The first year of medical school is probably one of the toughest challenges for any young person. For three incoming students at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, maybe not.

Three members of the United States military whose careers propelled them in different ways toward medicine have joined Icahn Mount Sinai through the school’s Institutional Partnership with the U.S. Military.

Through this unique pathway, the only one of its kind in the country, veterans gain an unprecedented opportunity to apply for admission to the School of Medicine without having to take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). Also, candidates admitted into the program are offered provisional acceptance with the flexibility to defer their acceptance to continue their military service to meet all necessary requirements.

In interviews, the three talked about their experiences in the military, why they decided to attend medical school, and their plans for the future.

Katrina Nietsch

When Katrina Nietsch enrolled in the U.S. Naval Academy after graduating college, she knew she wanted to serve on the front lines.

She had been in middle school on September 11, 2001, and that was a major moment for her. “I wanted to serve my country from that moment on,” the former Lieutenant Commander says.

“The Navy underlined for me that the essence of mission success relies on the team, and caring for others.”

She signed up to be a pilot in the U.S. Navy and soon found herself flying the C-2A Greyhound, a twin-engine plane that delivers cargo to aircraft carriers.

Among many high stakes missions around the world, her first deployment as a C-2 pilot was a career turning point. She was on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean about 400 miles off the coast of Acapulco, Mexico, when a young sailor on board got very sick, suffering from severe seizures. She was tapped to fly the sailor to Mexico for life-saving care.

“Flying that MEDEVAC mission with our sailor on board was a watershed moment for me, as it galvanized my desire to pursue medicine,” she says.

She applied to Icahn Mount Sinai through the streamlined pathway to medical school for active service members. She was accepted in 2019 but the unique Military Institutional Partnership allowed the flexibility to defer acceptance for several years to fulfill her service commitment to the Navy.

“The flexibility of the program allowed me to continue my service as a pilot, which ultimately prepared me for medicine,” she says. “As in the Navy, medicine involves high-stakes responsibility and quick risk calculations under pressure. The Navy also underlined for me that the essence of mission success relies on the team, and caring for others.”

She played sports all her life, first as a young girl playing football with her older brother and was recruited to play varsity lacrosse at the Naval Academy. Now in medicine, she is leaning towards a career in sports medicine.

At the United States Military Academy at West Point Graduation in 2016, Tirone Young with with his stepfather James Imoh and his mother, Marie Imoh

Tirone Young

When Captain Tirone Young graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2016, he was commissioned as an infantry officer.

Due to injuries from an Army football career as a running back, he leveraged his background in nuclear engineering and transitioned to work as a nuclear medical scientist. While stationed in Landstuhl, Germany, he gained experience in health care and in public health. He also served as a subject matter expert on radioactive material and radiation-producing devices for United States and NATO Forces in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

“As members of our immediate environments and the larger country, we all stand to benefit if each person feels a responsibility to care for the people and resources around us.”

While working overseas, he noticed parallels between the values upheld in military service and those of a physician.

At the same time, he was processing some tough news in his family. “I lost my two biological grandmothers to cancer, he says. “With my mom being treated for breast cancer after successfully battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma, my interest in pursuing an oncology-related specialty within medicine was solidified.”

In 2020, he applied to Icahn Mount Sinai through its military institutional partnership program, and he was able to defer for a year while concluding his active-duty service abroad.

“My mother, father, and step-father honorably served in the military,” he says. “They introduced me to the concept of communal stewardship: As members of our immediate environments and the larger country, we all stand to benefit if each person feels a responsibility to care for the people and resources around us. Despite a dynamic change in careers, I continue to be guided by this foundational concept that my family embraced.”

Michael Auten with his father, George Auten, a retired U.S. Air Force officer, at graduation day at West Point in 2016.

Michael Auten

After graduating from West Point in 2016, Mike Auten traveled to Ukraine on a Fulbright fellowship focused on security studies. He then joined the Marine Corps as an officer, serving five “very fast-paced” years throughout the United States, Europe, and Africa. During his last tour of duty, while at a small base with a small emergency medical and trauma unit, he began to explore a career in medicine by shadowing the doctors and medics.

“This incredible team took care of the entire base, but they also treated the local security forces as well,” he says. “It was part of our mission and obligation to provide them with care, particularly if things went wrong.”

On witnessing emergency surgery on a remote military base: “It was a powerful introduction to the field of medicine and the rewards of helping and healing. That night completely changed my life.”

One night, a group of local security forces were traveling in a vehicle when they hit a roadside bomb.

“The whole medical team, from the front-line medics to the trauma surgeon, immediately sprang into action with a well-rehearsed plan,” he says. “When the patients arrived, they found that one had been badly hit in the calf, and I was able to observe an extremely intricate and challenging surgical procedure to repair a critical artery and save this patient’s life. The surgery endured for 12 hours, but afterward, I felt full of energy and clarity about what I wanted to do next. It was a powerful introduction to the field of medicine and the rewards of helping and healing. That night completely changed my life.”

A month later, he submitted his application to the Military Institutional Partnership Program at Icahn Mount Sinai.

“I wouldn’t be in medical school now if it wasn’t for the flexibility of the military pathway,” he says. “I am grateful for this program and for the very warm welcome we all received as veterans. We have experienced a huge feeling of belonging with fellow students and faculty and are thrilled to have the opportunity to go to medical school as part of this amazing community.”