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Good doctors and great doctors
Former surgeon general urges PA graduates to “look
for a calling”
Auction raises more than $26,000
Downs fellows share a world of knowledge
NOTES
At White Coat Ceremony last August, Dean Robert Alpern greeted first-year
David Gimbel.
Charisse Orme and Keri Oxley shared a laugh during the White Coat Ceremony.
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Good doctors
and great doctors
Dean Robert Alpern urges the Class of 2008 to practice medicine with
humility, empathy and compassion.
Stitched through the threads of the physician’s white coat are
emblems of both power and responsibility, Robert J. Alpern, M.D., dean
of the medical school, told the Class of 2008 in late August, as the new
students gathered for the ceremony that marks the beginning of their medical
education.
Each of the 100 first-year students—who come from 14 countries,
44 undergraduate institutions and previous endeavors in public health,
scientific research, the performing arts and investment banking—can
be proud to have won admission to a highly competitive medical school,
Alpern said. But he urged them to temper that pride with a sense of duty.
“Each slot in a medical school is a precious resource to this country,”
he said, advising students to use that resource wisely and to assume primary
responsibility for their education under the Yale System. “We’re
so confident that [you will] that we’re not going to give you grades
for a few years.”
He encouraged his listeners to pursue paths to leadership positions in
public policy, service, medical education and research and to use their
time at Yale to “find out what separates a good doctor from a great
doctor.”
While urging the first-years on to high achievement, his primary message
was one of humility, empathy and compassion for patients. “You control
something that is the most important possession of people, and that is
their health,” the dean said. The most important question physicians
will ask themselves is: “How would I feel if I were in the position
of my patients?” The answer, Alpern said, should determine how a
doctor runs a practice, including how long patients are kept waiting,
when their phone calls are returned and what sort of respect they receive
from their doctor.
“All people deserve your respect. … Perhaps no one needs it
more than a patient who is struggling to cope with an illness,”
Alpern said. He cautioned against the desensitizing aspects of a physician’s
daily routine and urged students to remember that sickness “is not
a daily event for your patients.”
Following the dean’s remarks, students walked on stage one by one
to be clothed in their white coats by senior faculty. The day was, as
the dean said, a celebration of their “talent and hard work.”
But along with high praise, he sent the new class out with a gentle reminder:
“As others look up to you, never look down on them.”
—Colleen Shaddox
Former surgeon general urges PA graduates to “look
for a calling”
Antonia C. Novello, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.Ph., the first woman and first Hispanic
to become surgeon general, offered congratulations and counseling and
posed challenges to the 34 graduates of the Physician Associate Program
at their Commencement in September.
“It has been said by the sociologist Robert Bellah that your
work as a professional defines you as a human being,” said Novello,
now the health commissioner for New York state. “First there is
a job, where the goal is simply earning a living and supporting your family.
Then there is a career, where you trace your progress through appointments
and achievements. Then there is a calling, the ideal blending of activity
and character that makes work inseparable from life. I hope you are not
just looking for a job. I hope you are not just building a career. I hope
you are looking for a calling.”
The first of the challenges facing the new graduates, said Novello, is
an increasingly diverse society, one that is aging, comes from all over
the world and speaks a multitude of languages. Health care providers,
she said, must understand all aspects of their patients’ lives.
“Patients don’t care how much you know until they know how
much you care.”
Access to health care was the second challenge she cited, pointing out
that 45 million people in this country lack health insurance. “Don’t
treat poor people as second-class citizens just because they may not have
the same economic or educational advantages that you enjoy.” Again
citing the diversity of the patient population and the 14 million Americans
who lack proficiency in English, she said, “Medical training has
to address the biases that we bring to medical school.”
Domestic violence is another challenge. “Health care professionals
will fail 95 percent of the time to identify victims of domestic violence,”
she said.
The final, and most important, challenge, she said, is professionalism.
“Can we health care professionals maintain the traditional humanistic
qualities of medicine in an increasingly corporate structure?” she
asked. “I think we can. To do that, take care of people. Become
a voice for the disenfranchised. Use your voice. Have the courage to put
patients first.”
—John Curtis
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Auction raises more than $26,000
Among the first fund-raising events of the 12th annual Hunger and Homelessness
Auction in November was a flag football game pitting first-years against
second-years. The game, played on a soggy Harkness Lawn under a light
rain with temperatures in the 40s, featured faculty “ringers”
on the second-year team—Dean Robert Alpern, Associate Professor
Jack Hughes and Registrar Terri Tolson. At half-time, with the second-years
leading 12-6, Alpern couldn’t help teasing the opposing side. “I’m
a little disappointed in the admissions committee,” he joked. An
anonymous first-year offered a rejoinder: “You better not come back
on the field!” The second-year team won the game 28-12. The activities,
including silent and live auctions, raised more than $26,000 for several
New Haven charities.
—J.C.
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Downs fellows share a world of knowledge
Last summer, 17 students in medicine, nursing and public health traveled
to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Latin America on research
projects supported by the Downs International Health Student Travel Fellowship.
In October they reported on their findings on topics including diabetes
risk in Haiti and post-traumatic stress disorder among victims of chemical
attacks in Iran. Three students made oral presentations. Medical student
Jessica Beard described the mental health of children in a refugee camp
in northwestern Kenya. Anna M. Beitin, a student in public health, reported
on the genetic susceptibility of children in Zambia to malaria. And nursing
student Catherine E. Virostko, on right in photo, discussed the beliefs
and practices of traditional birth attendants in Kenya regarding HIV/AIDS.
—John Curtis
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Kyeen Mesesan
Lisa Gary
Nicole Quon
Angela Snyder
Ranjit Bindra |
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Notes
Kyeen Mesesan, an M.D./Ph.D. student in the Division of Epidemiology
of Microbial Diseases at the School of Public Health, received the Lee
B. Lusted Student Prize for best student presentation at the 26th annual
meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making in Atlanta in October.
Her abstract, “Predicting the Impact of a Partially Effective HIV
Vaccine and Subsequent Risk Behavior Change on the HIV Epidemic in Developing
Countries: A South African Example,” was one of six delivered at
the opening plenary session.
Three Ph.D. candidates in the Division of Health Policy Administration
at the School of Public Health have received grants to support their research.
Lisa Gary has received a grant from the Nonprofit Sector Research
Fund of the Aspen Institute to support her research on racial disparities
in health care and the role of the nonprofit sector in promoting more
equitable health care. Nicole C. Quon has received awards from
the National Science Foundation and the Horowitz Foundation for Social
Policy to support her research into decision making at the National Institutes
of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. Angela B. Snyder
has received a dissertation grant from the Department of Health and Human
Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to
pursue her research. Her thesis is titled The Effect of Substance Abuse
Treatment on Wages.
Ranjit Bindra, a student in his fifth year of the M.D./Ph.D. Program,
has received the Marie Curie Award from the Radiation Research Society.
The award recognizes the scholar-in-training who shows the highest potential
for a successful career in radiation and hyperthermia research. The award-winner
receives $1,500 to attend the annual meeting and present research findings.
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