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“Declaring an Affirmation of Commitment” Dr. Robert Folberg, 2015 Commencement Address of the Oakland University Beaumont School of Medicine

Screen Shot 2015-08-01 at 11.01.57 AMVolume 2 of the Medical Commencement Archive comes from Dr. Robert Folberg at Oakland University Beaumont School of Medicine’s charter class’ commencement. Dr. Folberg’s address, Declaring an Affirmation of Commitment, reflects not on the definition of being a good physician, but on being a good human being. Dr. Folberg is the Founding Dean of OUWB, as well as the Chief Academic Officer at William Beaumont Hospital. As a proud student of OUWB myself, I couldn’t help but debut this year’s Archive with my university’s Dean – a man who has never failed to give mini-motivational speeches in the hallway before exams and is always happy to attend and support student organization events.

Dr. Folberg revolves his speech around two questions: what do I want to do, and who do I want to be? Although to some, those two questions may inspire the same answer, Dr. Folberg stresses that the second question embodies a commitment beyond profession.

To answer the second question – who do I want to be – requires training, practice, and commitment. You were invited to come to OUWB because you excelled academically and because you provided evidence to us of experiences and attributes that predicted you would become physicians who are empathetic, compassionate, and engaged.

He continues by emphasizing the Declaration of Geneva, an oath that each study took upon receiving their first white coat. Each class at OUWB has the opportunity to make unique additions to the Declaraton of Geneva, reflecting upon the promises they hope to fulfill throughout their careers.

You recognize that we all have conscious and even unconscious biases that, if unchecked, could compromise our ability to practice medicine. How could we allow our biases to interfere with the practice of medicine if everyone has infinite value?

At the end of his speech, Dr. Folberg quotes an original line from the Declaration of Geneva: “I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude that is their due,” and humbly titled each student as his new teachers in the profession of medicine.

Frequently, stymied by a case that challenges my abilities, I turn to my younger colleagues for help, and often, these are the very individuals who were my students. In a very real sense, I owe to them, my students, the respect and gratitude that is their due.

Volume 2 of the Medical Commencement Archive has a fantastic line-up this year! A new speech will be published each Friday.

Visit the Medical Commencement Archive

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MSPress Announcements

Announcing: The Free Clinic Research Collective

On behalf of the entire MSPress Team, I am very proud to announce a call for papers for the newest MSPress publication, The Free Clinic Research Collective (FCRC). The FCRC is currently accepting: original research, brief communications, narrative/reflection essays, and viewpoint articles.  Since the FCRC’s official online debut in February 2015, we have received enthusiastic responses from medical students across the nation.  We are still reviewing and accepting submissions, so please do not hesitate to contact me, Elizabeth C. Lee, the FCRC Associate Editor, at freeclinic@themspress.org with any questions!

As we have received numerous inquiries about the FCRC, I thought it would be helpful to write a blog post to provide further information about this new publication.  Here are some FAQs that I have received:

#1 What is The Free Clinic Research Collective (FCRC)?
The FCRC is a new peer-reviewed, open-access publication from The MSPress that aims to establish a national collective of student-run free clinics.  Almost every medical school in the U.S. has at least one student-run free clinic, and yet there is currently a paucity of literature about these clinics.  With the launch of the FCRC, our goal is to improve the distribution and accessibility of information relating to student-run free clinics by creating a centralized publication hub for easy information retrieval.  Additionally, the FCRC encourages medical students to share their experiences in working with underserved populations in interprofessional settings at their schools’ student-run free clinics.

#2 What types of submissions are accepted by the FCRC? 
The FCRC accepts the following: research articles, brief communications, narrative/reflection essays, and viewpoint articles.  (NB: In the future, we will also be accepting correspondences. More on this in #3 below!)  As we are firmly committed to embracing all medical student original work, please contact freeclinic@themspress.org if your work does not “fit” into any of the above categories, and we would be happy to work with you to help get your work published!

