The Class of 2026 looks on as Edwing Daniel, PhD, MCOM dean of admissions, gives his presentation about who makes up the class.

Excitement and anticipation filled the atmosphere at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute today as the medical students of the Class of 2026 celebrated their first official day of class.

The admission team, led by Edwing Daniel, PhD, sorted through more than 5,600 applicants to select the best and brightest candidates that come from a wide variety of backgrounds including an Olympic fencer, an Indian folk dancer, and a few NCAA athletes from five Division 1 sports.

In his address to the class, Charles Lockwood, MD, MHCM, dean of MCOM and USF Health senior vice president, told the students how much the school has grown since he joined eight years ago.  The number of research grants has nearly tripled, clinical revenue has nearly doubled, performance on the USMLE Step 1 and 2 exams are well above the national average, and USF Health has strengthened its relationship Tampa General Hospital, its primary teaching hospital.   Dr. Lockwood also reiterated to the group the resources available to them as they navigate the next four years transforming from student to doctor.

Charles Lockwood, MD, MHCM, MCOM dean and USF Health senior vice president addressing the medical students of the Class of 2026.

“You have joined us at a momentous time in our history, a period when our medical school is making great advances in all three of our core missions of education, research, and patient care,” Dr. Lockwood said.  “But you are also joining us during a transformative moment for the field of medicine, coming off of a major public health crisis of the past century with long-lasting implications for the practice of medicine across the globe.”

Class of 2026 profile:

177 students – 121 Core, 56 SELECT

54% Female, 46% Male

18% Under-represented minorities

Undergraduate Education:  58% Out of State, 42% In State

3.91 average GPA*

More images from the first day of class:

*This story was updated with more current info that includes GPAs.

After more than a decade interviewing and admitting students based on their levels of emotional intelligence, Joann Farrell Quinn, PhD, MBA, has learned that many times the best students are those who show a high level of interest in developing stronger emotional intelligence.

Before the official first day for newest class of medical students, the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine hosts a one-week orientation for students in the program called  SELECT (Scholarly Excellence, Leadership Experiences, Collaborative Training).  SELECT students are admitted based on intellectual perspective, empathy, creativity, and passion to drive change in healthcare.  This group will spend their first two-years in Tampa, and finish medical school, professional development and leadership training at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Penn.

Dr. Quinn, associate professor in the Morsani College of Medicine and director of the SELECT Competency Assessment, has been part of the program since 2015 and has interviewed more than 60 students eager to take a coveted seat in an incoming class for USF Health’s medical school. The SELECT program prepares students to be physician leaders who can accelerate change in health care.  The program was built on the principle that students with high emotional intelligence are more likely to develop the skills needed to transform health care and improve the health of communities.   Such students tend to be more engaging, compassionate physicians who will connect deeply with their patients and their families and be more effective as team members and team leaders.

Joann Farrell Quinn, PhD, MBA, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine associate professor and director of the SELECT Competency Assessment.

Dr. Quinn is a nationally recognized expert in emotional intelligence and her team at MCOM uses a common assessment tool developed by Daniel Goleman, world-renowned journalist, psychiatrist and author, to measure the emotional intelligence of candidates.  She said the school uses this model because candidates are evaluated on whether they believe in what they do or say.

Emotional intelligence includes everything outside of cognitive intelligence. Cognitive intelligence is knowledge developed from existing information.   Emotional intelligence refers to a person’s ability to manage their own emotions and understands the emotions of others.  According to Dr. Quinn, strong emotionally intelligent people will be more successful in leadership roles.

“Effective leaders can’t only develop professionally; they must also develop personally,” Dr. Quinn said.  “Leadership is truly a framework of your own social and emotional competencies.  You’re only as good as your understanding of what’s happening with yourself and others, your ability to manage yourself and your relationships.”

During the interview process for the SELECT program, prospective students are essentially asked to describe two scenarios: A time when they felt effective as a team member or leader, and a time when they didn’t.  This gives evaluators the opportunity to hear about what they said and did in various situations, often alluding to their competencies.   She understands that students come from a wide array of backgrounds and experiences.  However, she doesn’t whole-heartedly believe the best students are the ones who already display a high level of emotional intelligence.  She believes some of the best students are those who show a high level of interest in developing stronger emotional intelligence.

