On Friday, August 7, 96 medical students and five biomedical sciences PhD students received their white coats in the annual convocation that serves as the kick off for their medical school careers. It also marked the culmination of a week of carefully orchestrated orientation events that were designed to get all of the students’ educational journeys started on the right foot.
“This is all very new for our medical and biomedical sciences students, so orientation provides resources and information to support them both inside and outside the classroom,” said Daniel Teraguchi, EdD, executive associate dean for Student Affairs and the Salma Haider endowed chair for the Thomas Haider Program. “For many students this is a new environment with high expectations to achieve a very personal dream, so we want to reinforce the fact that we selected them because of their personal and lived experiences, educational excellence, and alignment with the values of our mission. All of them belong here at the UCR SOM.”
“We want them to know that we are their biggest cheerleaders and we are invested in their success,” he added.
The orientation schedule started bright and early on Monday, August 3 with a breakfast and welcome from Deborah Deas, MD, MPH, vice chancellor for health sciences and the Mark and Pam Rubin dean of the School of Medicine. The wide-ranging agenda covered everything from the history of healthcare in Inland Southern California to the basic building blocks for learning in medical school.
There were also fun games that helped the members of the class get to know each other, including the “Medical Student Olympics,” an Information and Resource Fair, and a social event titled “Thriving at UCR SOM” hosted by Denise Martinez, MD, a professor of family medicine and associate dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
New medical student Michael Isaiah Spencer said he enjoyed the social event. “It was a wonderful time getting to connect with everybody and being able to just meet some of the new colleagues and some other fellow MS1’s, and it was just an amazing experience being able to socially network,” he said.
Angeline Vanle, assistant program director of DEI, echoed the sentiment, saying that the event was intended to welcome all incoming MS1 students and PhD candidates. “SOM leadership and student-facing staff were invited to get to know the students in a fun, low-stakes environment with the purpose of not only building community, but also empowering students to feel comfortable asking someone they have already met for help,” she said.
Teraguchi explained that the social events help to build an important social support network for the students, one that can benefit them throughout their career as a student and beyond.
“We want our students to find connections as they navigate a challenging but rewarding career in medicine,” Teraguchi said. “We want to create a caring environment where they are invested in each other’s physical, mental, and emotional health, where they can count on each other to help on the tough days and to celebrate, reflect, and grow throughout their career.”
Assal Sadighian, who was accepted into the Haider Early Assurance Program as a UCR undergraduate alongside her twin sister, Sadaf Sadighian, was excited to see many medical school classmates she already knew from her undergraduate years. “I didn't expect orientation to be as warm and community-based, but I feel like UCR is such a lovely place where everyone is so friendly and easy to talk to,” Assal said. “We had a great lecture series that really taught us how to become a doctor and what is expected from us, so I feel like those lectures really helped me to understand what is coming up and how I can prepare myself for it.”
Sadaf similarly felt that orientation helped with her transition to medical school and getting to know her class. “We all have similar missions and similar backgrounds, and at the same time we are fully diverse,” Sadaf said, adding that she felt she was in the right place. “It was really nice to hear professors saying that imposter syndrome is normal and really normalizing those nerves I had.”
Another unique aspect of the Orientation Week was the opportunity for the students to craft the oath that they would recite during Friday’s White Coat Ceremony. Under the guidance of LACE Program Clinical Director Moazzum Bajwa, MD, and Career Services Specialist Humberto Santiago, the students discussed their reasons for wanting to become physicians. They shared and voted on their ideas, and a smaller group of volunteers crafted the oath.
Riverside local Nathan Aldo Llamas went into Orientation Week expecting to focus on policies and rules. Instead, the week offered the opportunity to meet classmates and faculty while learning more about the SOM. “The different keynotes and lecture series that we had were very centered on student wellness, which struck me because normally when people think of medical school it's very stressful,” Llamas recalled. “But the medical school really showed that they cared about their students by having those lecture series.”
On Wednesday, students visited some of the SOM’s community partners across the Inland Empire, providing an opportunity to see where they might be working and to meet patients at those venues.
“The site visits and the lectures on the history of healthcare in Inland Southern California reinforce the importance of our mission to increase a diverse physician workforce,” Teraguchi said. “By touring our community partners, they can see the importance of systematic intervention and the importance of accelerating networks and partnerships with mutual goals of improving direct patient care.”
“Learning about that and being able to show exactly what I'm going to do for my community, and hearing their needs, hearing what they want from their future physician leaders, was an honor,” said Spencer, a Haider and PRIME scholar who grew up in Inland Southern California. “I aspire to be someone who can rise up and give back.”
Orientation Week is a collaborative effort and Teraguchi gave thanks to the dozens of staff, faculty, and students, as well as the guest speakers who made the week a success. These include the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Office of Student Affairs, the Office of Undergraduate Medical Education, SOM Facilities, SOM IT, Development, and the Office of Strategic Initiatives.
