Student Vital Signs

by John LeMoine, MS II Drexel University College of Medicine/Tower

My name is John LeMoine. I am 24 years old and a second-year medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Heath. I am a member of the inaugural class of the new campus in West Reading, PA. I was invited to represent the other West Reading medical students as part of the Berks County Medical Society, and to write this column for the Medical Record providing insight into the issues facing medical students. I wanted to take this first opportunity to introduce myself and discuss the life of a medical student today.

I was raised in Apex, North Carolina, a small but expanding town about twenty minutes southwest of Raleigh. I attended high school in Apex and stayed in NC to attend the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill for college, from which I graduated in 2020. Afterward, with the dream of attending medical school, I spent a year saving money while employed as a medical scribe in the UNC Emergency Department and as an education counselor at the Durham Museum of Life and Science.

It is well-established that medical school is a difficult endeavor, and the challenges begin well before sitting in a med school classroom. To matriculate, one must volunteer in the community, shadow physicians, attend four years of arduous undergraduate courses, establish the right contacts, and pass the infamous MCAT (Medical College Admission Test). But above all, one must discover and develop one’s unique passion for medicine in order to survive the gauntlet of becoming a physician.

I am asked quite frequently, by peers and essay prompts alike, why I chose to become a doctor. I have found that the best way to answer that question is with observations and anecdotes, one of which I will share briefly. I used to drive by a lake on the way to work and during the summers and I would watch people swim and play, listening to their laughter. I realized that we, as humans, seem to live for something bigger than ourselves. I learned that happiness and the opportunity for good health were fundamental human rights. I knew that with my love for the sciences, I could help the most people attain this opportunity through serving as a physician.

Medical school is challenging, yes, but it is equally enjoyable. I love what I study, and I have experienced a family-like atmosphere with my exceptionally small class size of 40 students at the West Reading campus. We study together, struggle together, and succeed together. At least at the West Reading campus, gone is the day of cutthroat and selfishly competitive medicine. The students and staff collaborate and grow in the unique strengths of each other. We study the bulk of the material independently, and then meet to work in groups discussing relevant cases, interviewing standardized patients, and performing physical exams on high-tech mannequins. Students also partner to develop community engagement projects in Berks County, such as new student-run free clinics, Latinx advocacy groups, and even a pickle ball club!

Starting in May 2023, my fellow classmates and I will finish our classroom studies and begin our clinical rotations at Reading Hospital. We are all very excited to join the healthcare team and are dedicated to improving the health for all those living in and around Berks County. I look forward to sharing these experiences in the coming editions of the Medical Record.