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By Brooke Bunch
Ohio Sen. Marc Dann,
D-Youngstown, took a break from the campaign trail and toured
OU-COM Wednesday to
learn more about the medical school and how it serves the
citizens of Ohio. He also spoke to a group of African American
high school and college students gathered in Grosvenor Hall
about the importance of pursuing the medical careers they were
considering embarking upon. Dann talked to the students about
passion — the kind of passion that is instrumental to living
fulfilled lives, a fitting theme for them.
“If I have one piece of advice,
it’s this — you’ve got to do what you love, and you’ll be happy,” Dann said. “You may not be rich, but you’ll have the passion.”
He stressed the importance of
pursuing careers as primary care physicians, an area in which he
feels there is a real need.
“It’s an area to go into if you
really want to serve the community and be where you’re needed,”
he said. “And we’re committed to making that possible. We have
to maintain the quality of primary care and access to it as well
as continue to train new physicians.
“Ohio is falling behind the
country in degrees obtained past high school,” Dann said. “It’s
one of Ohio’s biggest challenges. We have to encourage students
to think about their career paths past high school.”
Dann noted the value of a
profession aimed at saving lives and serving medical needs,
encouraging the students to get back to the roots of medicine.
The high school and college
students in attendance were a part of Project GridIron, an
organization devoted to nurturing the ambitions of minority
students and helping their career aspirations become a reality.
“We develop a team of
champions,” said Ru’Kiya Pugh, vice president of Project
GridIron. “We find out what their passion is and help them
fulfill their dreams and what they’re called to do.”
Jimmy Pugh, president of Project
GridIron, says he wants the minority students to dream big but
adds, too often, they don’t have the opportunity to see and
experience some of the things that would help cultivate their
dreams.
Dean Jack Brose, D.O.,
said the medical field is experiencing a huge deficit in
minority professionals. And while OU-COM’s minority enrollment
is considerably higher than the national average, with 23
percent of its students being minorities, Brose is still looking
to increase that number.
“Diversity in a medical school
has substantial benefits,” Brose said. “It helps students
understand the cultural needs of minority patients.”
In addition, noted Brose, some
minority students will return to practice in underserved
minority communities, a choice fully endorsed by Ru’Kiya.
“You may not become a
multimillionaire, but it’s the passion that matters, not the
paycheck,” she told the students.
Bridget Wagner, D.O. (’94),
assistant dean for the college’s Northeast Centers for
Osteopathic Research and Education, and a supporter of Project
GridIron, played a crucial role in recruiting the group for the
visit and meeting with Dann.
For high school students Angela
Harris, of Farrell, Penn., and Candice Dukes and Morgan Dowell,
both of Warren, the visit to the college and meeting with Dann was a
major step in pursuing their dreams in pediatrics, physical
therapy and gynecology.
For Edwin Jackson, of Akron, his
visit was hopefully one of many more in the near future.
“I’m currently in the process of
applying here,” he said. “It’s a very nice school
— it’s my
first choice.”
The GridIron students also had
an opportunity to speak with current OU-COM students about
academics and life in Athens. Following their chat, Dann spoke
to the students.
“It’s clear to me that Sen. Dann
is very supportive of higher education in Ohio,” said Brose.
Dann’s visit was
two-fold, according to George Dunigan, director of
governmental relations.
“It’s part of an ongoing process
to bring elected officials to campus to show them OU-COM,”
Dunigan said. “Part of Dann’s discussion with Dean Brose dealt
with the current state budget and the future budget. Obviously
we’re concerned about medical education in the state budget. We
wanted to show Sen. Dann what we’re all about.”
What the school is
“about,” Dann learned during a presentation made by Brose, was
the training
of
physicians — 67 percent of who percent practice in
the Ohio. Brose also showed how OU-COM graduates directly impact
rural areas such as Southeastern Ohio: 39 percent of the
school’s graduates practice in communities with less than 50,000
residents, and they represent 56 percent of the primary care
physicians in Southeastern Ohio. Citing a recent study by a
health-care consulting firm, Brose said that the college has had
an overall economic impact of $1.09 billion statewide and $113
million in Southeastern Ohio, resulting in almost $32 million in
state tax revenues.
News for the week
of Sept. 27 – Oct. 2
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of Sept. 20 – 25
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of Sept. 13 – 18
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of Sept. 6 – 11
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