Tori Polak

Glen Rock, NJ

August 07, 2018
TouroCOM Harlem Class of 2022 Member Tori Polak

Tori Polak traces her interest in medicine to a series of repeated injuries she suffered as a competitive soccer player. “We thought it could be brittle bone disease, but I was never able to get an exact diagnosis,” she said. “My patient-experience made me want to help people who were in my shoes. I realized that I had been pretty fortunate in the treatment I received and I wanted to pay it forward.”

With that in mind, Polak, who attended Lafayette College, majored in Spanish. “I realized that one of the underserved communities in the US are immigrants from Latin America so as a physician I wanted to be able to communicate with them,” said Polak. Her own experience as a patient also made her consider becoming a DO. “Some of the doctors I saw weren’t able to show their compassion,” said Polak. “I realized they cared, but at the time, when I was most vulnerable, it would have made a difference had they been able to express it. That’s why I like the DO philosophy of treating a patient like a whole person.”

Fun Fact: Her favorite Spanish-language book is Venganza en Sevilla, a historical fiction novel.