Student Interest Fair offers preview of things to come
By Christopher Austin
Preparing to be a physician can be one of the most gratifying goals in the world, but also one of the most stressful. Add to that the pressure of studying and being an active member of the military, and things can get taxing. To help with this, students at the Uniformed Services University (USU) have taken it upon themselves to form student interest groups based around their focuses both in the medical field and life in general.
These groups were on display at the Student Interest Fair that USU students hold at the beginning of the academic year to show new students what extracurricular activities they can take part in.
“All I’ve heard today is how much people study here, so it’s nice to go out and see what other things people are doing, and a lot of it seems really fun,” said Army 2nd Lt. Sneha Singh, a new student in the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine (SOM) at USU. “I honestly would burn out really easily if all I had to do was study. It’s nice to have a place where you can take a break, or supplement your skills in one of the interest group labs.”
The goal of student interest groups is to give everyone at USU an opportunity to come together with people who share common interests. These can be the kind you find at any university, like the USU Bike Club, which promotes riding bicycles as a primary means of transportation, or around sports like the USU Fighting Docs hockey team.
“I think biking is not only exercise, but it can be a lot of fun,” said Army 2nd Lt. John Sommerfeldt, a student in the SOM and the president of the USU Bike Club. “It’s a great stress reliever for students, staff, faculty, researchers working on projects… We’re hoping to find some races and have regular rides that people can join in on.”
Many groups are open to any students, staff and faculty who want to join, while others are focused on the academic pursuits of students. For nearly every field that a future doctor might want to enter, there’s an interest group that allows them to shadow medical professionals and even take part in certain procedures.
“OB/GYN is really broad and is comprised of primary care, surgery and procedures,” said Navy Ensign Sarah Wright, a second-year medical student in the SOM. She manned the Obstetrics and Gynecology Interest Group table at the Student Interest Fair. “It’s such a broad discipline, it’s really cool to see all these things, to go to the ultrasound clinic and watch the maternal-fetal medicine docs do a fetal anatomical screening, and then go watch a hysterectomy using robotic surgery, a C-section, a delivery.”
Normally, students in the SOM don’t become involved in such procedures until later in medical school. The interest groups give them the opportunity to get a preview of what lies ahead of them in those fields, before they have to make a commitment to them.
“I remember coming in as a first-year medical student and realizing I was a bit overwhelmed by everything that was going on, and wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do as a future physician,” said Army 2nd Lt. Katey Della-Giustina who, as the vice president of the Class of 2020, organized the fair. “I think [the fair] is a good way to meet different physicians in this career, find out what they do and what they like about it. Also, if you’re into sports or religious groups, it’s also a good way to meet other people.”
Preparing to be a physician can be one of the most gratifying goals in the world, but also one of the most stressful. Add to that the pressure of studying and being an active member of the military, and things can get taxing. To help with this, students at the Uniformed Services University (USU) have taken it upon themselves to form student interest groups based around their focuses both in the medical field and life in general.
These groups were on display at the Student Interest Fair that USU students hold at the beginning of the academic year to show new students what extracurricular activities they can take part in.
“All I’ve heard today is how much people study here, so it’s nice to go out and see what other things people are doing, and a lot of it seems really fun,” said Army 2nd Lt. Sneha Singh, a new student in the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine (SOM) at USU. “I honestly would burn out really easily if all I had to do was study. It’s nice to have a place where you can take a break, or supplement your skills in one of the interest group labs.”
The goal of student interest groups is to give everyone at USU an opportunity to come together with people who share common interests. These can be the kind you find at any university, like the USU Bike Club, which promotes riding bicycles as a primary means of transportation, or around sports like the USU Fighting Docs hockey team.
“I think biking is not only exercise, but it can be a lot of fun,” said Army 2nd Lt. John Sommerfeldt, a student in the SOM and the president of the USU Bike Club. “It’s a great stress reliever for students, staff, faculty, researchers working on projects… We’re hoping to find some races and have regular rides that people can join in on.”
Many groups are open to any students, staff and faculty who want to join, while others are focused on the academic pursuits of students. For nearly every field that a future doctor might want to enter, there’s an interest group that allows them to shadow medical professionals and even take part in certain procedures.
“OB/GYN is really broad and is comprised of primary care, surgery and procedures,” said Navy Ensign Sarah Wright, a second-year medical student in the SOM. She manned the Obstetrics and Gynecology Interest Group table at the Student Interest Fair. “It’s such a broad discipline, it’s really cool to see all these things, to go to the ultrasound clinic and watch the maternal-fetal medicine docs do a fetal anatomical screening, and then go watch a hysterectomy using robotic surgery, a C-section, a delivery.”
“I remember coming in as a first-year medical student and realizing I was a bit overwhelmed by everything that was going on, and wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do as a future physician,” said Army 2nd Lt. Katey Della-Giustina who, as the vice president of the Class of 2020, organized the fair. “I think [the fair] is a good way to meet different physicians in this career, find out what they do and what they like about it. Also, if you’re into sports or religious groups, it’s also a good way to meet other people.”