Local Med Student's Career Takes Flight

Daniel Elmi’s decision to become a medical student was informed by his diverse experiences, including as a precocious pilot.

Now in his first year at the Temple St. Luke’s School of Medicine, Elmi started as an EMT the summer before his sophomore year at Lafayette College and then joined the school’s EMS Club.

“I was able to get involved in direct patient care at a younger age, which led me to take pre-med courses in college,” recalls Elmi, whose mother Aram Yousefi-Elmi, MD, is a St. Luke’s pediatrician.

An economics major, the 2022 graduate mixed pre-med courses into his schedule and did a capstone project on the disparities in healthcare faced by people who are not proficient in English. Elmi gained valuable insight into the U.S. healthcare system, which led to him becoming a medical scribe following graduation.

“In that position, I had the opportunity to work with great physicians in different specialties who are making a tremendous impact on their patients. Working with them motivated me to continue to medical school,” he explains.

Elmi, who lives in Nazareth, is very close with his family and has strong ties to his local community. He volunteers at a nursing home and with a local emergency shelter.

“It’s very important in my family to be close to and support one another. When I was applying to medical school, it was great to have an outstanding option here in the Lehigh Valley,” says Elmi.

In addition to volunteering, Elmi is an avid sports fan, particularly of European soccer team Real Madrid. He also worked hard for one of his childhood passions to take flight: Late in his high school career, he earned his private pilot’s license to fly small, single-engine planes.

“I considered a career in aviation, but I knew that if I went into medicine, I could continue flying on the side,” says Elmi, whose favorite trip is to New York City, flying low along the Hudson River and circling above the Statue of Liberty.

Obtaining his license required endless hours of studying and in the cockpit. Pilots, Elmi explains, have to be knowledgeable, prepared and detail-oriented because planes are complicated machines. As such, he is able to make a connection between flying and practicing medicine.

“There’s so much attention that goes into prevention and risk mitigation. Before you fly, you have to do a thorough pre-flight check to make sure all the systems are functioning properly. There's a lot of that in medicine as well. Before starting an operation, the medical team goes through a checklist to make sure they have the right equipment, patient, medication and personnel.”   

Elmi is excited to experience the range of specialties available through Temple St. Luke’s School of Medicine, and he is eager to begin practicing and provide quality care.

“Practicing medicine is rewarding because you have the opportunity to make a positive impact on people’s lives in some of their worst times,” Elmi says.

“This is something I've seen firsthand and that I greatly appreciate about this career.”