is able to intricately weave together an extensive knowledge base with the unique values and preferences of the patient in front of me, in guiding any patient-centered medical decision.
I would like to be remembered as an enthusiastic scientist who is able to work seamlessly with academic minds across the world, while generating a vision of my own for how to promote impactful change through evidence synthesis and its translation to clinical practice.
I would like to be remembered as a loving person, and one who has learned to appreciate his limits, while continuing to push them every day.
5. What advice would you give to current students?
If I could write a letter to the McMaster undergrad me, I would tell him the following:
- Despite the piles of lecture notes and textbooks you will read through, recognize the immense privilege you have. You are surrounded by opportunities in one of the most incredible communities in the world — make the most of it.
- Dr. Seuss famously said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Be true to yourself and leave your own mark on the McMaster community.
- There is a world of opportunities beyond the classroom as well. While you immerse yourself in the academic wonders at McMaster, discover yourself through exploring new opportunities, and cherish the passions and relationships that have carried you this far. Some of your most invaluable connections and memories will be made during your time at McMaster, and these experiences will shape who you are as a person.
- University is a world of new knowledge and skills. Focus on your ‘now’ and trust the process to let the puzzle pieces come together — you are a work-in-progress, and that is the best way to be.
- Dream big — and start taking small steps to getting there. Your McMaster community has all the ingredients to enable you to transform your dream into a reality.
