Medical students in the charter class of the University of Central Florida (UCF ) College of Medicine definitely made a difference to the community—local and international—during their first year of school.

 

Collectively, they traveled to Haiti over spring break to help provide medical care to residents of the island nation devastated by the Jan. 12 earthquake, volunteered locally at Shepherd's Hope, worked with the homeless, helped families at the Ronald McDonald House of Orlando, established a free clinic, and immersed themselves in the arts. They formed a local chapter of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) and an American Medical Association (AMA) chapter. Through MedPACT, they're planning a mission trip this summer to Central America.

 

"Our first-year students were very much involved in the community, and are very committed to giving back," said UCF College of Medicine Dean Deborah German, MD, who spearheaded the movement to provide every medical student with a full scholarship. "The scholarships helped create a value system in the students. They know they're privileged, and with that privilege comes a deep sense of responsibility to our community. We're very pleased with their involvement in just about every aspect of life in Central Florida. We're thrilled with their performance—they're all doing well—and in their extracurricular pursuits. They're making a difference."

 

Brittany Moscato, president of the charter class, praised medical school staff across the board for creating a positive environment that promotes collaboration.

 

"Everyone has been extremely supportive, from student affairs getting student organizations started to faculty presenting information in an innovative way," she said. "It's really evident that we have a true partnership. There's not a one-way delivery of information."

 

For example, when students raised concerns about not fully understanding material presented during a lecture, the faculty produced a study guide with the information rearranged "so it made more sense," said Moscato.

 

"Of course, there will always be things that need tweaking," she added. "It's nice to be in a school that's OK with that, and not settle for complacency. They're very committed to finding a great solution. The best part of our job as first-year students is to make it better for the next year."

 

German said one of the medical school's great accomplishments has been the ability to hire faculty—and secure volunteer faculty—"who have a passion for medicine and for teaching future doctors, and a desire to do it better than they ever have before."

 

"If students say they've had several days of classroom work, and they're not getting it, faculty immediately revamps and makes changes," she said. "It's extraordinary for me, and I've been in medical education for a long time."

 

Gaining insight into the specialized interests of the charter class's 41 students can be gleaned via interest groups that have formed in emergency medicine, orthopedic surgery, women's health, and internal medicine. Even neurosurgery, a specialty with few available fellowships, is getting attention.

 

"A neurosurgeon we encountered in Haiti … a student was taken under his wing and got to scrub for some surgeries," said Moscato, who had initially ruled out pursuing surgery. "After being in Haiti, and seeing the change that surgery can make in someone's life, and being in the OR and seeing the anatomy before my eyes, I'm not saying I'll be a surgeon, but I'll definitely welcome it as an option."

 

The College of Medicine curriculum also includes the business side of medicine.

 

"At the beginning of our Practice of Medicine classes, our professor would update us on the progress of different healthcare reform bills and gave opinions about how it was changing," said Moscato. "In our medical humanities lectures, we discuss ethical issues, such as patient autonomy, and litigation that sometimes comes with the profession. Lawyers specializing in different areas are brought in to address these issues."

 

On May 24, medical students toured the brand-new College of Medicine on the UCF Health Sciences Campus in Lake Nona's medical city. The staff will settle in during the summer. The White Coat Ceremony for the 60 students comprising the second class will take place Aug. 2.

 

"It's a complete state-of-the-art facility, which will house all learning space outside of a hospital or clinic that students will need," said German. "We designed the building to have student gathering areas intertwined throughout. So during the time students are with us, they're constantly interfacing with faculty in an environment that promotes the kind of interaction that really makes an education special."

 

The rich sense of purpose the College of Medicine instills in its students stays with them during summer break. For example, Moscato will return home to Ohio "for a breather" before heading to Utah for outdoor adventure, spending time in Washington, DC, with her boyfriend, a medical student at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pa., and his family, and hopefully joining a medical mission trip to Haiti.