by Stephanie Laird

Attending medical school is something that only a very, very small number of people have the opportunity to do. Last July, four OU-COM students talked about their first two years of medical school with one of the hosts of “Live From Studio B”, Jackie Wolf, Ph.D., associate professor of social medicine.

Wolf, a regular host of “Live From Studio B,” graces the airwaves the first Wednesday of every month to discuss various health and medical topics. “Live From Studio B” is broadcast weekdays on WOUB (1340 AM) at 12:30 p.m. That Wednesday in July she discussed the medical school experience with Alyssa Giang, Charyse McMillion, Michael Bloir and Adam Freeman.

The radio program is not typical of WOUB’s midday broadcasts.

“‘Live From Studio B’ was developed as a way to involve the community,” says Bryan Gibson, WOUB AM program manager. “We have a different theme each day, although our regular hosts, including Dr. Jackie Wolf, usually stick with different aspects of one topic.”

Wolf was one of the facilitators for the Case Base Learning (CBL) group that McMillion, Bloir and Freeman were enrolled in over the summer. CBL groups discuss patient cases as a means of interactively preparing students for the clinical situations they are likely to face. Wolf invited the third-year students to join her in this broadcast to share their experiences with the Athens community.

“During the half-hour show, we were challenged with a variety of thought-provoking questions,” says Giang. “We talked about our apprehensions, our successes and our aspirations. We talked about the dedication of OU-COM’s faculty and staff and how that benefited us by sharing stories of our personal experiences at the medical school.”

“I think it is helpful to let the public know what medical school is like and how it changes the student’s perspective,” says Wolf. “This broadcast was a good way to highlight the transition from student to student doctor that occurs during this crucial summer.” The summer transition is the bridge between the two years of clinical training about to begin at hospitals, clinics and physician offices and the previous two years of classroom learning at the college.

“The change into a more visibly professional role,” comments McMillion, “meant adjusting from being a classroom student to a clinical student, where the expectations of how we present ourselves in every way are held to higher standards.”

This broadcast also gave the students an opportunity to hone their public speaking abilities while discussing aspects of medical school typically unfamiliar to the general public.

“Most people aren’t aware of what’s involved in medical education and the years spent obtaining one — that’s true of people in the general public and even those interested in becoming physicians — and we discussed that,” says McMillion.

For incoming medical students as well as those currently in medical school, they shared their personal insights, which might, hopefully, aid those following in their footsteps at OU-COM.

“It is good to hear other people’s struggles and experiences,” says Freeman. “It can be much easier to learn from other people’s mistakes than your own.”

“I believe it’s also important for all students to remember to have fun while studying hard,” says Giang. “I couldn’t believe how quickly the first two years went by. But through it all, I never forgot to enjoy the journey. If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be to remember that all storms will pass as long as one perseveres.”

An audio file of this “Live From Studio B” show is available here. The radio show is a production of the WOUB Center for Public Media.