Always do what’s best for your patients. This is the advice presented to 121 second-year medical students as they formally entered their third year of medical school at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine’s (MCOM) annual Student Clinician Ceremony, held June 2.
“If you make this your one abiding principle, you will have a rich life in this field of medicine,” said Michael Albrink, MD, associate professor of surgery for MCOM.
Reflecting on his own career and his early decision to follow his grandfather’s footsteps to be a physician, Dr. Albrink shared with the students the lessons he has learned: observe everything –pay attention to the ways of the past; protect yourself – you’ll find that patients die and you have remain strong and not let that affect the care you give your next patient; and study hard – learn a lot, be a sponge for knowledge, but know that there are things we will never know.
Dr. Michael Albrink.
Summing up, he smiled and told them to “fasten your seatbelts – it’s going to be the fastest two years of your life.”
Friends and family shared in the event in the USF School of Music Concert Hall, which signifies the next step in medical education for these students – when they transition from primarily classroom learning to more clinical and hospital settings where they will interact with patients.
Charles Lockwood, MD, MHCM, senior vice president for USF Health and dean for the Morsani College of Medicine, urged the group to revisit the promise they made when they received their white coats.
“We hope tonight will underscore the fact that you have to provide holistic care to your patients,” Dr. Lockwood said. “When you meet your patient, you have to be totally there at that moment, with them and with their families.”
Dr. Charles Lockwood.
He then advised them to remain focused on value-based care.
“You all are entering medicine at a time of enormous transition,” he said. “Our entire method of providing care is evolving that will require you to understand populations and community health and to think about the environment your patient is coming from. Is it safe? Do they have clean water? Do they have adequate access to food? Your generation will be the best trained and the best equipped, both mentally and in terms of technology, to take care of patients in the history of medicine.”
Following Dr. Lockwood, Craig Doupnik, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology and director of the preclerkship curriculum, presented Preclerkship Commendation in Medical Science awards to 42 students (listed below, and including 11 SELECT students) for their sustained excellence across all aspects of the first two years of medical school.
Dr. Craig Doupnik.
Then, based on selections made by students, five MCOM faculty resident physicians were presented with Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Awards for their exceptional effort for inspiring students to be more. The awardees were presented by fourth-year medical students Nakul Batra and Robert Ackerman and the awardees are: Kelsey Schuette, MD (primary care), Tara Saco, MD, (adult medicine), Christie Carter, MD, (maternal newborn/inpatient pediatrics), Lila Cohan, MD, (general surgery), and Matt Morrison, MD, (psychiatry and neurology).
The awards are provided by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, which also provides a grant that supports the Clinicians Ceremony.
Offering a change in tradition, Bryan Bognar, MD, MPH, FACP, professor of internal medicine and vice dean for MCOM Educational Affairs, welcomed Deborah DeWaay, MD, associate dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, to lead the students in reciting the Oath of Commitment.
Dr. Deborah DeWaay.
Then together the Class of 2018 stood and recited in unison promises of respect, ethics, compassion, professionalism and gratitude.
MCOM Class of 2018.
The students earning Preclerkship Commendation in Medical Science Awards (42 Core and 11 SELECT) are:
Corin Agoris
Katherine Allen
Brian Atkinson
Amy Bauer
Mark Bender
Andrew Benz
Michael Binner
Nicholas Castner
Zachary Christopher
Leah Clark
Amanda Copenhaver
Doris Deng
Hieu Diep
Garrett Fitzpatrick
Faris Galambo
Alena Golubkova
Curtis Gravenmier
David Hallowell
Donna Hassani
Alexandria Holmes
Jaime Ibanez
William Jin
Elodie Jospitre
Timothy Juwono
Melanie Kaplanek
Min Kong
Christine Le
Robert Levy
Nanxing Li
Kristen Marcet
Matthew Mills
Bryce Montane
Yuliya Oumarbaeva
Nirav Patel
Raj Ashok Patel
Tyag Patel
Abby Pribish
Gina Provenzano
Alisha Rathi
Michael Roberts
Mark Schattschneider
Priscilla Shen
Monica Stewart
Christopher Story
Tyler Stutzman
Kelly Thomas
Rose Tillis
Kavian Toosi
Courtney Uhlar
Lauren Uichanco
Joseph Wasselle
Chelsea Wilson
Damien Zreibe
Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications.
