Volunteer Spotlight -RO

Volunteer Spotlight -RO

Drawing on Her Days as a Candidate Makes Her a Better Examiner

By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager

2024;17(5):12

Malika Siker, MD

As an ABR radiation oncology oral examiner, Malika Siker, MD, puts herself in the place of the candidate.

She knows that an examiner’s goal is to gauge knowledge and ensure that examinees can independently treat patients safely. But she and her colleagues also understand the nerves that examinees bring to the event because they’ve been there.

“It’s been reassuring to see that all the volunteers make the best effort to make sure that the examinee is comfortable and is given an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge,” she said. “It’s a stressful process. I remember from when I went through it.”

Her experience as a candidate led her to serve as an examiner. She uses the best of what she saw during her time being examined and combined it with what she’s learned from the being on the other side of the table.

“It’s important to ensure that the examinee is best set up for success in terms of their mindset while in the exam,” Dr. Siker said. “However, as an examiner, I have a huge responsibility to verify that individuals who are going through the examination meet a threshold of competency. I take that responsibility very seriously.”

Dr. Siker picks up lessons as an examiner and computer-based exam question writer. She said she benefits from collaborating with experts from across her field and believes the cooperation has made her a better physician.

“It’s great to have a network of people that I can turn to when I am faced with a patient with a challenging clinical scenario,” she said. “I’ve reached out to many of the individuals I’ve met through the ABR to ask for their opinions.”

Dr. Siker writes questions for the RO Qualifying Hematological Malignancies and Benign Diseases Committee. Bouthaina Shbib Dabaja, MD, the chair of that committee, said Dr. Siker brings valuable skills to the group.

“She is thoughtful and knowledgeable,” Dr. Dabaja said. “She consistently brings a balanced view to the committee.”

In her role at the Medical College of Wisconsin, she sees patients clinically. Her specialties are the central nervous system and hematologic malignancies.

She also works with residents, providing them with opportunities to benefit from her everyday experiences.

“Because of my role within the health science university, I’m able to bring a lot of medical students to our department for clinical exposure and research,” she said.

Dr. Siker also finds that she learns from her residents while she’s instructing them. She keeps their thoughts in mind when she’s performing her ABR volunteer duties.

“I have the opportunity to teach in my daily practice as well as during clinical didactics,” she said. “They’re constantly challenging me. The questions that they ask allow me to understand what is relevant to the residents who are going through the process nationally.”

Dr. Siker has been associate dean for student inclusion and diversity at her institution for the past five years. As is the case with ABR volunteer committees, it’s important for the Medical College of Wisconsin to have diverse backgrounds and perspectives in its ranks.

“Everybody wants to recruit and retain the best possible individuals and to provide an environment that allows them to flourish and thrive,” Dr. Siker said. “Historically, certain groups of individuals have not had the same opportunity to become physicians or health science workers, so we want to be intentional about offering support and opportunities for individuals who may not have easy access to those resources.”

That work doesn’t end once hires are made. Retaining good physicians by making them feel welcomed and appreciated is vital. Dr. Siker said the college has made that a priority.

“We want to ensure that once individuals from underrepresented backgrounds join our teams, we cultivate a culture that allows everybody to be successful,” she said.

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