#3 Why should I submit my work to the FCRC?
Thank you for asking!  Here are 5 reasons:

  1. Get your research published in a peer-reviewed journal.  (Tip: If you’ve already given an oral presentation or made a research poster on a topic related to student-run free clinics but have not yet published your findings, then simply translate your work into a research article format, and send it to us!)
  2. You are/have been a student leader at your school’s student-run free clinic, and you have insight into your clinic’s organization, management, services, and limitations.  Sharing this information by writing a brief communication would help your peers across the nation improve efficiency in their own home clinics, leading to better patient care.
  3. You have a particularly exciting or memorable patient encounter or experience at your school’s free clinic, and you would like to share your experience with your peers by writing a narrative/reflection essay.
  4. You have an opinion about the role of student-run free clinics in addressing issues, such as: health disparities, access to quality care, primary care physician shortage, medical education, etc.  If you have an opinion on a topic involving student-run free clinics, then write a viewpoint article!
  5. You enjoy the art of debate.  (Not a joke!)  If so, then write a correspondence article!  This is one particularly unique aspect of the FCRC, which is not just a simple one-way information portal.  Through correspondence articles, the FCRC encourages intercommunication between authors and readers by establishing an open dialogue.  The correspondence article gives readers the opportunity to comment on any previously published article in the FCRC.  If your correspondence is accepted for publication, then a copy will be sent to the author of the original article, allowing for the opportunity of a brief reply.

At the MSPress, we have a highly dedicated team of editors and peer reviewers, and we ensure that each submission undergoes a blind peer review process and receives full consideration for publication.  I have deep confidence in the launch of our new publication, The Free Clinic Research Collective, and am proud to launch this wonderful platform for the benefit of medical students across the nation to exchange ideas and share their research findings regarding student-run free clinics.

Again, please do not hesitate to contact me, Elizabeth C. Lee (FCRC Associate Editor), at freeclinic@themspress.org with any questions. Thank you for your hard work out in the clinic, and we look forward to reading your submissions!

Consult the Free Clinic Research Collective Author Guidelines

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Clinical General Lifestyle MSPress Announcements Narrative Opinion Reflection

“Preserving the Nobility of Medicine” Dr. Robert Alpern, 2014 Commencement Address of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Page 1 copyIn continuation of the Medical Commencement Archive, this Friday we are releasing a new commencement speech. Today’s commencement speech is titled Preserving the Nobility of Medicine. This commencement speech was given by Dr. Robert J. Alpern, a Northwestern University alumnus, to the students of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The esteemed Dr. Alpern is Ensign Professor of Medicine and Dean at Yale University School of Medicine. He also is President of the American Society of Nephrology, as well as a sitting Advisory Council Member of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Dr. Alpern took a moment for students to take a closer look at the value and weight of the two-lettered title: MD. He reflected upon the unique status given to physicians, and the reverence given to doctors from the community and from patients. Yet, at the same time the medical paradigm continues to evolve. Dr. Alpern astutely foresees a future where physicians must adapt to the growing roles in the medical team, changes in bureaucracy, and the changing expectations of patient’s for their treatment. Dr. Alpern also notes that these changes will influence the training and education of physicians. On top of our own desire to stifle the monsoon current of medical information during our education, there are legitimate concerns that the future medical student will receive but an abbreviated biochemistry course, or won’t need to take an MCAT, maybe even spend less time in medical school. Yet, Dr. Alpern urges one thing: to value the pursuit of scholarship. He reminds us that only with a strong foundation may a strong physician be built.

“We observe the patient and draw on our scientific understanding of how the body works and sometimes does not work, to develop a truth that we can implement as an action plan. We must know clinical guidelines and the most up-to-date treatment algorithms, but we must also be ready to identify clinical circumstances in which they do not apply.”

Dr. Alpern eloquently explains that, above all else, the pursuit of knowledge and scholarship is indeed the nobility of medicine. He reminds us to respect this pursuit in lieu of the changes we will see in our futures as physicians, such that “we do not return to the era of trade schools of medicine”. Dr. Alpern further mentions that, in addition to being a scholar, the physician must be compassionate, and that neither trait is mutually exclusive:

“I also want to make the point that an emphasis on science is not the antithesis of compassion, but it is rather the complement of compassion”.

At the end of his speech, Dr. Alpern concludes with this piece of wisdom:

“Do not be intimidated by the evolving healthcare system. Rather, as the next generation of physicians, you will define healthcare, and you must define it well.”

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Clinical General Lifestyle MSPress Announcements

“The Real Challenge: Balance” Dr. Richard D. Krugman, 2014 Commencement Address at the University of Colorado School of Medicine

Page 1This week, Dr. Richard D. Krugman’s 2014 commencement speech at the University of Colorado School of Medicine entitled, “The Real Challenge: Balance” debuts via the Medical Commencement Archive. This piece is my personal favorite within this year’s archive.

