A+: Med Students Grade UCF College of Medicine after First Semester on Orlando Medical News

A+: Med Students Grade UCF College of Medicine after First Semester

By: LYNNE JETER

With the first semester under their belts and the second semester underway at the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Medicine, students of the inaugural class are giving the school an enthusiastic thumbs up.

“Everyone on campus—Dean German, professors, the volunteer staff, and other students—has the same goal,” said Brittany Moscato, president of the first-year class of medical school students at UCF. “I didn’t expect everyone to go out of their way to help, but they certainly have. And because we’re new, the staff has been very receptive to our ideas and concerns. For example, some students have chosen to study in groups while others study in pairs or individually. The school has set up email threads so no one is left in the dark in any discussions. It’s not always rosy—no place is—but it’s surprising how well everyone gets along.”

The UCF College of Medicine is part of an emerging medical city, located at the UCF Health Sciences Campus in Lake Nona’s medical city. It includes a strong research program in the Burnett Biomedical Sciences Building, a medical library, and other UCF health sciences programs.

Making the Grade

So how did first-year medical student Brittany Moscato acquire one of the 41 coveted spots—all with full scholarships—to the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Medicine from a highly competitive application pool of more than 4,300?

“I began quite early,” admitted Moscato, 23, an Ohio native who grew up in a small town near Cleveland, and completed her undergraduate work at the University of Central Florida (UCF). “I found out that in addition to a high GPA and excellent MCAT scores, medical schools were looking for three things—campus involvement, community service, and research.”

At UCF, where Moscato earned dual degrees in micro/molecular biology and Spanish, the latter of which she noted “would come in handy in Florida, and also fed my creative, artistic side,” presided over the Pre-professional Medical Society, a group of some 200 students interested in pursuing professional careers in medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine.

“Established professionals in the community let us shadow them so we could decide if that’s realistically the direction we should pursue,” said Moscato, whose organization also worked with a local homeless coalition and joined an international mission trip to Costa Rica.

For college research, Moscato focused on cardiovascular development, “which helped me understand the scientific process outside the classroom,” she said.

“I’ve wanted to study medicine since I was seven, but it seemed more like a childhood dream at the time,” she said. “I grew up hearing my mother (a registered nurse and DSN) tell stories about work. As I got older, I realized the aspect of science, helping people, a love of school, and a desire to be a benefit to the world convinced me even more to pursue a medical career.”

A year and a half ago, Moscato’s mother, Cindy, died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. Moscato found herself in a position of interpreter between her family and the attending medical team.

“My mother had always encouraged me to pursue medicine, and when that happened and I found myself in that environment, I was even more convinced,” she said.

For now, Moscato is weighing the options of specializing in pediatrics or critical care medicine. She’s ruled out surgery.

“I may want to open my own practice in family medicine,” she said. “One thing’s for sure. UCF College of Medicine is not only teaching us about medicine, but they’re also teaching us the business side of medicine. That’s invaluable.”

“We’ve come a long way,” said Deborah German, MD, dean of the UCF College of Medicine, who was hired from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in December 2007 to build the educational facility, hire more than 200 full-time employees, assemble a volunteer faculty of nearly 1,000, and raise more than $7 million for scholarships. “From the very beginning, I knew that in order to have a great medical school, we needed great people. So from the beginning, we’ve been looking for people who strive for excellence and have a pioneering spirit and a desire to be part of something larger than themselves. We’ve hired scientists, clinicians, educators, and support professionals in technology and other areas to help achieve that goal. Every member of our team shares the vision of setting us on the path to become this century’s premier medical school, which makes the team work so effectively together.”

Students hit the ground running when the doors opened to the UCF College of Medicine on Aug. 3, 2009.

“Many people think of medical school as four years of hard, almost grueling work that’s highly competitive with no outside life,” said Moscato. “But at the UCF College of Medicine, it’s definitely doable and not so overwhelming. Once you learn to pace yourself, you’re OK.”

For example, Moscato is part of a group of students training for a half-marathon in March. Several classmates participate on the men’s volleyball team and women’s soccer intramural team. As a class, after anatomy lab every Tuesday, students always do something active, like volleyball or ultimate Frisbee.

Moscato received news that she would be among the inaugural group before Thanksgiving 2008, while she was wrapping up undergraduate requirements for dual degrees in micro/molecular biology and Spanish at UCF. More than 4,300 applications were received for the 41 spots that came with a full ride, including living expenses. The UCF College of Medicine represents the first school in the history of American medicine to offer a scholarship to every student in a class.

“The community support has gone well beyond the campus,” said Moscato. “For example, the Lake Nona Country Club invited us to a holiday reception in December, and the local symphony donated tickets to “Festival of Orchestras” during the holidays so we could experience Orlando’s wonderful musical culture. The volunteer faculty teach students how to apply skills in taking a history and physical exam in the offices and offer shadowing experiences outside the curriculum as well.”

Already, the medical students have carved out a niche with the formation of a local chapter of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) and an American Medical Association (AMA) chapter. Through MedPACT, they’re planning a mission trip this summer to Central America. The Wilderness Medical Society teaches students how to provide care when conventional resources are not available. Specialty interest groups have formed for emergency medicine and orthopedics, with doctors in those specialties providing students with insight into their lifestyle and the training involved.

“UCF College of Medicine has done an excellent job of showing us how global our reach is,” said Moscato. “They’re not only training us to be excellent physicians, but also leaders giving back to the community, whether at home or halfway across the world.”