Better Than a Promotion

This is something to smile about...  from Gigi Rogers and Jeff Harrison

Hi Gigi and Jacqueline

I thought you might like to see this report I received from my student who has been accepted at your school!--(I sent it to all my premeds)--Barb Sabrina was recently accepted at the University of Nebraska. She targeted the school because of her interest in rural health--I asked her to provide something for her fellow students about the medical school, so here it is. Thanks, Sabrina!

Hello Barbara,

Here's the email I promised about Nebraska...

For those that may be interested in primary care, specifically rural medicine, I would strongly suggest joining Dr. Bowman's rural health listserv and looking into the University of Nebraska. Barbara suggested the listserv to me about a year ago when I mentioned that I was interested in rural medicine. It is a wonderful source of information and encouragement. I learned about current, relevant issues in US healthcare, but most importantly I was encouraged to see so many doctors, medical students and even premeds excited about medicine and truly concerned about their fellow man.

It was because of the listserv that I decided to apply to the University of Nebraska. Dr.Bowman is a professor at the university and their program is known for primary care. I have to admit that I had never been to the midwest, let alone Omaha before my interview trip this past November. I was actually pleasantly surprised. Everyone was wonderful and it wasn't too cold. I won't go on about the town or the interview but feel free to email me if you have questions. What I will say is that my interviewer asked why I had applied to Nebraska and when I told him about the listserv he exclaimed, "I knew I recognized you from somewhere!" He worked with Dr.Bowman and had seen some of my postings on the listserv. Things went great from there.

What I learned at the interview and from my preparation for the interview (UNMC and Dr.Bowman's website), was that the university has an amazing program with a number of opportunities. They have a combined didactic and problem-based learning curriculum which means that you will spend some time in classroom lectures, but a great deal of time in groups of 5-10 people working on real case studies. They require all of their first years to spend three weeks in an underserved area the summer after their first  year. You can stay in Nebraska or go to a number of other places including a clinic they have in Guatemala. From the beginning they emphasize patient exposure and clinical knowledge. Nearly 70% of their fourth years spend at least one rotation abroad and they strongly encourage community involvement and service oriented projects. They also have great board scores and high residency match rates.

Obviously this school isn't for everyone, but hopefully this email gave you some insight into a school or a career choice that you might not have considered before. Good luck!

Sabrina   [email protected] 

Barbara Weeks Huntington, Director |

SDSU Preprofessional Health Advising Office |

San Diego State University MC-4615 |

San Diego, CA 92182-4615 |

e-mail: [email protected]  |

SDSU Preprofessional Advising

(619) 594-6638 fax: 594-0244 |

Homepage: http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/preprof/ 

Dear Sir,

As always I've heard the horror stories about what is important to get into medical school. "It's the MCAT scores and GPA that determine whether you make it in". And though there are times I feel extremely sad that I will be denied admission several times, there is still something inside of me that knows one day, though it may take a while, I'll be a doctor. As a student, who has lived a life filled with experiences that only time can heal, I can say I wonder what medicine is about. I'm going to be 26 years old in a few weeks and in one year I graduate with a Biochemistry and Chemistry degree that has taken me so far 8 years.

What have I learned from the many tribulations I've come across? I've learned I have strength of the heart, there is nothing this world can throw at me that will cause me to bend or break. I've learned that my character has leadership, wisdom, intelligence but most of all experience. I know what I carry with me I can apply to those who need my help.

Many times I have been told I am naive in thinking that helping people is all a doctor does. I've been told that being a doctor is a prestigious honor held and must be taken seriously. I believe only half of this is true. Being a doctor is being a teacher. So when I hear and even see some of the cruelty or better put misuse doctors have displayed in the past, I wonder about those people who truly are in the field to help others. I wonder, how does this affect them? From what I read, the effect is very deep.

Even though I'm just a little college senior and it may take me a while to get to where you are, I wanted to say thanks. It warms my heart to know that character does go a long way. It warms my heart to know the values, morals and lessons I've learned, both good and bad, will count one day.

So thank you.

Sincerely,

Joey Ramos, Senior at New Mexico State University.

Thank you for responding Sir,
Yes you have my permission to share this with some of your admission folks. And you have my permission to place it on your web page. Would you please add my name to your list serve? The more news about medicine keeps me at a very informed and alert level. Besides, I never seem to make it home on time to see the news. Please give my apologies to your wife for ruining her makeup. For that reason I've invested in some very wonderful waterproof products (never hurts to be prepared).

My apologies on the shortness of this email, but unfortunately the Calculus homework beckons.

Hope you are having a wonderful day, and that this email exchange continues.
Many smiles, Joey.

"Amare è rischiare di non essere amati. Sperare è rischiare il dolore. Provare è rischiare il fallimento ma i rischi vanno presi perché il rischio più grosso nella vita è non rischiare niente."

(To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure but risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.)

Dear Dr. Bowman,

I stumbled across your website through an internet search today, and I just
wanted to thank you.

My name is Jessica Watters, and I'm a first year med student here at the U. of Michigan. I am a Christian, with a strong sense of calling to serve in rural areas of western China. I am very glad to be learning here at UofM, and greatly enjoying my contacts with the Chinese community here in Ann Arbor, but sometimes I feel a bit lonely in this world of high-tech medicine and sub-subspecialization.

When I found your site, I watched the video talk by Dr. Boyer and read several of your essays. Even though I probably will not spend many years practicing in the U.S., I am greatly encouraged that there are others in this country with a desire to serve in rural areas, and who have the courage to face the challenges of practicing medicine in a places where you can't always refer patients to subspecialists for their care.

I confess I am sometimes scared to death by the idea of being the top "expert,"  without someone else who can take over when I run out of expertise. I start to think I will be on my own, and forgetting Christ's promise to be with us to the end. So I really appreciated your essay on Character: the Narrow Road. It was just the encouragement I needed as I face a calling that seems far to big for me. How thankful I am that I serve a God who is all-sufficient, and in whom we are "more than conquerors."

Again, thank you so much for your site, and especially, for being willing to share your heart and God's work in your life.

Sincerely,

Jessica Watters
[email protected]