From the minute students accept entrance into Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) they have made many life-changing choices. As they navigate medical school and make decisions about the kind of doctors they want to be, the choices continue to mount.

Maria de Lourdes Ladino, a third-year student at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has been chosen as one of 14 medical students to take part in Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE).

Ronald David Alvarez, M.D., Ellen Gregg Shook Culverhouse Chair in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology and vice chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been named chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Jesse Ehrenfeld, M.D., MPH, associate professor of Anesthesiology, Biomedical Informatics, Surgery and Health Policy, has been named director of education research for the Office of Health Sciences Education.

As Carol Topley sat beside her husband’s bed in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, she knew the end was imminent. She wanted to make sure Joe’s wishes were honored and reminded his nurse that he was an organ donor.

The eighth annual Shade Tree Trot is set for Saturday, April 23.