For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, a special event recently was held to thank and celebrate the volunteers who spend countless hours serving as mentors to OUWB students.
具体地说, they serve in these roles through the school’s program, “Promoting Reflection and Individual Growth Through Support and Mentoring” (棱镜).
棱镜 provides a multi-layered system of support, along with a four-year curriculum that focuses on personal growth, 健康, 职业发展. Monthly sessions create opportunities for reflections and small group discussions.
There are eight 棱镜 groups for every class at OUWB, with each led by a volunteer mentor who sticks with the group throughout medical school — starting with giving students their first white coats during orientation and ending with hooding those same students four years later at commencement.
During the appreciation event held Feb. 22号，在梅多布鲁克大厅, 40 current 棱镜 mentors and guests enjoyed networking with each other prior to dinner and brief comments from 克里斯托弗·卡彭特，硕士.D.临时院长斯蒂芬·夏普(Stephan Sharf).
He identified the 棱镜 volunteers as “valued members of the school who contribute to the success of OUWB.”
“You are not simply volunteers…you are volunteers who have carved out time from your busy schedules to inspire the next generation of physicians,他说.
“我代表OUWB, 尤其是我们的学生, I thank you for your commitment to the 棱镜 program,他补充道.
为什么志愿者?
克里斯托弗·卡彭特，硕士.D.临时院长斯蒂芬·夏普(Stephan Sharf), thanked the 棱镜 mentors. |
成为棱镜的导师, an individual must be a Corewell健康 physician, 公开大学商学院的一员, and have the capacity to attend monthly sessions. (More information about the program can be 在这里找到.)
Varsha Karamchandani, m.s.D., a psychiatrist, 棱镜 mentor, and course co-director, explained why 棱镜 is so important at OUWB.
“医疗 students need a sense of direction, and our 棱镜 mentors are role models who offer all of the right things that we want,”她说。.
“What we hope with mentors is that students feel supported and cared for so they can model this and there is a ripple effect,她补充道。.
While networking at the appreciation dinner, mentors reflected on why they feel it’s important to serve in the role.
“I wanted to serve as a good, positive influence on these young physicians,” said John Tu, M.D., internal medicine doctor and mentor for members of the Class of 2024.
“The earlier you can guide and steer them in the right way, chances are they will become better physicians,他补充道.
Melissa Bayci, m.s.D., OUWB ’15, is an OB-Gyn and serves as a 棱镜 mentor for members of OUWB’s Class of 2027.
She said she remembers how much 棱镜 meant to her, which is why she wanted to give back.
“I felt very fortunate to have the 棱镜 course when I was a student and I wanted to give back to the next generation of physicians,贝齐说。. “I really like the idea of being able to coat them in their first year and hood them in their fourth year and see, 并成为这种增长的一部分.”
伯克利·布朗博士.D., 副院长, 学生事务, 以及棱镜课程的联合主任, said the hope is that — through the special dinner — the mentors felt appreciated by Carpenter and the 棱镜 leadership team.
“It was heartwarming to be able to demonstrate our gratitude with this dinner and such beautiful surroundings like Meadow Brook,”她说。. “It seems that everyone had fun and enjoyed being able to spend time with each other outside of the normal routine, 对我们来说, being able to create this special moment for our 棱镜 mentors to offer our thanks was a success.”
马修·迪南伯格，m.s.D., 椅子, 儿科, OUWB, and 棱镜 mentor for members of the Class of 2026, said it was “great to feel appreciated” — and connect with other mentors.
“We’re here for the students and the appreciation part of this is great,他说. “But the best part is just to get together and see like-minded folks who are here to help the students and the next generation of physicians.”
Interested in being a 棱镜 mentor? Contact Karen Smith, coordinator, at (电子邮件保护).
For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, at (电子邮件保护).
To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & 市场营销 网页.
