On-the-job training Amy Martin (BS ’10), is in the first group of Medical Partnership students that graduated in May. She says she believed that her class had an obligation to give back to the community. Mercy Health Center, a free clinic just a couple of blocks from the HSC, opened its doors to the medical student volunteers, who joined UGA students from public health and pharmacy already volunteering at the site. “It showed just a lot of fortitude and a lot of drive in my classmates,” says Martin, wearing a white lab coat and stethoscope around her neck during a Wednesday night clinic. “There was no stress because it wasn’t like you were getting graded. You got to go take care of patients and realize, ‘This is what I signed up for.’” As a result of the student volunteers, Mercy now is open three nights a week instead of two, and patients no longer have to wait weeks for help. “Students are learning, Mercy is thriving and patients are getting better,” Executive Director Tracy Thompson says. By spending time in the clinic, public health, medical and pharmacy students see how working together can improve care. “Seeing the value of what a pharmacist can do, I think, has really enhanced the opportunities for the medical students,” says Dr. Trina von Waldner, director of postgraduate continuing education for the College of Pharmacy.
As part of his emergency medicine rotation, fourth-year GRU/ UGA medical student Travis Smith, left, works with Curtis Arthur and Don Pruitt of National EMS as they treat patient Orzzie Walton of Athens en route to St. Mary’s Hospital.
Our campus, your campus For medical school, Matthew Lustig (BS ’12) only had to move across Athens, where new Normaltown neighborhood bars and eateries have opened and Ike & Jane Café and Bakery has added dinner hours since the students arrived. “There was no adjustment necessary. Whereas some people had to move states, and other people were working and not in school, this has just been a straight progression,” says Lustig, class of 2016, who lives on campus. As Travis Smith (BS ’09) takes the next step in his medical career with a residency in Denver, he can’t help but grin when talking about his medical education and how the opportunities are increasing for future students. Grabbing a cup of coffee after working all day with a family medicine group in northeast Georgia’s Habersham County, he says: “There are many students just like me who are motivated and want to learn, and this is a great place for us to learn.” —Lori Johnston is a freelance writer living in Watkinsville. GET MORE medicalpartnership.usg.edu www.publichealth.uga.edu See a multimedia presentation of the Medical Partnership first class at http://t.uga.edu/Lp.
JUNE 2014 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE
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