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.
- 30 -
News for
the week of Jan
23 – Jan 28
