Leading by Example

American writer Clarence B. Kelland once wrote, “My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”

2022 has been a joyous year for the newly inducted Jefferson Alumni Association president, Galicano Inguito, MD ’90, and his sons, Kai Inguito, MD ’22, and Kameron Inguito, SKMC class of 2026. Kameron’s White Coat Ceremony served as the perfect backdrop for the multigenerational celebration shared by the trio, which in addition to Galicano’s new presidency, also commemorated Kai’s 2022 graduation from the Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

Galicano’s path to Jefferson came by way of nearby Delaware. “I initially chose Jefferson because I was from Delaware, and that was the school we would hear about. Jefferson is Delaware’s medical school, since the state does not have a medical school. Many talented and reputable physicians in the area were Jefferson graduates,” he says.

“Jefferson had a reputation of being more academically rigorous than most medical schools, and the numerical grading system at the time was very intimidating,” he shares. “As a student, I studied more than I ever had. I’m glad I did because the training at Jefferson gave me the necessary skill set to help my patients. I truly enjoyed the clinical aspect, and that’s why I became a doctor—to take care of patients and to make a difference in my community. For me, that was whe[n] I really started to feel like I was helping people.”

The Jefferson community was an integral part of Galicano’s experience. He continues, “Mastering voluminous amounts of information can seem daunting, but my peers and the faculty were there to help me meet those challenges.”

“I had several mentors at Jefferson. Dr. Joseph Majdan, who taught thousands of medical students, would always tell us, ‘Obtaining a good history is the most important thing, much more important than the physical examination or testing. The patient is telling you what they have. You just have to figure out what they’re telling you. That is 90% of the diagnosis.’”

Jefferson alumni connections happen anywhere, at any time, across the globe. He shares, “After graduating from medical school, I served in the military. … I was stationed in Korea and Hawaii. Even though I was thousands of miles from Jefferson, I actually saw one of my classmates in an emergency room in Seoul, Korea. Although I did not know him well as a student, we really bonded because of the Jefferson connection.”

Although Galicano graduated more than 30 years ago, he still keeps in touch with some of his classmates, even alumni from previous years, through the Alumni Association. “After medical school, I didn’t think I’d ever be involved with Jefferson,” he says. “However, at my 25th reunion, I started to reconnect with Jefferson again. Since then, I knew that there was potential for even further involvement with the university. When my son Kai was admitted to Jefferson, I continued to stay active, and I have been having a lot of fun, much more than when I was a student!”

Galicano attributes Jefferson’s devoted multigenerational history to a pride in the institution. “I was the first in my family to attend Jefferson. You work so hard in medical school, and then when you go back, your kids see the good things that you do and the pride that you have in being a physician,” he says.

“Every year, Jefferson’s reputation as a medical school is getting better and better. I met someone in Las Vegas who absolutely loved their physician, and the physician was a Jefferson graduate. There are ‘Jeffersonians’ all over the world. We have over 17,000 living alumni, including postgraduate and medical school, which is one of the largest alumni bases in the country.”

Galicano is incredibly proud of his sons as they embark on their chosen career paths. “I actually told both my sons that they can do whatever they want in life,” he remarks. “But I thought they had the heart and passion for helping people. I was secretly hoping that they’d go into healthcare, and I’m so delighted they did. They both majored in non-science fields in college; both of them majored in economics. When they decided early on in their college careers that they wanted to pursue medicine, I was very proud.”

New graduate Kai Inguito, MD ’22, is following in his father’s footsteps and has just begun his residency in family medicine at Jefferson Abington Hospital. “I just graduated, and these four years went by so fast,” he says.

Kai looked to his parents for inspiration and as positive role models on his path to medicine. He shares, “For me, growing up with both my father and my mother, who’s a nurse, I was able to see that this is something I can do. At the same time, they gave me that flexibility to be able to discover my own passions, my own interests.”

“I enjoyed math as well as statistics,” he says. “So I decided to major in economics. There are similarities between economics and medicine. You try to understand how people think and why people make decisions, whether the reason is financial, sociological, or psychological. In any case, we learn foundational concepts and apply them to any situation. Medical schools and, more importantly, the medical profession, teach us to have an adaptable mindset, rather than being boxed into one specific area. And that goes along with treating people empathetically and looking at all aspects of people’s lives.”

When asked about his time at Jefferson, Kai’s answer focuses on the relationships forged there and the people who were part of his experience. Like his father before him, Dr. Majdan was his mentor. “He really does care,” he affirms. “And that doesn’t change when you graduate. Dr. Majdan is a gifted teacher who genuinely wants to guide us to become better clinicians. He helped me a lot with my clinical skills in my third year of medical school. He was always available to advise me and support me to become a better medical student and future physician.”

Kai also values his relationships with fellow students. He shares, “One of my favorite memories is sitting in Lubert Plaza and having lunch, bubble tea, or coffee and hanging out with my friends.” He continues, “Even though my class has over 270 students, you can reach out and connect with so many people because of the culture that Jefferson creates. After four years and the friendships I’ve made, I have friends that I know I will continue to keep in contact with. Even though it’s a rigorous time, you can form relationships with friends and mentors that will endure because of the way that you struggled through together.” Kai has formed one more incredibly important bond. Recently engaged, he met his fiancée, a graduate of the physician assistant class of 2022, at Jefferson.

He has a lot of mixed emotions following his recent graduation, confiding, “I’m still processing what I went through. Through my time at Jefferson, I grew so much as a person and as a medical student training to become a physician. I’m at a loss for words in terms of just how much I’ve learned.” He adds, “I have a lot of advice to give my brother Kam, but I also want him to experience things on his own.”

“I think we are here because of the people before us and around us. And I believe that we need to keep that perspective, especially when times are tough in the hospital or in the office; it is important to remind ourselves why we chose medicine.”