Dr. Krugman is a respected educator and leader in the medical field. Dr. Krugman received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, and earned his medical degree at New York University School of Medicine. He went on to complete his residency in Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He currently serves as the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs for the University of Colorado, Denver, where he oversees all five hospitals of the university in addition to providing support for deans and faculty. Among many esteemed positions, Dr. Krugman has served as a member of the Institute of Medicine and the board of University of Colorado Hospital. Dr. Krugman is internationally recognized as an authority on child abuse prevention.

Dr. Krugman begins his speech by discussing his desire to hold the title of spouse of the President of the United States.

“I have watched for years as each Presidential spouse came to the White House, starting with Jacqueline Kennedy, and each took as a cause some area of public policy that instantly got attention and, over the next four to eight years had billions of dollars appropriated toward resolving the issue.” He goes on to discuss his future endeavors.

With a humble nature, Dr. Krugman comments on the common nature of forgetting commencement speeches. He focuses his speech on what he believes will be the single most important piece of advice that the novel physicians ought to remember,

“it is probably easier to learn the facts and the technical skills you will need to practice medicine than it is to learn how to balance lives that are relentlessly crammed with the demands of your families and friends, your patients, your supervising residents and attending physicians, your students…”

Take some time to read Dr. Krugman’s recommendations for maintaining balance alongside a career in medicine.

Read Dr. Krugman’s 2014 Commencement Speech at the University of Colorado School of Medicine:  https://www.themspress.org/index.php/commencement/article/view/69

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Clinical General Innovation Lifestyle MSPress Announcements Reflection

“The Five C’s” Dr. Georgette A. Dent, 2014 Commencement Address at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Page 1This week, Dr. Georgette A. Dent, Associate Dean for Student Affairs at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine joins the list of spectacular commencement speeches in the Medical Commencement Archive.

Dr. Dent is an esteemed educator, writer, and innovator in the medical field. She received her Bachelor’s of Sciences from Duke University where she graduated magna cum laude. Dr. Dent went on to earn her M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. Dr. Dent completed a fellowship in Hematopathology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, where she now serves and inspires students as the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Among Dr. Dent’s many accomplishments, she has served as a member of the AAMC Electronic Residency Application System Advisory Committee, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), and the American Society of Hematology Committee on Promoting Diversity.

“Going forward, when you have an “on” weekend, it will not mean you have a Monday exam, it will mean that you are on call.”

“The Five C’s”, provides a succinct and intimate view of the UNC SOM Class of 2014. Dr. Dent encourages her students to go forward as physicians while staying true to their caring natures, abilities to connect with others, competence, character, and engagement with cutting edge technology. Read Dr. Dent’s 2014 Commencement Speech at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

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Clinical General Innovation Lifestyle MSPress Announcements Narrative Reflection

“Timelessness in the Ever-Changing Medical Field” Dr. Abraham Verghese, 2014 Commencement Address at the Stanford University School of Medicine

Dr. Abraham Verghese, critically acclaimed author and widely respected clinician, is now featured in the Medical Commencement Archive. Dr. Verghese’s commitment to medical humanities, teaching, and the art of medicine is one that students have the pleasure and honor of learning from through various platforms.

In his speech, Timelessness in the Ever-Changing Medical Field, Dr. Verghese calls upon the Stanford University School of Medicine graduates to find the connection between their technology-laden careers and the careers of their predecessors.

“I hope that sense of history will make you conscious that when you are there with the patient, you are also participating in a timeless ritual. Rituals, like this one today, with all its ceremony and tradition are about transformation, about crossing a threshold — indeed the ritual of our graduation ceremony is self-evident. When you examine a patient, if you think about it, it is also a timeless ritual, a crossing of a threshold.”

In his speech, Dr. Verghese discusses the graduation speech boycotts of 2014, patients from his past, memories of medical school examinations, and opinions about medical licensing techniques. Dr. Verghese currently serves as Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Stanford University, among many other appointments. Ending his speech, Dr. Verghese leaves the graduates with words that resemble a blessing:

 

“May you celebrate the rituals of medicine, recognizing their importance to both you and the patient. May you find courage to face your own personal trials by learning from your patients’ courage. May you minister to your patients even as they minister to you. When there is nothing more medically you can do for patients, remember it is just the beginning of everything you can do for your patients; you can still give them the best of you, which is your presence at their bedside. You can heal even when you cannot cure by that simple human act of being at the bedside — your presence. May you discover as generations before you have, the great happiness and satisfaction inherent in the practice of medicine, despite everything”

Page 1Interested in reading about Dr. Verghese’s work with infectious diseases? Check out My Own Country which features stories of the rise of AIDs in rural Tennessee. Interested in reading about mental health and creating balance within the medical field? Check out The Tennis Partner which explores the drug addiction and familial struggles of medical professionals. Fancy yourself a great fiction read in medical drama? Take a look through Cutting for Stone.

