Lawrence Today magazine, Summer 2009
By Marti Gillespie
David Hines ’76 was bringing a message of hope. As he stood before three dozen students assembled at Björklunden, the infectious disease specialist from Oak Park, Ill., shared the story of how he used a little bit of creativity and a lot of determination to realize his dream of becoming a third-generation physician — despite graduating from Lawrence with a modest 2.94 GPA.
“I didn’t distinguish myself in any academic way,” said Hines, “But I really wanted to be a physician. So I knew my path to medicine would be an indirect one.” Spurned by medical schools in the United States, Hines took a year off, worked as a maintenance man in his hometown of Austin, Texas, and regrouped. Soon he was accepted into medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico. Two years later he transferred to Rush Medical College in Chicago. Twelve years after graduating from Lawrence, Dr. David Hines began his career as a physician.
Somewhere in the crowd Tatiana Briceno ’10 was smiling. It was just the experience she had hoped to hear about. “Being able to see that it’s OK not to be a perfect student motivates me to reach the goal,” she said. “It may not be as fast as some people do, but someday I’ll get there.”
Hines’ presentation was part of Medical Muse VI — an event at Björklunden that brought together students interested in health careers with Lawrence alumni for a weekend filled with discussion and discovery. All took different paths to get where they are today but the end result was the same — they all fulfilled their dreams of becoming doctors, chiropractors, and other medical health professionals.
Organized by the Lawrence Health Careers Advisory Committee, the 2009 Medical Muse included everything from formal presentations to casual conversations on the deck and around the lodge’s fire pit. “Because medicine is such a challenging field it’s important for students to hear from practicing physicians and have the opportunity to network and identify some mentors along the way,” said Ellen Wenberg ’99, a family medicine and geriatrics physician from Waupaca, Wis. “Then they can determine whether it’s the right career for them.” Event organizer Nick Maravolo, professor of biology, agreed. “I’ve had students go up there and come back and realize that medicine isn’t the career or the lifestyle they want, and that’s good. I’ve had others who have come back who are marginal students, marginal applicants for the professional school who have said, ‘Gee, I have to work harder, it’s even more exciting than I thought it would be.’” Chris Jankowski ’84, a consultant in anesthesiology at Mayo Clinic and assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Medical School, Graduate School and School of Allied Health Sciences, presented at Medical Muse a year ago. He said that the weekend provided a tremendous service to students by giving them the opportunity to better understand the challenges and rewards of choosing a career in medicine. “The students get to see both ends of the spectrum — primary care and subspecialized academic medicine. This allows them to make more informed career choices, something that will benefit them and, ultimately, the profession.”
No matter what their area of specialty, the physicians spoke frankly with the students about the challenges and rewards that lie ahead.
“The only constant in medicine and health care is change,” said Paul Loomis ’84, a family medicine specialist from Eau Claire, Wis. “I’m hoping to instill in them the message that we may not necessarily know what our predestined path is, but if you are flexible and adaptable — the things a Lawrence education teaches you — you’ll find your niche and you’ll do fine.”
“The temptation is there to go for the higher paying jobs and the lure of a big salary,” said Boyd Miller ’84, a pediatrician from Milwaukee. “You need to choose something you know you’ll love 20 to 25 years down the road. You’ll want to still enjoy the work.”
For a student interested in pursuing a career in medicine or any of the allied health fields, attending Medical Muse is just one piece of an invigorating academic puzzle that includes a preceptorship program that allows students to job shadow physicians, paid internships through a Kasel Fund grant, and the one-on-one interaction and mentoring with professors that is the hallmark of a Lawrence education. “We help students construct a curriculum that will prepare them for professional school,” said Beth De Stasio ’82, professor of biology and Raymond H. Herzog Professor of Science, a member of the Health Careers Advisory Committee. “I think practicing physicians realize that to be really good requires skills and knowledge of a type that is honed in the liberal arts — an ability to communicate clearly with a wide variety of people, an ability to understand and appreciate diversity, problem solving and critical thinking, knowledge not only of science, but also of psychology, economics and things outside directly relevant disciplinesso one can communicate with patients and lead a balanced life.”
Laura Houser ’03, in the final year of a three-year residency in pediatrics at UW-Madison, attended Medical Muse as an undergraduate, and came back in 2008 as one of the alumni presenters. “As a student, the weekend was memorable because meeting Lawrence alums who were practicing physicians made my goal of becoming a doctor more attainable. I was excited by the opportunity to participate last year because I saw it as a chance to provide information, encouragement and realistic expectations to current Lawrence students. Medical training is a long and difficult process — my presentation focused on advice for navigating the path to becoming a doctor.” Students valued the chance for one-on-one interaction with the physicians. “It’s nice to hear the other side of what medicine is about,” said Joshua Scheck ’10. We see the glitz and glamour on TV shows and that kind of gives people the wrong idea of what medicine is. It’s nice to hear that these doctors have it under wraps — finding the balance between home and medicine.”
Wenberg credited Lawrence’s liberal arts curriculum for bringing balance to her life. “Lawrence taught me that it’s not important to just be a doctor, I need to be a wife and a mother, too.
Maravolo, who has been tracking the number of Lawrence graduates admitted to medical school since 1966, said over the long term the college averages eight students a year. He noted, however, that in 1978 two dozen Lawrentians made the cut. As of graduation day, the Class of 2009 included eight students already accepted into medical school.
Whether their future path is clear or is still up in the air, Lawrence’s Medical Muse — combined with the sanctuary of Björklunden — provided everyone who was there (students and physicians alike) a unique chance to focus on where they’ve been, how they got there, and where they’re going next. “I was impressed with the intelligence and thoughtfulness of the students,” said Jankowski. “Their questions revealed a great deal of preparation and insight. And their enthusiasm was infectious. I went back to work the next week with renewed energy.”
“Opportunities like this are priceless,” said Brent Nathan ’10, who also got a chance to shadow Hines a year ago. “You can’t replace this anywhere else. The feedback from the doctors, their encouragement, hearing what they appreciate out of their careers — it’s been really positive.”
And while he ponders his future, Nathan is confident of one thing: “Ten years from now if there’s a Dr. Nathan, he hopes to return to the Medical Muse.”
