Youngest M.D. to Enter Field of Pediatric Neurology at 21
A medical student in Chicago is set to become the youngest M. D. at the wise old age of 21.
Sho Yano will soon graduate from the Pritzker school of Medicine and hold the admirable honor of becoming the "Doogie Howser" of the medical world. As if becoming the nation's youngest doctor is not enough, he will also be receiving his doctorate in molecular genetics and cell biology.
There has been an interest in this prodigy ever since he was a toddler. Yano began reading at age two and writing by age three. He was even composing music by the time most kids were playing in sandboxes.
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Yano explained that he was always challenging himself and not allowing his mental capacity to be used inefficiently.
"I never understood that," Yano said. "Why would being allowed to challenge yourself be considered more damaging that being totally bored?"
Because of his genius, the University of Chicago admitted Yano in 2003 at the tender age of 11.
Dr. Joel Schwab who is a professor of pediatrics was on the admissions committee when Yano was accepted into medical school.
"I remember interviewing him … this nice, polite, 11-year-old boy, dressed in a little suit," Schwab remembered. "He was never going to be among typical 11-year-olds, where his mother would drive him to Little League. He was going to be a doctor."
Given the age of Yano, the university had to make a few adjustments in his curriculum. Yano started for his doctorate after his first year, most medical students start after their second, so that way he was 18 when he started his second year which is when interacting with and examining patients takes place.
Yano is getting ready for his residency in pediatric neurology after he became interested in the field while completing a rotation at LaRabida Children's Hospital in Chicago.
"I really liked not just taking care of kids, but the way the whole team worked together," he said.
