MSTP Retreat
The annual MSTP retreat, organized by the rising G3 class, was held at Montgomery Bell State Park from June 30th to July 1st. The weekend offered a wonderful balance between scientific endeavors, professional development, inter-class mingling, and some well-deserved wellness! Not only that, the MSTP was able to take brand new headshots for our newly revamped student directory. Check it out here, with special thanks to Evonne McArthur (G1) and Joe Luchsinger (G3).
From poster sessions to talks by G-phase students gearing to return to medical school over the next year, the retreat exposed junior M-phase students, searching for their scientific home, to the types of opportunities available, and gave G-phase and senior M-phase students an occasion to appreciate the breadth of knowledge and expertise available among their peers.
The keynote speech was by Jonathan Schoenecker, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Schoenecker, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon whose research focuses on coagulation, shared his experiences on how to choose a field of study (and package it in an appealing manner for funding agencies) and how to navigate the pipeline of a physician-scientist career, like negotiating for resources while transitioning between different phases of training. Finally, he also described some demands a rigorous career path might make of personal relationships and his wisdom on how to refine personal and professional relationships to ensure success. The class-specific breakout sessions continued to focus on building some of the skills as emphasized in Dr. Schoenecker’s talk. For instance, the rising G1s learned about navigating conflicts in the lab, whereas the rising M2s and returning M3s learned how to shine on the wards. Interspersed were some thoughtfully planned physician-scientist themed activities: having your teammates guess PCR during Pictionary is harder than some of us originally thought.
While the wisdom and intellectual rigor of the weekend was much appreciated, perhaps the cherry on top of the cake was the brilliant closing remarks shared by rising M4s, Ben Fensterheim and J-N Gallant. They hilariously captured the struggles and victories every year of an MSTP, while highlighting that these 7 to 8 years transform us completely; we become a world-expert in our niche of research, and slowly, “31 y.o.F G1P1001 s/p C/S POD1 NAEON” starts to make sense.