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MEDICAL STUDENT

PERSPECTIVES

Med Student Perspectives:

AN INTRODUCTION

By Darren Donahue

F or many it seems that their years in medical school self, medical school presents the frustration of costly education cou-
were over in a flash. But regardless of whether med- pled with unpaid labor. Admirably, despite the time and financial
ical school is remembered fondly or otherwise, I’m strain, medical students in Bexar County volunteer regularly, taking
sure you recall the sleepless nights, endless books, advantage of the unique opportunity to provide our time to those
who cannot otherwise afford medical care. Since there is so much
board exam studying, and the desperate attempt to provide your more to these four years than just lectures and clinical rotations,
many students have written about how they are donating what little
team with some value on your clinical rotations. In most cases, med- extra time they have. Based on their articles alone, the benefit Bexar
County medical students provide to the community is clear.
ical school is that transitionary period between undergraduate stud-
Finally, the expression “drinking from a fire hose” gets thrown
ies and finding one’s place as a professional in the community. around a lot due to the sheer volume of information medical stu-
dents are expected to learn during their time in medical school. But
San Antonio Medicine last dedicated an issue to student writing in this time is about more than just memorizing the seemingly endless
stream of facts that are thrown at us. Medical school teaches us how
March 2014. But medical students make up an increasingly large to think and use those facts to benefit those around us. It is a truly
formative experience and as such it ought to profoundly influence
proportion of the Bexar County medical community. UT Health our personal plans for the future and provide a lens through which
we interpret current events and societal issues. The articles con-
San Antonio has four classes of approximately 200 students each tributed by several students clearly demonstrate this influence as
they think about their future careers in medicine as well as how is-
and the University of the Incarnate Word’s first class in its School sues such as obesity, vaccination attitudes, and gun violence affect
our community.
of Osteopathic Medicine has over 150. As UIW expands and fills
Thank you for reading and if you would like contact information
out its four classes, Bexar County’s medical student population will for any of our student authors, don’t hesitate to send me an email
at Donahued@uthscsa.edu.
undoubtedly grow in terms of numbers and in diversity, enabling it
Darren Donahue is a former practicing attorney and MS2
to serve more patients in more ways. Within a few years there will at UT Health San Antonio. He is a member of the BCMS
Publications Committee.
be almost 1,500 students in this county all doing their best to learn

the ropes, give something back to the community, and form their

professional identities. And just as medical school is a transitionary

period, I believe San Antonio is also in such a period as it begins

educating a larger percentage of our future doctors. Therefore, I

think this is a great time to check the pulse of San Antonio’s medical

student body and see what they have to say.

In this issue we have assembled thoughts from 15 students learn-

ing medicine here in San Antonio. Each took a different road to

medical school and to that end, several students have described how

they got here. From healthcare pipeline programs, to working in

fast food, to growing up the Rio Grande Valley, these disparate

paths surely influence how each will approach medicine and plan

their future careers.

Much to the chagrin of second career medical students like my-

14 San Antonio Medicine • January 2018