No other allopathic medical school in the country has a program like USF Health’s SELECT program. About 24 schools have leadership education and development training for medical students, Quinn explained.  Medical school curriculum leaders at MCOM collaborate regularly with other colleges to share ideas and best practices on how to deliver effective leadership development across all four years of medical school.  The goal is to continue to train and graduate more doctors with strong academic, social, and emotional competencies to drive change in the country’s health care system.

“This is a small number of schools and there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done,” she said. “We haven’t really explored what ‘leadership’ truly is as it pertains to physicians in leadership roles.  Leaders of medical schools must buy in to the concept of physician leadership training if we’re going affect positive change in the health care system.”

Photos below are from Prologue 2 and Summer Immersion. Prologue 2 is part of an orientation for first-year SELECT students.  Summer Immersion allows students to create an individualized learning experience that focuses on an area of the student’s interest and builds upon he basic principles of safety, quality, patient-centered care, and leadership.  The course takes place between the first and second year in Tampa, Lehigh Valley, other places in the country or internationally.  The experience results in a scholarly product that is shared with peers and faculty upon return to campus.  First-year medical students listened and learned from second-year students and they presented their scholarly work and spoke about their experience with SELECT.

USF Health medical student Tampa Hutchens discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected medical education and what students and USF faculty have done to keep their medical training on track. This is the final episode in an eight-part series looking at the way COVID -19 is impacting the way we live, work and access health care.

Anna Cheng is the first student at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine to receive the prestigious fellowship

Tampa, FL (April 28, 2017) – Anna Cheng, a second-year medical student at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, has been selected to join the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) 2017-18 Medical Research Fellows Program.

Cheng is the first University of South Florida medical student to receive the highly competitive fellowship, known as the Med Fellows Program, which allows exceptional medical, veterinary and dentistry students to conduct rigorous, mentored laboratory research at top institutions across the country. She was among 79 students nationwide chosen by HHMI for the 2017-18 program.

USF medical student Anna Cheng

Starting this summer, each fellow will spend a year pursuing basic, translational, or applied biomedical research at one of 32 academic or nonprofit research institutions across the United States. The awardees include medical students from universities such as Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and Yale.

Taking a year out between her second and third year of medical school studies at USF, Cheng will move in June to Boston, where she will work in the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute laboratory of David Pellman, MD, a professor of pediatric oncology at Harvard Medical School.  There, surrounded by other students, postdoctoral fellows and HHMI investigators, she will pursue her studies to uncover the basic chromosomal mechanisms underlying genomic instability that can potentially lead to cancer. In particular, she is interested in the genetic abnormalities involved in a childhood cancer known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Cheng started dabbling in the scientific method as a high school student. Science had always interested her, but when her best friend and her godmother found themselves in a fight against cancer, Cheng decided to narrow her scientific focus.

“My best friend was diagnosed with leukemia and my godmother with ovarian cancer. I wanted to understand why – to figure it out,” she said. “Yes, I was interested in cancer research, but I had personal factors that really drove me.”

During her undergraduate studies at Duke University, Cheng continued to make time for lab research, fitting it in over summers and in between coursework. And though she valued the experiences, the fleeting glimpses of bench time only whet her appetite for more. The Med Fellows Program, she says, provides her the opportunity for more sustained exposure to research. Her goal following graduation from the Morsani College of Medicine is to become a physician-scientist, likely specializing in pediatric hematology-oncology.

“I hope to emerge from this research year as a more adept scientist,” she said. “The program’s experience isn’t really just a year. It’s something that will serve me well for the rest of my career.”

For more information on the HHMI Med Fellows Program, including a list of the 2017-18 awardees, go to https://www.hhmi.org/news/hhmi-awards-medical-research-fellowships-79-students.

