Next week, the Larner College of Medicine welcomes the Class of 2021 to campus. As we begin another academic year, we wanted to take the opportunity to look back at the past year of writing from our students, and revisit some of the most popular blog posts. The top five most-viewed posts showcase the diversity of our students, as well as the energy and enthusiasm they bring to the field of medicine. From important advocacy and research work to clinical experiences that shape who they are as physicians, the students’ posts capture some of what makes the Larner College of Medicine a special place.
- The Rainbow White Coat in Burlington’s Pride Parade
By Eli Goldberg ‘20
October 6, 2016
“In most places, Pride season is June, but – in this, as in so many other things – Vermont is a little different. We celebrate Pride on a crisp September Sunday, classic late summer on the brink of fall. I’ve watched the parade several times, but marched it in only once, as a senior in high school who had just barely come out. This year, a decade later, I was elated to be marching with the Larner College of Medicine as a first-year medical student.” Read more… - A Day in the Life of a Fourth-Year Medical Student: A Focus on LGBT Inclusive Education
By Nicholas Bonenfant, M.D.‘17
March 9, 2017
“Under the leadership of Dr. Upton and his recent Frymoyer grant, though, the scope of the project has morphed into something much bigger: the development of a series of educational modules on LGBTQ health. The two most recent modules I developed discuss and address the profound health disparities and difficulties that transgender children/adolescents and LGBTQ youth of color face…The major goal is for this series of modules to be incorporated into medical school and resident curriculum here at the University of Vermont and beyond.” Read more… - Conservation Medicine: Be a Doctor, Save the Planet
By Stefan Wheat ‘18
September 24, 2014
“Every spring for the majority of my childhood I pranced down Main Street in my hometown of Olympia, Washington sporting outfits ranging from frog to jelly-fish to E. coli as a participant in the Procession of the Species, an annual artistic pageant parade that seeks to enhance cultural exchange through our mutual appreciation and respect for the natural world. I bounced down the streets of my hometown alongside children of all ages, learning something about the remarkable diversity of our planet. Unfortunately, the diversity that the Procession of the Species celebrates is critically threatened.” Read more… - A Day in the Life of a Fourth-Year Medical Student: Surgery at Walter Reed
By Bridget Colgan, M.D.‘17
February 17, 2017
“I was commissioned to the Army a few days before beginning medical school, so I have been in three and a half years as of August 8…As a military surgeon I have a great opportunity to lead a useful life. Someone once said to me the best part of being a military physician is that we have two jobs – we are doctors, but we are also officers in the United States military, and we are entrusted with that responsibility as well.” Read more… - Protecting Athletes from Concussion through the CARE Consortium
By Cori Polonski ‘19
February 10, 2017
“When I was little, I used to love the days when my dad brought me to work. For some kids this meant playing around in an office, but my dad sold programs at Fenway Park, and so some of my favorite childhood memories were walking around this historic ballpark and watching the Sox play at home. And when I watched the impossible happen in the ’04 American League Championship Series, I realized that sports are as close to magic as it gets. And so my desire to work in sports medicine has always come from a place of protecting the athletes who make us all believe in the impossible.” Read more…
Larner College of Medicine students at the 2016 Burlington Pride Parade.
Eli Goldberg ’20 receives his white coat during the Class of 2020 ceremony at Ira Allen Chapel.
Bridget Colgan, M.D.’17 on her surgery acting internship at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. (Photo Bernard Little)
Cori Polonski ’19 visits with a resident at Wake Robin as part of the Generations course.
Stefan Wheat ’18 consults with Stephen Winters, M.D., during a global health rotation in Zimbabwe.
Nicholas Bonenfant, M.D.’17 presents his scholarly project to UVM Medical Center residents.