Further, Dr. Verghese writes on a variety of other interesting topics through New York Times, Newsweek, and Washington Post articles. Expounding upon the importance of the patient-physician relationship, Dr. Verghese has had a number of talks and interviews including TED talks.

Incredibly popular amongst medical students is, “Stanford 25: An Initiative to Revive the Culture of Bedside Manner” which features videos of Dr. Verghese’s physical examination methods.

Dr. Verghese is a champion of medical writing and a fantastic advocate of the importance of the healing arts. Enjoy this wonderful new addition to the Medical Commencement Archive.

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Clinical General Lifestyle MSPress Announcements Reflection

Medical Commencement Archive Debut with Dr. Timothy E. Quill, University of Rochester School of Medicine

Today the Medical Student Press kicks off Volume 1 of the Medical Commencement Archive. The Archive will now release a new speech each Friday. Stay tuned for spectacular reads which speak directly to the future of medicine with wise reflections from the past. The inaugural speech entitled, Who is Your Doctor?, comes from Dr. Timothy E. Quill, M.D., at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Read Dr. Quill’s full speech and bookmark the Medical Commencement Archive here.

dr quill copy 2Dr. Quill is an accomplished physician and author in the field of Palliative Care. He earned his undergraduate degree at Amherst College, and received his M.D. at the University of Rochester. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine and a Fellowship in Medicine/Psychiatry Liaison at the University of Rochester. Dr.Quill is now Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Medical Humanities at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He is also the Director of the URMC Palliative Care Program. Dr. Quill has published extensively on the doctor-patient relationship, with an emphasis on the difficult decision-making processes toward the end of life. He was the lead physician plaintiff in the 1997 Supreme Court case Quill v. Vacco challenging the law prohibiting physician-assisted death.

In his speech, Dr. Quill spoke to the class about the need for competent and personal medical care in this complex and fast-paced world of biomedicine with all its specialties and subspecialties. He drew upon his extensive clinical experience in palliative care to illustrate how a deep understanding of the patient and their family can help physicians not only guide patients through the plethora of medical options, but also make,

“…clear recommendations among those options based on their medical knowledge and their knowledge of the patient as a person.” Dr. Quill believes, “that kind of guidance and engagement, which is both medically competent but also very person, is what will make [one] a really exemplary doctor.”

Dr. Quill’s speech is indeed very touching and inspirational. His personal clinical anecdotes are moving, as  they illustrate how competent and personal medicine improves patient care. His focus and dedication to understanding and treating patients as opposed to diseases is evident and serves as a role model to all, including medical students. His words inspire medical student to,

“become one of those doctors who is not only technically very competent, but also very willing to engage with patients and families in difficult decision-making.

The MSPress encourages you to read his commencement speech to not only gain insight into Dr. Quill’s wisdom, filled with powerful anecdotes, but to learn from an accomplished and very thoughtful physician. Read Dr. Quill’s full speech and bookmark the Medical Commencement Archive here.

Thanks to Stephen Kwak, MSPress Editor, for his contribution to this blog post.

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General Innovation MSPress Announcements

Welcome to the Medical Student Press: Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Dear Readers,

I am delighted to welcome you all to the Medical Student Press through the launching of the MSPress Blog. In merely five months, the MSPress has grown to have an international team of medical students serving as editors, peer reviewers, graphic designers, and writers. Our journal has had countless submissions and our diverse blog writers are eager to share their experiences with the medical student community at large. We have made incredible strides and welcome all of those interested in supporting the scholarly expression of medical students to join our team (see application: here).

Beginnings

This project was inspired by of one of my dearest professors at Stanford University, Professor John Willinsky. In my junior year, I decided to take a course entitled “Learning, Sharing, Publishing, and Intellectual Property” through the School of Education. I found myself in a beautiful turret providing a beautiful view of the sunset. In this course, Professor Willinsky taught about the classical and current debates within the publishing world. He explored modern methods of sharing educational resources, and taught us the specifics of John Locke’s theories concerning the commons (Professor Willinsky’s book on this topic is currently in the making). I stayed in the course for the rest of the semester, enjoyed the sunset, and gleaned as much as I could from this publishing giant.

