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For Release: August 27, 2004
Contact: DMS Communications(603) 650-1492
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DMS Welcomes First-Year Class
HANOVER, NH - Dartmouth Medical School welcomed the newest group of future doctors to campus, guiding the first-year medical class through a week of orientation that extolled the importance of respect, community and teamwork.
Dean Stephen Spielberg opened orientation by pointing out an important trend in medicine that he hopes the new class embrace. "Increasingly, medicine is becoming a team sport; no individual having all of the wisdom required to care for the patients we serve," said Spielberg. "Developing the mindset of collaboration and working together with your colleagues throughout your career will help you immensely in navigating the complexities of medicine."
Impressed by the diversity and credentials of the newest class at DMS, Dartmouth President James Wright said that, "Your past accomplishments, your energy and your commitment inspire us all. We are delighted you have chosen to come to Dartmouth and we pledge to give you the very best medical education that we can give you."
Director of Admissions Andrew Welch took the opportunity to introduce the class to the DMS administration and to help familiarize the new classmates with one another. Of the approximately 5,000 applicants, the 83 new medical students in the room represented some of the strongest candidates in the school's history, signified, among other things, by the high percentage of EMTs and impressive list of medical pursuits. Welch pointed out that eight students already hold graduate degrees and several have published in professional medical journals.
The class of 2008, 58 percent of whom are women, consists of more than one quarter multicultural and international students, adding to the racial diversity of the medical campus. But the class is diverse in its pursuits as well, said Welch. The class includes a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Nepal, a chaplain at a Catholic center, a military police officer who served in Bosnia and Croatia and a vice president of an independent record label. While the students have all decided on careers in medicine, they took different routes to get here, working as surfing instructors, investment banking analysts, and helicopter ski guides, harvesting olives in Italy and teaching oceanography aboard a 130-foot schooner.
The student who taught on the schooner could easily identify with Dr. Lori Alvord's analogy of a sailboat to describe the various roles of offices and people at DMS. Her rendition of the "Flagship DMS" illustrated that while admissions got students aboard, and financial aid help pay their passage, the sails represent the curriculum at DMS and integral to that, the student affairs office is the mast that keeps everything balanced and stable as the students sail toward the horizon, The crew of the ship, the new students in this case, need to work as a team, said Alvord, associate dean for student affairs and multicultural affairs. "You need to all help one another so that everyone can move forward together."
Nick Osborne, president of the DMS student government, reminded students to get to know their "DMS family" and become involved with many activities during their time at DMS. Along those lines, Dr. Joseph O'Donnell (the "keel" on the DMS flagship) offered some sage advice in his role as senior advising dean. He implored the class to look beyond the walls of the classroom and go out and learn and volunteer in the community as well. Above, all, he told the students to respect each other and have fun, a sentiment that he brought home with the help of Aretha Franklin and some deft dancing behind the lecture podium.
The students also heard from Dr. David Nierenberg, associate dean of medical education, who outlined some new features of the curriculum. Some changes this year included a prematriculation course in which several first-year students arrived at DMS a week early to brush up on some skills, and the new school calendar to improve exam scheduling. Nierenberg also briefed the class on the inception of Dartmouth's custom-built program, D-MEDS (Dartmouth Medical Encounter Documentation System). The new computer-based program enables students track the patients they see, their diagnoses, clinical procedures they learn at clerkship sites across the country and lets faculty and advisors offer support and feedback throughout the process. This is the first year that laptops are required for all incoming students so they should have no trouble keeping their D-MEDS accounts updated.
The theme of student support set the stage for the introduction of the student and multicultural affairs office. The office issued the first challenge to the new class: to assemble a large green puzzle as quickly as they could. The class completed the puzzle in record time, reinforcing Dean Spielberg's point that teamwork is critical in medicine.
The new members of DMS spent the rest of orientation week acclimating to their surroundings and getting to know each other. They attended workshops on universal precautions and culture and the changing role of medicine, and spent a night at Mount Moosilauke. The students participated in several team-building exercises, including an afternoon at the Dartmouth ropes course where they helped one another scale a 30-foot wall with nothing but their classmates' hands and legs to assist them. This emphasis on teamwork and helping each other over seemingly insurmountable obstacles will help prepare them for their upcoming careers in medicine.
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