UVM Larner College of Medicine’s Top 5 Blogs of 2022

Ramp up for 2023 with a look back at our readers’ favorite posts from the Larner College of Medicine in 2022.  The following pieces include embracing insights from the “hidden curriculum,” addressing the graduating class, expanding horizons at a comprehensive community care location, and learning that medicine is both an art and a science. 

5. When It Starts to Come Together: Doctoring in Vermont

Dario Vanegas is a medical student in the UVM Larner College of Medicine Class of 2025.
Vanegas writes about his experience in the Vermont Integrated Curriculum course – “Doctoring in Vermont.”

“Doctoring in Vermont is a course that spans the first and second year of Foundations. Students spend 8 sessions in the office of a primary care physician within a one-hour drive of Burlington. Students travel to their preceptor’s office, observe direct patient care, and practice interviewing and examination skills.” Read the blog.


Stephen Foley is a third-year medical student at the UVM Larner College of Medicine.

4. Embracing What I Learned from the “Hidden” Curriculum in Medicine

Stephen Foley is a third-year medical student at the UVM Larner College of Medicine.In the following blog post, Foley writes about what he learned from the “hidden” curriculum in medical education. Read the blog.


3. Expanding Horizons: A Month at Zuni Comprehensive Community Health Center

Sheridan Finnie is a Class of 2022 medical student at the UVM Larner College of Medicine. In October 2021, Finnie traveled to rural New Mexico to rotate with physicians and healthcare providers at Zuni Comprehensive Health Center, an Indian Health Service (IHS) site.Indian Health Service is “an agency within the [U.S.] Department of Health and Human services…responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The IHS provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 574 federally recognized tribes in 37 states.” – IHS.gov. Read the blog.


Kiana Heredia poses in a black dress with her medical student white coat slung over her should after her class's White Coat Ceremony in 2021. Clipped to the pocket of her white coat is a medical student ID badge.

2. Pre-Med Science Classes Pushed Me Away from Being a Doctor; the Art and Humanism of Medicine Brought Me Back

As an undergraduate pre-medical student, Class of 2024 Larner College of Medicine medical student Kiana Heredia slogged through basic science courses in physics, chemistry, and more and found herself questioning her career choice. Heredia describes that experience and what eventually led her back to pursuing a career in medicine. Read the blog.


1. Commencement Address by Francis Mtuke, M.D.’22

Francis Mtuke, M.D., is a 2022 graduate of the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. 

On Sunday, March 22, 2022 Dr. Mtuke delivered the student address at the Larner College of Medicine Commencement Ceremony. It was the second time he’s given a commencement address; the first time was at his graduation from Texas A&M University in 2017. Dr. Mtuke will be starting his anesthesiology residency program at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington in June. Read the blog.