Soon, I began working closely with Professor Willinsky and one of his projects: Open Journal Systems. This open-access software enables editorial teams to collaborate within a seamless online platform. Further, it publishes content that is widely-indexed, thereby providing journal submissions with the opportunity to be widely read and cited. I worked with OJS during my Stanford years as EIC of Intersect: the Stanford Journal of Science, Technology and Society. After the journal was live for three years, it became international and was strongly cited by other scholars (see the Intersect citation line-up here).

The Medical Student Press

The Library of Babel Illustration by Erik Desmazieres
The Library of Babel Illustration by Erik Desmazieres

An MS1 at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, I was determined to find a way to continue working with publishing. The MSPress began as a collaboration between myself and Gabriel Glaun, an MS1 at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. We were both involved with scholarly publishing in our undergraduate years and sought out an opportunity to continue this involvement as medical students; a search I assumed would be similar to bumbling through Jorge Luis Borges’ Library of Babel. While we easily found well-established medical publishers, we surprisingly did not find any large-scale projects that were exclusively for and by medical students. Further, the collaboration between international medical students was one that was seldom seen. A well-indexed, organized, easily accessible, international, and approachable medical student publishing organization was clearly needed, and so our work on the MSPress began.

After a great deal of work and support from other medical students, I am elated to make our medical student publishing organization live. We operate using Open Journal Systems and support open-access publishing through our use of a Creative Commons license for all of our content. Currently under our auspices are The MSPress Journal and The MSPress Blog.

The MSPress Journal accepts research essays, theses excerpts, interviews, scientific papers, medical ethics essays, creative writing, sound pieces, and visual art pieces.  This platform runs directly through the Open Journal System, ensuring our articles are widely disseminated and strongly published.

The MSPress Blog supports those students interested in long term writing, as well as those interested in occasional writing. This platform accepts informal pieces, narratives, sound pieces, visual art pieces, news articles, and pilot studies.

Recognizing that medicine is dynamic, we aim to support the ideas of all students. Get in touch with our team to share your creative ideas. The education of medical students continues far after class and clinic sessions are over. Remain engaged, expressive, and innovative by contributing to the MSPress. We are proud to support the scholarly expression of medical students and welcome all readers, contributors, and creative minds.

We are a versatile team with an exciting new project that is full of potential, so to stay up to date with us, follow our blog, our Facebook page, and our website.

 

Cheers to the scholarly expression of medical students,

Mica Esquenazi

The MSPress, Editor-in-Chief

 

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MSPress Announcements

Join the MSPress Team

Interested in becoming a blogger, editor, or public relations liaison for Medical Student Press? Get in touch with our editorial board through our online application.

NOTE: To complete your application, you must email your CV to editorinchief@themspress.org
If you are interested in becoming an editor or writer, please also send along a writing sample of at least 500 words, the subject of which is at your discretion.

Editor: Editors work closely with the Open Journal System software which we run our editorial process through. This includes assigning and communicating with peer reviewers. Once a submission is accepted, the editor moves to finalize the submission via author communication. This requires strong writing skills. As we are a new publishing group, editors also have a role in public relations. To apply for this position, please send along a CV and a writing sample of at least 500 words the subject of which is at your discretion.

Copy Editor: The copy editor is the final reader of all submissions, ensuring no grammatical or writing errors. This requires attention to detail and strong writing skills. To apply for this position, please send along a CV and a writing sample of at least 500 words, the subject of which is at your discretion.

Web/Graphic Designer: Our primary systems run via CSS in conjunction with Open Journal System and WordPress. For those interested in this role, prior experience is appreciated but not required. To apply for this position, please send along a CV.

Blogger: Bloggers are required to submit a writing piece once a month. These pieces will be posted on our WordPress blog site. The posts will be informal, but still edited by the editorial team. To apply for this position, please send along a CV and a writing sample of at least 500 words, the subject of which is at your discretion.

Peer Reviewer: All medical students (including residents and fellows) are eligible to be peer reviewers. Simply register via our website with your credentials and hospital email address to enter our pool of peer reviewers.

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MSPress Announcements

Call for Submissions – May 5th

Dr. Robert Montgomery
Dr. Robert Montgomery

The Medical Student Press Journal is now open to submissions.

Be part of the first journal edition from the Medical Student Press and support the international scholarly expression of medical students. Our upcoming edition will include an interview with Dr. Robert Montgomery, Chief of Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins, and leadership from the much awaited Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center, one of the largest in the country.

Time to create an expressive community with online open-access publishing. Join the cause.

Orlando Veterens Affairs Medical Center
Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center