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Communication Home |
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Hometown:
Parma Heights, Ohio
On their mentors:
Mementowski:
David Tolentino, D.O., CORE assistant dean, St. John
West Shore Hospital, Cleveland
“From the moment you come into your third year, you’re overwhelmed.
He made us feel welcome and like we were a part of the hospital
community and had an important role there.”
Bortell:
Ron Russ, D.O., CORE assistant dean, Cuyahoga Falls
General Hospital.
“He’s a family practice doctor and I had my first clinical rotation
with him. He’s an advocate for students and helped me to reinforce
that (becoming a physician) is what I wanted to do.”
On the challenges and rewards of medical school:
Mementowski:
“I was amazed at how much information you had to learn so quickly. I
was also surprised how supportive and how willing to help the
faculty is.”
Bortell:
“I loved moving from our first and second years into our clinical
years. You’re able to apply what you’ve learned in those classes to
diagnose and treat patients.”
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Fast friends: Lisa
Mementowski, D.O., & Melanie Bortell, D.O.
Graduating seniors—and longtime best friends—Mementowski and Bortell
brought new meaning to peer support at the College of Osteopathic
Medicine
  By
Mary Reed
When Lisa Mementowski, D.O. ('08),
and Melanie (Kozlowski) Bortell, D.O. ('08), were
seniors at Holy Name High School in Parma Heights, Ohio, they both
enrolled at Miami University and decided to room together. Little
did they know that they would be on the buddy system for the next
six years and support each other through their parallel journeys to
becoming doctors of osteopathic medicine.
“(Lisa) is obviously a caring person or she wouldn’t be in the
medical profession. She’s an excellent friend to have,” says Bortell
of Mementowski. “I think her patients will love her.”
From their days playing on competing elementary school basketball
teams to dressing up as cowgirls for Halloween in Athens to
Mementowski serving as a bridesmaid in Bortells’s wedding, the two
have been friends as well as study buddies.
“It’s good to have a study buddy,” Bortell says. “Some things really
lend themselves to cooperative learning.”
Mementowski says that OU-COM can resemble a larger buddy system, one
that promotes student success. “One thing that distinguishes the
medical school is that we don’t get grades; it’s a strictly
pass/fail system (that) allows students to help one another,” she
explains. “The atmosphere (is) very conducive to helping one
another, which is very important, because we’re all going to be
colleagues.”
Bortell echoes that sentiment, explaining that OU-COM’s emphasis on
group learning instills collegiality into its students. “Some
schools are a lot more competitive,” she says. “But we will have to
work together. There are going to be times when you need information
from other physicians. I think starting with that (mindset) from the
beginning is essential.”
After six years of rooming together, the two went their separate
ways on rotations. Following graduation, Mementowski began a family
practice residency at Fairview Hospital in the Cleveland area while
Bortell began a family practice residency at Akron City Hospital.
The two say they sometimes joke about going into practice together.
Separate cities will likely keep that from happening, but they stay
in touch as closely as they can. “I think we’ll be friends forever,”
Mementowski says.
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