The Long Gold and Blue Line

Last week we welcomed our new first-year medical students to WVU.

I remember my first day at WVU and, believe me, it is so much better now.

As I remember, we had a quick talk from our medical school leadership, filled out some forms, and got going. I think we were dissecting our cadavers the first week.

Our current team, led by Norm Ferrari, MD, vice dean for education; Scott Cottrell, associate dean of Student Services; and Gina Slaugenhoup and Linda Nyne, from Alumni Affairs, welcomed students with a teambuilding experience, dinners, and advice on balance and happiness.

Once they start in school, one of their classes is My First Patient, where students are instructed to take care of themselves first.

Our curriculum includes MedCHEFS, where students in our Eastern Division are taught nutrition and end up learning to cook in a healthy way.

Norm and his team have a firm hand on the wheel. The new students, all of 48 hours old, are comfortable, energetic ,and ready to proudly display the Flying WV on their new white coats.

The long gold and blue line, where I once stood and where I learned to be a doctor, has a proud history and, from the look of our new class, a very bright future.