USF Health
USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and the USF Physicians Group. The University of South Florida, established in 1956 and located in Tampa, is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF is ranked in the Top 30 nationally for research expenditures among public universities, according to the National Science Foundation. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute plays an important role in advancing scientific research and education in the United States. Its scientists, located across the country and around the world, have made important discoveries that advance both human health and our fundamental understanding of biology. The Institute also aims to transform science education into a creative, interdisciplinary endeavor that reflects the excitement of real research. HHMI’s headquarters are located in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.

Media contact:  
Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Communications and Marketing
(813) 974-3303 or abaier@health.usf.edu

Persistence and determination paid off for the Class of 2017 at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

After four years of hard work and rigor, the senior graduating medical students became doctors — accepting their academic hoods and diplomas in front of friends, family, USF leaders and guests during the commencement ceremony on April 20 in the Carol Morsani Hall at the Straz Center for Performing Arts.

The 2017 USF Health Morsani College of Medicine’s 43rd Commencement Ceremony was held at at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.

“This is your day, your stage and a testament of your tireless determination over the past four years,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, during the ceremony. “I know how hard you all have worked to get here — studying into the wee hours, worrying about exams, learning how to navigate hospital labyrinths, master presentations and how to keep up with medical knowledge that doubles every 73 days.”

Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, makes opening remarks at the commencement ceremony.

The Class of 2017, which included 164 graduates, received their doctor of medicine degrees – marking the beginning of their lifelong journey in pursuing the art and science of healing.

USF System President Judy Genshaft congratulates the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Class of 2017.

“Today you join a community of health care professionals that spans every continent of the world; a community that contributes to the advancement of our society through a commitment to making life better,” said USF System President Judy Genshaft.

During the ceremony, Dr. Genshaft presented a USF Honorary Degree to Victor J. Dzau, MD, president of the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Dzau, who was the guest speaker at the commencement ceremony, received the distinguished USF degree for his extraordinary leadership in academic medicine, translational research, health care innovation, national health policy and global health.

President Genshaft and Dr. Lockwood present the USF Honorary Degree to Victor J. Dzau, MD, president of the National Academy of Medicine. 

Dr. Dzau, chancellor emeritus and the James B. Duke Professor of Medicine at Duke University and former president and CEO of the Duke University Health System, is an internationally renowned physician scientist and pioneer of gene therapy for vascular disease. His groundbreaking work has focused on the molecular and genetic mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and the development of gene and stem-based therapies to regenerate tissue damage from heart attack and heart disease.

After receiving the Honorary Degree, Dr. Dzau delivered an inspirational commencement address –bringing graduates and attendees to their feet.

Special commencement guest speaker, Victor J. Dzau, MD, president of the National Academy of Medicine.

“You are among the most valuable contributions that USF will make to our society,” Dr. Dzau said. “You are the future leaders we need right now to help tackle big challenges. We need you to do the research and to make those great leaps forward. We need you to provide your patients with the best available evidence-based care. And now, more than ever, we need you to share that evidence – and yes, to defend it — beyond the walls of the clinic or the laboratory. We need you to make sure that research and medical advances are benefitting not just some of us, but all of us.”

John A. Brabson, Jr., the chairman of the Tampa General Hospital Board of Directors, was also honored with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Dean’s Award. Brabson received the award for his tireless work to strengthen the relationship of USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and TGH, USF Health’s primary teaching hospital. The long-time partnership helps advance the reputation of both institutions.

Dr. Lockwood honors John A. Brabson, Jr., the chairman of the Tampa General Hospital Board of Directors, with the Dean’s Award.

Then, the students recited the Oath of Hippocrates, led by Bryan Bognar, MD, vice dean of the Office of Educational Affairs for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. Following the Oath of Hippocrates, Dr. Genshaft conferred the Doctor of Medicine degree to the students, and as each name was recited by Kira Zwygart, MD, professor and associate dean for MCOM Student Affairs, students walked to center stage to receive their academic hoods and diplomas.

As part of a long college tradition, graduate Robert S. Ackerman, MD, was selected to provide the Farewell from the Class. Dr. Ackerman told his fellow graduates that becoming a doctor is a privilege and an honor of a lifetime.

Robert S. Ackerman, MD, delivered the Farewell from the Class.

