Sister Mary Diana Dreger receives her academic hood from Dr. Deborah German, senior associate dean of medical education, and Dr. Steven Gabbe, dean of the medical school. (AP/Wide World Photos/Mark Humphrey)
‘Sister M.D.’ begins medical mission
Celebrate! Yasmine Ali blows a bubble before graduation begins. (photo by Dana Johnson)
Medical school Dean Steven Gabbe and Dean Emeritus John Chapman lead the processional of medical school faculty and students during this year's graduation ceremony. This was Dean Gabbe's first graduation at Vanderbilt. (Photo by Dana Johnson)
Medical school graduate Jim Saccomando laughs as his son Jimmy plays with his hat before the graduation ceremony began. His wife Kim and other son Joey look on. (photo by Dana Johnson)
Samir Makund Parikh was the recipient of this year’s VUSM Founder’s Medal. (photo by Dana Johnson)
For Sister Mary Diana Dreger, graduating from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine last Friday with 103 fellow classmates was just another step in her life as a Dominican nun. The sisters are no strangers to advanced degrees.
But for the 30 nuns who gathered in their trademark black and white habits to celebrate with Dreger in Langford Auditorium, it was more than just another degree. Dreger’s was the first medical degree ever for the group of 125 nuns at Nashville’s St. Cecilia Convent, now one step closer to having their own in-house physician.
The convent paid for Dreger’s medical education. A former science teacher at St. Cecilia Academy, she was asked to go to medical school by her fellow nuns so that she could someday return to provide care for the sisters, who range in age from 18 to 97. Early in her career as a high school biology teacher, her students often referred to her as “Sister M.D.” Now the nickname has taken on a new meaning.
At the end of June, she will begin a three-year internal medicine residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dreger, 39, said that she chose VUSM mainly because it was in Nashville. She knew little of its national reputation. The quality of its faculty and her classmates surprised her.
“I certainly have enjoyed medical school and didn’t have any preconceived notions as to what medical school was going to be,” she said. “But I have enjoyed it tremendously. I had no idea that the faculty, staff and other students would be so supportive of my medical education. That was a great surprise.
“I thank God for the opportunity I’ve been given by my community because it was something I wanted to do my whole life, but never dreamed it would be an opportunity. I’m glad I can do it for them.”
Dreger, who was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical school honor society, received The Healthcare Foun-dation of New Jersey Humanism in Medicine award at last week’s Class Day, along with Dr. Michael R. Rodriguez, associate professor of Medicine. The award is given to a graduating student and a faculty member who demonstrate compassion and empathy in the delivery of health care.
Sister John Mary, director of education at St. Cecilia, said that medical school was a “blessing and a wonderful opportunity” for Dreger. “We are very proud of her dedication and what she has achieved. She is a very bright, gifted woman and this has been a wonderful opportunity for her personally, as well as for our community.”
The Class of 2001, which began with 104 students, ended with the same number. The graduates began the morning by attending the 2001 commencement ceremony on Alumni Lawn. It was Chancellor Gordon Gee’s first ceremony and he challenged the graduates to “lead an extraordinary life.”
VUSM’s new emeritus professors were also recognized at the university ceremony. They are: Drs. William C. Alford Jr., John E. Chapman, Gottlieb C. Friesinger II, Lewis B. Lefkowitz Jr., John N. Lukens, Judith A. Rassi, Peter W. Reed and Robert E. Richie.
Receiving the Founder’s Medal for VUSM was Samir Makund Parikh, who heads to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for a residency in internal medicine.
Dr. Harry R. Jacobson, vice chancellor for Health Affairs, welcomed the students to the program of recognition at Langford Auditorium. Jacobson was followed by Drs. Steven G. Gabbe, Dean of VUSM, in his first commencement ceremony, and Dr. John E. Chapman, dean emeritus, who participated in his 26th program of recognition, during which time 3,421 medical students have graduated.
“I think you’ve been ready for this moment all of your lives,” Gabbe told the graduates. “Are you really ready? I know you are. Your family and friends know you are. The faculty knows you are and most importantly, you know you are.”
The graduates’ names were read by Dr. Keith D. Wrenn, professor of Medicine and winner of the 2001 Shovel Award for outstanding teaching. Gabbe and Dr. Deborah C. German, senior associate dean of Medical Education, conferred the academic hoods and Chapman and Dr. Bonnie M. Miller, associate dean for Medical Students, awarded the diplomas. Dr. John S. Johnson, professor of Medicine, led the new physicians in the Oath of Hippocrates.
Some graduates were awarded their diplomas by family members who are also physicians. One of those was Dr. Frank A. Riddick, the VUSM Class of 1954 Founder’s Medalist. Now chief executive officer of the Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation in New Orleans, Riddick presented his son, John, with his diploma.
Riddick, who just returned from his honeymoon in France and Italy with his new wife and high school sweetheart, Amy, said he was pleased that his father could return to Vanderbilt to present him with his diploma.
“There’s a definite sense of history and continuation,” said Riddick, who will also be staying at Vanderbilt for a residency in internal medicine.
Another newlywed graduate is Laura Stobie Winterfield, who is heading to Dallas to the University of Texas, South-wesern for a residency in dermatology.
Winterfield met her new husband, Jeff, who graduates on June 8 from the University of Chicago School of Medicine, during a year off from medical school. The two took a year off between their third and fourth years of medical school to participate in a National Institutes of Health program that placed 40 medical students in NIH labs.
The couple arrived at the program early to get settled in and met during the first week at the NIH. Both hope to combine clinical medicine and research in their careers.
Winterfield, who just purchased a new townhouse in Dallas with her husband, said she is ready for a new beginning.
“Medical school, for me, was wonderful,” Winterfield said. “I loved medical school here, even the first two years that many people don’t like. But we’re ready to move on.”