Dean Folberg

[You have been forewarned: this will be a long entry…]

Surprisingly, I got a full 7 hours of rest last night and woke up with an adrenaline rush. After popping out of bed and scrolling through my favorite morning websites [email, news, blogs, Facebook… etc], I got dressed and ready to head out the door.

As I drove toward the school, I panicked for a moment: time suddenly feels like it’s speeding up — wasn’t it just yesterday that I sat before my birthday cake candles and wished for a medical school acceptance? I continued to drive on and noticed an elderly woman walking. I couldn’t help but think: she looks satisfied — I hope that someday I will be able to look back and feel fulfillment. By the time this second thought floated into my head, I was merging onto I-75 North toward University Drive [Exit 79] and needed to direct my attention toward the trucks blocking my exit lane.

I wanted to arrive at the school early enough to write a full blog entry, but was caught off-guard by the numerous news trucks reporting either in the parking lot or right outside of the O’Dowd study rooms. Then, of course, one of my peers arrived and I settled for an entry dedicated to the breakfast they set up for us in the Medical Student Lounge. After hitting “Publish Post,” I put my laptop away and chatted with people as they came in [it felt eerily comfortable to introduce myself to my new peers because I almost felt like I already knew everyone from the Facebook group].

After filling out a couple of forms and checking that the lock on my locker can indeed be cracked using the code given to us, I received my new laptop in a functional computer bag embroidered with the words “OUWB Charter Class of 2015.” We also received USB flash drives. While I already own a 13″ MBP, I was excited to play with the new Mac OS, Lion. Since the day was jam packed with activities, I have only had the chance to turn the new laptop on, and change my password [oh, and take a pretty picture of it for you guys to see!].

Our first orientation session of the day was a heartfelt introduction from Dean Folberg [his story is truly an inspiration and one of the reasons I was drawn to the school in the first place]. A couple of things that stood out to me during his presentation [I apologize if these aren’t perfectly quoted!]:

• “characteristic of a mentor — making time for students” YES! I love the sound of this!
• “no one has the right to embarrass anyone at anytime” I’m glad to hear that the climate of medical education is shifting away from unnecessary embarrassment
• Dean Folberg also painted a beautiful image of who our Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education, Dr. Michele D. Raible, was before she passed away — I wish I could have met her myself; she sounded like a wonderful woman with a world of experience to share with our class
• And finally: “we wish you abundant success…”

We were then introduced to the Dean’s Team, heard an enthusiastic overview of orientation week by Ms. Jean Szura [I love her last name because it’s the first that I have encountered that also has an “sz-” beginning, like my middle name] and took a short break before Dr. Nuzzarello introduced us to “The Profession of Medicine.”

• What is a profession? The example was, do you think that someone on the street corner selling newspapers has a profession?
• Professionalism. This has become an increasingly important topic with slow decline in dress code enforcement.
• Accountability
• Respect for the learning environment
• Social media. A very important topic to me!

But the part of her presentation that touched me was the video — she compiled a wonderful video of interviews with several Beaumont doctors who wanted to share advice from their journey with us. Each section was tied around the modern version of the Hippocratic Oath, known as the Declaration of Geneva. I won’t give more detail than that [you’ll have to be admitted to hear their wisdom], but I will say that I did hear some sniffles from my peers at the conclusion and I personally was moved by their words [serious kudos to you, Dr. Nuzzarello!].

Afterwards, we were directed to the activities fair and luncheon — let me tell you, I never expected to find a group of people applauding us as we ascended up the stairs of the Oakland Center. It felt weird. Anyway, during this time, I ate food, walked around and was interviewed twice [I know you want hear how fast I was talking during my interview]. We were also honored with the President of the Oakland County Medical Society, Dr. Sherwin Imlay. Oh, and we got the famous Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy as a gift from the Society. Thank you!