Members of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s class of 2014 enjoy the traditional pool party hosted by VUSM Dean Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D. Balser and Scott Rodgers, M.D., also dove in. (photo by Anne Rayner)
Class of 2014 dives into first year of medical school
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine welcomed its next incoming class of students last week.
The Class of 2014 is made up of 105 students, seven fewer than last year's entering first-year students. This class may be smaller, but administrators say it has the largest proportion of underrepresented minority students and has great diversity in terms of race and ethnicity, geography and life experiences.
Eleven of the incoming students are pursuing an M.D./Ph.D. or law degree in addition to their medical degree.
“They come from five different continents, but they are also diverse in terms of their pre-med training,” said John Zic, M.D., associate dean for Admissions. “Students come from 59 different colleges and have completed degrees in 42 different majors. This is only the second class in recent memory in which the women outnumber the men, 55 to 50.
“I am very excited about the diversity and skill level of this class,” Zic said.
At the welcome address in Light Hall on July 29, Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, told the students that training at Vanderbilt would be unique because there is a continuous focus on developing leaders.
Balser said each of the first-year students was selected not just because they had the best grades and the most impressive experience, but because each showed extraordinary understanding of medicine as equal parts science and service, which would be built into a sense of dedication to all members of the health care team.
Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., talks to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s incoming class of students during welcome activities at Light Hall. (photo by Mary Donaldson)
Mary DeAgostino is a good example. She was to have begun her medical studies with the Class of 2013, but she deferred her entrance into medical school for a year to teach in Haiti.
That teaching experience changed drastically in January when the earthquake hit.
“We swung from one extreme to the other for the last several months. We would teach at the secondary school, and then an aftershock would switch us back into emergency mode. But it enhanced our relationships.
“There can be a disconnect in international work, but the teachers from the U.S. and the Haitian students, teachers and staff all went through this experience together, so it was shared. It reaffirmed my plans to focus on global health,” DeAgostino said.
Bonnie Miller, M.D., senior associate dean for Health Sciences Education, Kim Lomis, M.D., associate dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, and Scott Rodgers, M.D., associate dean for Student Affairs, all spoke at the welcome about their own experiences as physicians as well as the lessons they would offer this class as it begins its medical school training.
Classes began Aug. 2 and the white coat ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 13.