#myVUSM
A glimpse into the next year of Social Mission at VUSM
Aug. 1, 2021—by Emma Mattson This fall, M3s Eki Olumese and Helen Gambrah take over co-directorship of the Social Mission Committee. Olumese and Gambrah will be the organization’s third set of co-presidents since its official student organization status in 2019, and they’re thrilled to begin this year’s work. In fact, Gambrah and Olumese both entered medical school...
Wellness priorities a year after COVID: A conversation with Katie McKay and LeAnn Lam
Jul. 26, 2021—by Emma Mattson The Student Wellness Committee (SWC) transitions leadership this fall, as 2019-20 presidents Jaclyn Lee and Cooper March pass the torch to Katie McKay (M4) and LeAnn Lam (M3). Both McKay and Lam dove into wellness work almost as soon as they arrived on Vanderbilt’s campus. “I’ve known from when I got to...
A Year Like No Other: M2 shares powerful stories from clerkship year
Jul. 19, 2021—intro by Emma Mattson & reflection by M2 student This summer, our M2s reached an important medical school milestone: completing their six core clerkships. Besides marking the halfway point through medical school, the end of clerkship year also signifies that you’re ready to take on increased clinical responsibilities during your Immersion Phase. The M2 year...
COVID-19 fundraiser organizers reflect on med students’ role in global health
Jul. 12, 2021—by Emma Mattson In early May 2021, in the middle of an intense Brain, Behavior & Movement block, one question was simmering in M1 Shreyas Krishnapura’s head: How could the Vanderbilt community contribute to COVID-19 relief in India, which was being particularly hard hit by the pandemic? Now, six weeks later, the fundraiser organized by...
Next Generation of CCO Leaders Share Words of Encouragement
Jun. 23, 2021—by Emma Mattson “The biggest thing on my mind is reuniting our School of Medicine family after the COVID time,” says Leland Dunwoodie (M4), who took office this spring as the Executive President of the Council of Class Officers (CCO). Dunwoodie, who has served as president for the Class of 2022 for the past three...
LGBT MD’s Inaugural Pride Month Speaker Series kicks off this June
Jun. 14, 2021—by Emma Mattson LGBT MD jumpstarted their inaugural Pride Month speaker series this June, connecting VUSM students with a variety of medical experts deeply engaged in serving the LGBTQ community. Per LGBT MD co-presidents, Camille Wang and Kevin Guo, the series began as an effort to introduce med students to the important initiatives for LGBTQ...
Student-Led Fundraiser for COVID-19 Relief in India Gathers Widespread Support
May. 27, 2021—by Emma Mattson The VUSM community can now give directly to COVID-19 relief efforts in India through a new fundraiser organized by med students Shreyas Krishnapura (M1) and Maddy Ball (M2). All gifts to the fundraiser will go to the Chinmaya Mission, an organization that works directly with numerous hospitals throughout India to purchase necessary...
M1 Gabriel Bendfeldt Kickstarts New Student Org Focused on Rural Health
May. 6, 2021—by Emma Mattson First-year med student Gabriel Bendfeldt first discovered his passion for rural health and medicine when he spent time serving in rural Peru, but he soon found that it applied just as much in a very different setting: Nashville, TN. Per Bendfeldt, VUMC cares for a sizable number of rural patients, but med...
An End and a Beginning: Three VPIL teams reflect on Capstone projects, interdisciplinary teamwork, and the future
Apr. 30, 2021—by Emma Mattson For M2 Bushra Rahman, this April meant saying some bittersweet goodbyes. As a first-year med student, Rahman joined the Vanderbilt Program for Interprofessional Learning (VPIL). In the almost two years since then, she’s worked on an interdisciplinary team alongside nursing, pharmacy, and social work students to provide holistic care to clinic patients....
Project VINE offers med students a new avenue for holistic patient care
Apr. 26, 2021—M3s Alan Grusky, Christian Nguyen, and Santiago Angaramo kickstarted a new student organization at VUSM this spring: Project VINE, the Vanderbilt Initiative for Nutrition and Exercise. The student organization, which will work closely with the Shade Tree Clinic and other community partners, uses education, advocacy, and community service to equip medical students to provide holistic...
M2 Eki Olumese and VUMC leaders speak at ceremony to unveil Vivien Thomas Way
Apr. 8, 2021—by Emma Mattson An April 7th celebration unveiled Nashville’s newest street sign: Vivien Thomas Way. The street’s name was changed this spring from “Dixie Place,” an old moniker of the Confederacy which had lingered on Vanderbilt’s campus for decades. VUSM leaders and members of the Committee to Rename Dixie Place spoke at the outside ceremony,...
Why you should count teaching as an essential part of your medical journey
Apr. 5, 2021—by Emma Mattson M4 Daniel Pereira has a message for med students: teaching is part of your calling. Pereira, who will begin orthopedic surgery residency this summer, has maintained an enthusiasm for medical education for years. In the past academic year alone, he engaged in translation work for Nashville’s Department of Health, taught a beginner’s...
Behind the Scenes of the M2 Practical Skills Elective
Mar. 25, 2021—by Emma Mattson The unique Practical Skills elective starts its third session of the year next week, and three new leaders are joining the team: Amany Alshibli, Lex Erath, and Jessa Fogel. M4s Peety Kaur, Andrew Rees, and Hannah Kay have led this two-week elective, which runs three times each year, through the 2020-2021 academic...
What does it take to make a change? Med students publish a toolkit to end racialized medicine
Mar. 21, 2021—by Emma Mattson This month five Vanderbilt M2s published an online toolkit sharing how med students led the charge for a VUMC-wide elimination of race-adjustment in a key measure of renal function. The resource, entitled “CAR Toolkit to End Racialized Medicine: eGFR Edition,” breaks their process down into manageable steps so that med students at...
WICP brought telehealth to Shade Tree before the pandemic— and their hard work paid off in unexpected ways
Mar. 8, 2021—by Emma Mattson When med students Austin Triana and Kaustav Shah kickstarted an interdisciplinary consulting program back in 2019, one of their first projects addressed telehealth opportunities at the Shade Tree Clinic. The team had no idea how relevant their project would quickly become. Since its creation in 2019, the Wond’ry Innovation Consulting Program has...