“Today is awesome. Really, really awesome,” said Dr. Ackerman. “No other day in our lifetimes will rival the emotions of today. Becoming a doctor is a special privilege we can only dream of and for it to become a reality today is purely superb. For us, this is the culmination of four years of studying PowerPoints, reading EKGs, retracting incisions, answering question banks, delivering babies. While today the medical student tag drops off and the white coat lengthens a few inches, it’s not without appreciation of the time and effort that went into it.”

Dr. Ackerman also told his fellow graduates and attendees that medical school is unlike any other experience. He said, he and his classmates shared a special bond unlike any other as they went through their journey of becoming doctors.

“Remember what we shared together,” Dr. Ackerman said. “This is the closest group of classmates this school has seen, and our friendships will only grow stronger with time. Appreciate the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, appreciate USF, and come back to visit the roots you laid in Tampa. We’re leaving today, but we’re never gone.”

Before the 2017 MCOM Commencement came to an end, Steven C. Specter, PhD, associate dean for Alumni Relations and director of MD Career Advising, presented the Charge to the Graduates. Dr. Specter told students to read, reflect, treat every person with respect, show compassion and always remember to stay connected to USF.

“Doctors, congratulations.  You have reached the goal, the MD degree you set out to achieve when you entered medical school,” said Dr. Specter. “After 38 years, I could not be more strongly connected to USF and this prestigious USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. I bought into the philosophy that USF means ‘you stay forever.’ My wish for you is that you come to love this institution, because it set you on a course that results in your success. Give back what you can, when you can, for as it has been stated, ‘When you help others you can’t help helping yourself.’”

Steven C. Specter, PhD, associate dean for Alumni Relations and director of the MD Career Advising, presented the Charge to the Graduates.

From left, graduates Cady Welch, MD; Alec Chaleff, MD; Michael Carr, MD; and Kathleen McFadden, MD; pictured with Dr. Lockwood (center). During the commencement breakfast, the four graduates were recognized for their exceptional academic achievements as USF medical students.

The special military promotions ceremony took place after the commencement ceremony. Seven new physicians — Navy Lieutenants Kevin Bobeck, Phillip Castrovinci, Emily Wilson, Shaunn Hussey, William Rallya, Reid Wilson, and Army Capt. Paloma Irizarry — took the Oath of Commission as military officers.

Graduates read the Oath of Hippocrates.

Graduates greeted by faculty, friends and family after commencement ceremony.

Graduates celebrate their big moment with friends and family.

Story by Vjollca Hysenlika, and photos by Eric Younghans and Frederick Coleman| USF Health Communications and Marketing

Carrie Ryan got the text message while she was in her Introduction to Clerkship class at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine: she was a potential match to someone needing a bone marrow transplant.

Ryan, a third-year medical student at USF Health, had added her profile to the National Marrow Donor Program several years prior while she worked in Washington, DC. With a simple inner-cheek swab, her genetic information was added to the national registry of millions of people willing to offer their bone marrow to others in need of life-saving stem cells.

“I had been on the registry for eight years or so,” Ryan said. “So I knew from the day I registered that I could be contacted at any given moment.”

Carrie Ryan, USF third-year medical student

After the text message, Ryan’s next steps were to provide a blood sample to confirm through HLA typing that she would match with the recipient, answer a detailed questionnaire about her current health status and exposure to infectious diseases such as Zika virus, among other questions, and undergo a physical examination, EKG and a chest X-ray.

During this time, Ryan also found out a little more about her recipient.

“She is 2 years old and has leukemia,” Ryan said. “Talk about an incentive to help.”

A week prior to her surgery, Ryan underwent filgastrim (Neupogen®) injections to stimulate her body into producing more bone marrow. She then flew to Washington, DC, where she underwent peripheral blood stem cell collection. The donation is through apheresis, a process similar to the donation of platelets, which took about five hours and she was able to return to Tampa the following day.

Although she hasn’t met her recipient, Ryan said she was told the toddler is doing well.

November is National Marrow Awareness Month and Ryan said she’s eager to remind others how easy it is to be included in the national registry and how impactful it can be to the thousands who are waiting for a match.

