Medical School Trip to Stanford

Written by Arnecia Smith, Vice president of Public Relations, and Monarita Handa, Vice president of Community Service. They attended AMSA ARC’s trip to Stanford Medical School on May 30, 2007.

We awoke especially early on the morning of Wednesday May 30th with excitement and anticipation of our visit to Stanford University; our hearts were thumping. We all decided to carpool together. It was encouraging to meet students like ourselves with the common thread of one day becoming medical professionals. Many of us were at various stages of our journey to medicine, all of us ready and willing to support one another. Yet this time we were headed to Stanford to get a closer glimpse of life as a medical student.

When we arrived on campus we were immediately impressed by the unique architectural design of the buildings, which provided us with a view of Stanford’s creativity and diversity. It was slightly mind-blowing and intimidating as the Stanford building appeared and as we saw the busy, ambitious students of Stanford University go about in their daily duties. We met in the Clark Center Auditorium for introductions and welcome to the campus. We were greeted by Fred Tovar, Greg Vaughn, Fernando Vasquez and Dr. Ronald Garcia. We felt very fortunate that these gentlemen took time out of their very busy schedules to plan a special day just for us. We appreciated how they provided us with the insiders view on how to best position ourselves to get into medical school. We were able to envision a day in the life of a Stanford medical student.

As our day began we were provided with an agenda then introduced to Dr. Ronald Garcia. He is known as one of the most influential people in the Bay Area. He provided us with inspiration and words of wisdom. He encouraged us to be involved in the planning and implementation of our annual pre-medical conferences. He also informed us of how much of an impact we are making in the community by bringing awareness to various community colleges. He encouraged us to truly understand what our passion is, learn what we could do to change our community, and find a way to leave a legacy. He urged us to focus on finding ways to address the issue of health care disparities that exist in America. We were encouraged to learn how to provide and fight for solutions for health access, cost, and quality for health care. At that time Dr. Garcia had to depart and our day continued on with further enlightening information.

At that time we were provided with knowledge of: prerequisite courses, community leadership and research experience desired, MCAT preparation, the process of applying to medical school, the admission process and even interview tips. We were provided with a wealth of information and given valuable advice. It was made clear that the notion of one size fits all does not exits at Stanford. One must strive for excellence but does not have to be perfect. Yes, grades are important but each applicant is regarded on a uniquely individualized basis. And with this knowledge it is not impossible to achieve the goal of going to medical school at Stanford.

As our day progressed, in the early afternoon we were presented with a tour of the campus as well as the Stanford Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. The environment appeared to be full of dedication, commitment and conducive to learning.

Our tour guide showed us various lecture rooms and talked about a typical schedule at Stanford. She spoke of how students have access to the lectures so that they do not need to attend the Am courses. She indicated that because of this option, there is a greater flexibility with the student’s schedule. There are many opportunities for students to gain clinical experience and research at Stanford as well as the ability for a student to get immersed in a research area of interest.

After the tour we headed back to the auditorium, where Jonnie Perez conducted the medical school student panel. It consisted of four medical students in their second and third years of medical school. Their names were: Bruno, Geoff, Shirin and Luis. Some students were traditional, others were not. We were all encouraged to pursue any interests and desire we had prior to medical school to enrich our experience as a person and as an advocate for the community.

When the panel concluded we broke for lunch and again walked around the beautiful campus. The cafeteria was quite interesting. The food looked and smelled delicious and healthy. They may have had the freshest broccoli we had ever eaten. There was also a sort of organic, green tortilla selection for burritos. After lunch we had a summer program and resource fair. It was here that any further questions about Stanford life could be addressed. We were given contact information for each of the staff and encouraged to contact them for further guidance.

Toward the end of the day we went to Stanford’s Medical Media and Information Technology Center. One must admit it was a marvelous experience. It provided interactive software so that physicians, faculty and students can practice skills needed to learn and gain medical expertise. Also, through the use of media videos, students learn to interact with various images of anatomy dissections, microbiology (bacteria, viruses, etc) and several surgical topics. Even so, one of the most fascinating aspects of working with this technology was the simulated patient and the use of various tools for simulated interactive surgery. It looked simple, but was very meticulous and tricky. Props to surgeons!

We ended the day with closing remarks and provided a warm thank you to staff and faculty. On reflecting back on our experiences that day, it felt good to know that students should not be intimidated to apply to Stanford Medical School. While at Stanford, we were provided with such a warm and welcoming environment. The medical students were open, friendly and accommodating, and the support of the faculty was tremendous. Walking along the down town streets near the Stanford campus shops we could easily see ourselves as medical students at Stanford.

As we look back on that day we are so proud to be part of AMSA ARC. It is such a great organization that coordinates funds and plans all of our wonderful medical school trips. If not for AMSA ARC we would not have had the opportunity to have such a dynamic, exhilarating experience at Stanford.