² (WMed) collaborated with Grand Valley State University (GVSU) to host a physician panel on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, from 8:00-9:00 p.m. The physician panel included: Drs. Cheryl Dickson, a pediatrician and associate dean for Health Equity and Community Affairs at WMed; Dawn Robinson, an obstetrics and gynecology physician; Emma Simmons, a family medicine physician and senior associate dean for Student Affairs at University of California Riverside School of Medicine; Stephanie Zia, a pediatrician and assistant dean of Student Affairs at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California; Emily Rose, director of Pre-Health Undergraduate Programs at Keck School of Medicine; Franklyn Rocha, a resident physician in Neurology at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, and Rodney Mckeever an anesthesiologist.
The panelists provided students with guidance on overcoming academic struggles, promoted self-care, and stressed the importance of not allowing others to derail them from reaching their goal of becoming a physician.
The event is part of the Navigation Pathway to Medical School Initiative (NPMS) sponsored by the medical school’s offices of Diversity and Inclusiveness and Health Equity and Community Affairs. The NPMS Initiative exposes undergraduate pre-medical students and organizations to social capital and social networks that help them matriculate into medical school.
“GVSU Pre-Med Club conducted a Physicians Panel while collaborating with Dr. Donovan Roy from WMed, said Gabriella Pitingaro, president of the GVSU Pre-Med Club. “The panel members spanned both the continental U.S and various specialties. They were able to assist club members through answering facilitated questions regarding work-life balance, avoiding burnout, and why they ultimately chose a path in medicine. After that session, we opened the floor to members to ask more personalized questions ranging from self-confidence to dealing with difficult patients/workdays. After the panel, the panel members very kindly left contact information for members to follow up with. Connections and networking, both topics discussed in the panel, are pivotal to success in this field; therefore, we are ecstatic to have been able to receive these connections.
“This panel would not have been possible without Dr. Roy and his assistance in providing the physicians and connecting with me on how to make this event a great success,” Pitingaro added. “GVSU Pre-Med Club is happy to work with Dr. Roy and create a great partnership to give students the resources and tools to be as successful as they can be.”