UF medical students get support and a peek at practice from Advisor/Mentor Program

From the first day of classes, Rupinder Tung had one less worry than many of her classmates at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine. She always knew what specialty she wanted to enter after graduation — obstetrics and gynecology.

Thanks to the college’s Advisor/Mentor Program, Tung was able to explore and confirm her interest in ob/gyn throughout all four years of medical school by spending her free time learning about real-world practice. With encouragement from her advisor/mentor, John Davis, M.D., a UF associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Tung watched procedures in the operating room, attended journal club meetings, joined an obstetrics and gynecology interest group, and completed a fourth-year research project, she said.

“It just solidified my interest in ob/gyn because I got early exposure during my first year when I was doing my basic science classes,” said Tung, headed for graduation in May, then an obstetrics and gynecology residency at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y.

Begun in 1994 in its present form, the Advisor/Mentor Program pairs every first-year medical student with a faculty physician who can offer insight, encouragement and learning opportunities to help students meet the challenges of medical school and become familiar with a specialty, said Beverly Vidaurreta, Ph.D., director of the program.

“This is not meant to be ‘tell us what you’re committing to do for the rest of your life,’” said Vidaurreta, who also is program director for student counseling and development. “This is just an opportunity to meet someone early in your education and learn about medicine in general and their specialty and then go from there.”

Hugh Walters, another senior, had an experience common to medical students — his perspective and goals changed as he progressed through the curriculum. Initially planning a career in neurology or neurosurgery, Walters decided during his third year that general surgery appealed to him more. Despite the change in plans, Walters found strong support from his advisor/mentor, Robert Watson, M.D., a neurologist and the college’s senior associate dean for educational affairs.

“Even though Dr. Watson isn’t a general surgeon, he steered me to people who could give me more advice,” said Walters, who will pursue a surgery residency at UF after graduation. “He epitomized what an advisor/mentor should be.”

As with many students and advisor/mentors, Walters and Watson have continued to maintain contact even though the program is primarily geared toward helping students during the first two years of medical school, Watson said.

“My general rule is to have an absolutely open-door policy for any student I’m advising,” said Watson, a 1969 graduate of the college and an advisor/mentor since the program’s inception. “One of my goals is, even though we’re at the fourth-largest university in the nation, with 48,000 students, I want make sure the medical students feel they’re in a very small place where they’re cared for and nurtured.”

Students start their involvement with the program during first-semester orientation, when they fill out a form indicating which three specialties most interest them, Vidaurreta said. She strives to match every student with a faculty volunteer who practices the student’s top choice.

Initial contact between most students and their advisor/mentors happens at a get-acquainted luncheon early in the students’ second semester, Vidaurreta said. Because the students have only one semester’s experience in basic science topics, they usually are eager to get an insider’s view of the practice of medicine.

For advisor/mentors, the program is an opportunity to get to know students as individuals and learn their perspective on medical school, said hematologist/oncologist Barbara Shea, M.D., a UF assistant professor of medicine and a first-time advisor/mentor.

“I have only been a faculty member for three years here and I have started progressively getting involved in medical student teaching,” Shea said. “It’s been extremely rewarding for me to be able to interact with students and it’s made me want to get involved more.”

The program requires students and advisor/mentors to meet at least twice each semester for the first two years of medical school but does not impose any specific scheduling,Vidaurreta said. The advisor/mentor may provide a list of possible meeting times and learning opportunities and encourage the student to follow up and schedule specific appointments.

For Tung, the more time she spent learning about obstetrics and gynecology, the more her interest in the specialty grew, Davis said. “Probably I’ve had more interaction with her through the Advisor/Mentor Program than any other student,” he said. “Rupi is a great example of someone where the program fostered her interest and helped her make a good decision and that makes me feel very good.” Clinical faculty members interested in becoming involved with the program may contact Vidaurreta at beverly@ufl.edu