“Only about 30 percent of family members are matches so it’s important that we all add to the registry,” she said. “It’s super easy and super rewarding.”

There is a national need for bone marrow donors, especially for minority groups. You can register through a local registration drive, or you can sign up on BeTheMatch.org.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq_pfozYqtM

Photos and video by Ryan Noone, USF Health Office of Communications

L to R: Tillman scholars Richard Mendez, Alicia Irvin and Anthony DeSantis.

Three University of South Florida students recently named 2013-14 Tillman Military Scholars all  aspire to become physicians and were selected for their service, leadership and academic excellence.

Richard Mendez, Alicia Irvin and Anthony DeSantis were among the 60 scholarship recipients nationwide announced by the Pat Tillman Foundation.  Mendez and Irvin are students in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine’s Medical Science master’s program; DeSantis is a second-year MD student in the college.

Other Tillman scholarship winners at the Morsani College of Medicine include students  Josiah Hill, Grey Leonard and Ed Woodward.

Read more….

University of South Florida medical student William Pearce has been selected to fill the American Medical Association’s 2013-14 Government Relations Advocacy Fellowship (GRAF). 

Only one student is chosen from applicants nationwide each year for this prestigious medical advocacy position – and Pearce is the first from USF’s medical school.  He will be the tenth of a select group of medical students who have served as GRAF fellows since the program began.

Starting this July, Pearce, a second-year medical student at USF, will work full-time for one year in Washington, DC, as a paid member of the AMA’s federal advocacy team.  He will meet with politicians, AMA leaders and medical students to advance the association’s legislative agenda and policies on behalf of patients, physicians and medical students.

USF second-year medical student William Pearce attended the American Medical Association’s Medical Student Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill last month. Next year, as USF’s first AMA Government Relations Advocacy Fellow he will be organizing the annual event.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to use this fellowship to inspire medical students and give them a stronger voice,” Pearce said, “because, what happens in Washington, DC, and Tallahassee, FL, directly impacts healthcare policies shaping the future of medicine and the best interests of our patients.”

Pearce has been gaining experience in the practical aspects of advocating for medicine since attending his first AMA Medical Student Section Interim Meeting as a new medical student in 2011.  He was the primary author of an AMA resolution aimed at tying further advanced directives to driver’s licenses.

As 2012-13 vice chair of the Florida Medical Association Medical Student Section, he coordinated legislative affairs, served as USF student delegate to the FMA, and led the FMA’s medical student recruiting efforts at USF.  The Hillsborough Medical Association recently awarded him an annual scholarship for outstanding service in organized medicine.

William Pearce, Class of 2015

One issue Pearce feels strongly about is the growing shortage of residency spots where medical students who have completed MD degrees conduct their specialty training, or graduate medical education. This fall, he spoke at a GME Summit, convened at USF Health CAMLS by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and State University System Chancellor Frank Brogan, to address the particularly severe shortage of residency positions in Florida.  Last month, he was among a group of USF students who traveled to Capitol Hill to push for greater funding of graduate medical education.

Because most residents practice where they train, Pearce said, “Florida is investing in the education of medical students, and then exporting much of that intellectual capital out of state to work as physicians.”

A native of Jacksonville, Pearce holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Florida, where he won a full athletic scholarship and served as UNF track and cross-country team captain for three years.  He helped build UNF’s track program into a highly competitive team that won conference championship titles, and was recognized by the NCAA as a Student Athlete of the Year in 2011.

Pearce, a four-time NCAA conference champion in track/cross country (1500 meter and 3000 meter) as an undergraduate, is shown here on the winner’s platform at the Atlantic Sun Indoor Track Championship. “I had just gotten into medical school at USF two days before that win, and was on a super high,” he said.

As he looks ahead to a career in surgery and leadership role in medicine, Pearce recalls the words of his former head track coach:  “For me it was a defining moment… He said ‘to be a great leader, you’ll have to make those who follow believe, not just in what we’re doing, but why we’re doing it.’”

As a GRAF fellow, Pearce said, he wants to help the AMA do just that.  “We must convince our team of medical students that the common cause is greater than any individual agenda.”