We want to hear from you!
What are your memories of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine? The thrill of Match Day, the joy of donning your white coat for the first time? Maybe you had a memorable class, cohort or professor, or a particularly great time at Cadaver Ball? Please share these special moments here or via the form at the bottom of the page. There’s even a space to upload photos, videos and other files. We would love to share them here for all of your fellow VUSM community members to enjoy.
Alan Birnbaum, MD Class of 1975
On our first day of classes, fall of 1971, the late Dean John Chapman, MD, warned us that we would be taught an incredible amount of data and facts over four years but the very first thing to remember was that 10 years hence 50% of what we learned would be determined to be either obsolete or just outright wrong. From that we learned that education is not a static set of facts but a lifelong learning process.
Stokes Peebles, MD Class of 1986
I was fortunate to be the great-grandson of Dr. James Henry Stokes, who graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School on March 1, 1881, 105 years before I graduated in 1986. A picture of his diploma is attached. When I was a third-year medical student on my Vascular Surgery rotation, I was taking a patient's history and when I asked where he lived, he mentioned a part of Houston County, Tennessee near where my great grandfather had practiced after graduating from Vanderbilt. When I mentioned my great grandfather's name, the patient told me that he had been delivered by my great-grandfather. Having been involved in the care of a man who had been brought into the world by my great-grandfather was a highlight of my medical school time.
Linda Isaacs, MD Class of 1985
Our lab group from second-year pathology.
Jason Singer, MD Class of 2017
I think I'll always remember the key events in my medical school experience like getting my white coat, starting rotations, matching to residency, and graduation, but perhaps my favorite memories were spending time with classmates outside of VUSM organized events. Our first year of medical school, we all gathered for a big Thanksgiving meal, piling into a house nearby campus. My roommates and I made the turkey and another two classmates cooked up their own batch of hot chicken, in addition to all the other incredible food. It was a memorable time to be together at the start of our medical education journey. It felt good to know that our class, the first group of Curriculum 2.0, could share a holiday meal together and would be there to support each other through 4 years at Vanderbilt and beyond.
Do you have memories and/or photos of your time at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine? Use our form, below, to share them with your fellow alumni, students, faculty and staff. Thank you for celebrating with us.