The Loveliest Village

There are several organizations and student programs on Auburn’s campus that provide honoring and awarding opportunities for students. However sometimes these organizations become overlooked and do not receive the recognition deserved. The Medical D program for pre-health majors is one of the outstanding programs at Auburn University that goes unnoticed or unrecognized by individuals that are non-members. Medical D provides students who are pursuing careers in health-related professions with volunteer opportunities and contributes services to the community through the students’ work.

The Medical D’s motto is, “Providing Service to the Healthcare Sector and Opportunities for Students,â€? and it does exactly that and much more. Each member of the program volunteers at the East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC) weekly for two hours. During their volunteering, they are able provide service to the hospital staff and patients while learning and watching the different sectors of the health field. The Medical D volunteers learn how to be polite and responsible through the hands on experience they receive while at the hospital. “Choosing to pursue a career in the health professions is a lofty goal. The road to achieving this goal can be long and difficult,” said Beverley Childress, Medical D faculty advisor and College of Sciences and Mathematics Director of Pre-Professional Programs.

Virginia Planz, a senior majoring in biomedical sciences says, “I really am appreciative of my time I spend volunteering through the Medical D program. Not only am I able to experience all aspects of the health field, but I am also able to learn life lessons from interaction with the patients while making a difference in their lives.�

However many do not realize the services the Medical D volunteers are contributing to the healthcare community of Auburn/Opelika and the differences they are making in patients’ lives. The volunteers have opportunities to work with patients one-on-one transporting them around the hospital or all the way up to assisting with the AIDS Outreach Program. “There have been so many opportunities for me to make a difference in a patient’s life through being a Medical D volunteer. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a smile to brighten their day or if you assist in improving their medical condition, you know that are always making a difference for a patient,� states Planz.

Each member of Auburn’s Medical D program continually makes a difference in the community by volunteering at EAMC hospital. Volunteers have impacted and influenced the attitudes of EAMC employees and fellow community members. Medical D members are supported and valued by employees because of their committed efforts to the hospital’s health care. Also, they have “received positive feedback from patients and patients’ families on their outstanding concern, care and time they devote to individual patients,� says Jennifer Canon, Registered Nurse and Case Manager at EAMC.

One of the foundations that make this organization so great for Auburn University pre-health students is that while they are contributing to the community, they are also gaining valuable experience that will prepare them for medical school and place them above other candidates. Medical D offers members volunteering experience in a wide range of opportunities that is easily accessible because it has already been set up for them by the university. Members do not have to search around to set up volunteering hours on their own; it is a huge benefit that is gained through membership of the program. Fran Stafford, president of Medical D states, “The hospital is kind of an impenetrable fortress if you don’t have an ‘in,’ such as our liason with the Human Resources department at EAMC.” Also the experience this program offers to the volunteers improves their healthcare knowledge and gives them an impressive edge over other pre-health students who do not participate.

“I joined Medical D because it offers a wide variety of experience in the health field and saves a lot of time and complication that comes with setting up the volunteer time on your own. Also, the experience helps pre-health students decided which area of medicine they specifically want to work in,� says Planz.

Gaining membership into the Medical D program is a serious process that is an important step for pre-health majors. Membership is capped off at 30 members and the selection process occurs at the beginning of each fall semester. The requirements for membership of the Medical D program consists of completing the required application, completing an interview process, maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.2 and having minimum status of a sophomore who has been a pre-health student for at least one semester at Auburn. The selection process of the program is a tedious task that evaluates applicants on the basis of their overall and science GPAs, application materials including the essays and resumes and the personal interview. Receiving membership into the Medical D program is an outstanding honor and reflects great quality within the student.

Stafford as president organizes and executes the panel interviews along with corresponding with EAMC, Childress, and any volunteer site directors who have questions about our program. Being former treasurer and current president of Medical D has benefitted Stafford beyond what she could have ever imagined. “In addition, organizing and executing the panel interviews that we have with all applicants has really helped me prepare for my med school interviews. I can now kind of see what gaps are left when someone looks at my application, what kind of answers are transparent, and what tactics work best when handling ethical questions that you’re sometimes asked as an applicant,” says Stafford.

The Medical D program is not just an organization on Auburn University’s campus. It is a group circle that works together with all the members and the EAMC hospital to contribute to the community, the hospital patients and to increase their health care knowledge to strive in becoming the best health care professionals they can be. Childress states, “All of these individuals have gone above and beyond the call of duty in assisting the community and reaching their personal and professional goals. They have shared their time and expertise to inspire and motivate others while volunteering through this program.â€?

Click to launch pop up and have the text portion read to you.