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At the White Coat Ceremony, Bryan Bognar, MD, interim vice dean for Educational Affairs, administers the Oath of Commitment to the USF College of Medicine’s Class of 2011.

Each August they arrive – looking more like college students confused about where to go next than the confident doctors they will someday be.

This year’s class of new USF medical students arrived Aug. 13 to begin their three-week orientation course “The Profession of Medicine.” The course, taught by both basic science and clinical faculty, gave them a sneak preview of what they’ll be learning over the next four years and included some hands-on experience with standardized, or volunteer, patients in the Center for Advanced Clinical Learning.

The orientation culminated Aug. 31 in the USF Health Auditorium with the White Coat Ceremony – a rite of passage marking the students’ entry into a career in medicine.

With family and friends in the audience, the 120 first-year students were called onto stage one at a time to receive their first white coats from physician faculty members.

After three consecutive years of a female-majority incoming class, the Class of 2011 has more men (64) than women (56). They had to compete even harder to get into medical school – applicants to medical schools are up nationwide. At USF, there were a record 2,724 applicants – what amounted to nearly 10 eligible applicants for each one of the 120 seats available in the first-year class.

New medical students Keely Fischbach, left, and Elisabeth Frei wear their first white coats — an emblem of their commitment to the profession of medicine.

Ranging in age from 20 to 42, this diverse group includes 14 underrepresented minorities, or about 12 percent of the class. About a quarter of the class earned their bachelor’s or master’s degrees from USF, with the remainder coming from other Florida colleges and universities or schools outside Florida.

A record number of incoming medical students (10 percent of the Class of 2011) have a family connection with the College of Medicine – either as children of faculty or as children or siblings of graduates.

“As our reputation grows, we have a legacy being established that bodes well for the future of the college,” said Steven Specter, PhD, associate dean for COM Student Affairs.

Among the students with family ties is Kimberly Wollett, 23, whose father Dr. Fredric Wollett graduated from the USF College of Medicine in 1975 and is now a radiologist practicing in Ocala. After graduating from Georgia Southern University with a BS degree in biology, Kimberly spent six months in a kayak conducting counts of manatees in Crystal River, FL, for Georgia Southern and tracking the marine mammals for the U.S. Geological Survey (she also worked as assistant coach for Georgia Southern’s women’s tennis team).

First-year medical student Kimberly Wollett, center, with her father Dr. Fredric Wollett (graduate of COM Class of 1975) and mother Nancy Wollett, a registered nurse.

Wollett said her passion for medicine comes from her father, who let her shadow him at work and her mother, a registered nurse.

“My dad was a member of the second class admitted to USF’s medical school – that was when it was a three-year program with only 25 students in his class,” Wollett said. “He had a lot of good experiences at USF — he told me that the faculty and staff are very helpful and work with, not against, the students. I found that friendly, student-centered approach to be true when I interviewed here.”

While not naïve about the challenges of the fragmented health care system in which they will eventually practice, today’s medical students remain optimistic nonetheless about their ability to make a difference.

After her first year as an USF undergraduate, Nareesha (Reesha) Khan was still struggling with deciding between a career in business or medicine. “I ultimately decided that I preferred medicine because getting the chance to study something I love, while working to improve a person’s life — even if it’s just with a smile — seemed like a no-brainer,” said Khan, 21, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences and a minor in business administration.

“I’m also really passionate about how insane the healthcare system is these days, and I’m hoping that as a physician I may have a stronger voice and influence to make a difference.”

Preceptor Craig Garrison, PT, PhD, ATC, assistant professor of physical therapy, shows new medical student Reesha Khan how to palpate a knee during an exercise in the Center for Advanced Clinical Learning.

Khan, a native of Trinidad, credits her many volunteer hours at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital (she worked there as a Volunteen since age 14) with helping inspire her to become a doctor while offering her a realistic view of medicine. “I’m really excited to be starting medical school at USF, where we’ll get lots of interactive and clinical experience starting from the first year,” she said.

View FOX-13 News clip on new USF medical student Reesha Khan…

While Khan entered medical school following completion of an undergraduate degree – the most common route — classmate Alberto Sabucedo, PhD, took a non-traditional approach.

Sabucedo, 42, worked as a chemist in private industry and academia for more than 20 years before becoming a USF medical student.

He was on a pre-med track at the University of Miami, graduating with a BS degree in chemistry and minor in biology at age 21. But, he said, financial circumstances prohibited him from applying to medical school at the time. Instead, he became a chemist for a top clinical diagnostic firm, receiving a patent for his technological contributions to an immunoassay that helps rule out heart attacks in cases of chest pain.

In 2001, he completed a PhD degree in chemistry at Florida International University, where he directed the forensic certificate program, led a mass spectrometry laboratory, and eventually became a full-time graduate faculty member as a result of his scholarly achievements.

“It would have been a lot easier to remain as a teacher and continue doing some research, but my heart was set on attending medical school at USF,” said Sabucedo, who hopes to combine his research interests with clinical practice. “Becoming a physician is what I always truly wanted to do. My fiancé, sister and aunt have all been very supportive in encouraging me to follow my dream.”

This year, for the first time, incoming USF medical students have the option of choosing a scholarly concentration in one of seven areas – education, research, public health, health disparities, law and medicine, business and entrepreneurship, or international medicine.

Successful completion of the program, an elective “minor” of sorts, will be recognized by the Dean at the time of graduation.

“The concentrations allow students to explore areas of special interest through self-directed learning and include real-world applications. The idea is to broaden their perspective of medicine and how it relates to different disciplines such as business, law and public health,” said Susan Pross, PhD, director of the college’s Scholarly Concentration Program.

Snapshot of the COM Class of 2011:
Total Students: 120 (64 Men, 56 Women)
Age Ranges: 20 to 42 (Average age – 23)
Overall GPA-Undergrad 3.71
Science GPA–Undergrad 3.67
MCAT Average: 29.6
Underrepresented Minorities*: 14 (12 percent)
Ratio Eligible Applic. to Stds. Enrolled: 10 to 1

* AAMC identifies underrepresented minorities as Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Native Americans and Mexican Americans.

Story by Anne DeLotto Baier
Photos by Eric Younghans and John Lofreddo/USF Health Media Ctr.