June 15, 2022 | Volume IV, Issue 12

URiM Pathway to Pediatrics Program Clarifies Journey for Pre-Med Students

On April 30, 2022, Larner College of Medicine Class of 2024 medical student Kiana Heredia and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics L.E. Faricy, M.D., welcomed a group of undergraduate students and high school seniors from area schools interested in pursuing careers as physicians to campus as the inaugural cohort of the URiM Pathway to Pediatrics (UPP) program.  

The program grew out of a grant proposal developed by Dr. Faricy, Heredia, and medical students Mialovena Exume ’24, Nicole Obongo ‘24, and Anneliese Lapides ‘24 for funding through the American Academy of Pediatrics for hosting events aimed at increasing workforce diversity and supporting students historically underrepresented in medicine (URiM). It was Heredia’s idea to target pre-medical students in the early years of their pre-medical degrees based on the disillusionment she remembers experiencing during that time.  

An “Intro to Physics course shaped my first academic relationship to medicine and with no family members or friends in the healthcare field, I was convinced that these pre-med requirements and medicine were synonymous, in meaning and experience...” Heredia wrote in a March 2022 post for the UVM Larner Med Blog. “This can’t be something I want to do for the rest of my life,” she recalls thinking.  

The day-long UPP program, which included a clinical mystery case led by Professor and Chair of Pediatrics Lewis First, M.D., lunch with current medical students, clinical simulations in the UVM Clinical Simulation Laboratory, a health advocacy panel, and an evening mixer with Larner educators and medical students, accomplished what Heredia hoped it would, helping current and prospective pre-med students “see the forest for the trees.”  

“I’ve wanted to be a doctor all my life, but I got so discouraged in my physics class this semester,” says program participant and current Saint Michael’s College student Kelechi (KC) Onuoha. “You talk about destiny and how things are supposed to be...I’m not going to lie – if I hadn’t done this program, I was going to let these classes stop me,” Onuoha admits. “She [Heredia] just saved me years of being lost and fearful of what I was going to do with my life because she went through it herself...because of this of this program she planned, I’m back on track.”  

Read more about the UPP Program.  

Read Kiana Heredia’s blog post, “Pre-Med Science Classes Pushed Me Away from Being a Doctor; the Art and Humanism of Medicine Brought Me Back.”

Pictured above: UPP Program participants, mentors, and faculty pose for a photo on the day of the UPP program event in the sky bridge leading from the UVM Given Building to the UVM Clinical Simulation Laboratory.

Busting Myths about Clinical Trials for Cancer Patients

University of Vermont Cancer Center Director Randall Holcombe, M.D., M.B.A., and Steven Ades, M.D., M.Sc., associate professor of medicine and director of the UVM Cancer Center’s Clinical Trials Office, are passionate about clearing up clinical trial misconceptions. Why? Because clinical trials have so much to offer patients, they say.

“A well-designed clinical trial, like those at the UVM Cancer Center, is almost universally the best option a person has for treating their cancer,” says Dr. Ades. “It’s an opportunity to receive a therapy that is potentially more effective and less toxic than the current standard of care.”

Drs. Holcombe and Ades respond with facts to a few common myths, below:

MYTH: Patients in clinical trials frequently get placebos.
TRUTH: Placebos are very rarely used in clinical trials and every patient gets at least the current standard of care.

MYTH: Clinical trials are just for patients with advanced stages of cancer when no other option is possible.
TRUTH: Clinical trials provide the very highest level of care for patients at all stages of cancer.

MYTH: Patients in clinical trials are often treated like guinea pigs.
TRUTH: There are strict rules about how patients are consented and monitored. Patient safety and providing the highest quality of care are always top priorities.

Read the full article, titled "Clinical Trials are Best Option for Many Cancer Patients," on the UVM Health Network’s HealthSource blog.

Pictured above: Drs. Ades (left) and Holcombe.

Medical Students Showcase Public Health Projects at Annual Celebration

With support from the United Way of Northwest Vermont, a longtime partner of the Larner College of Medicine, 16 Class of 2025 medical student groups were matched to 16 community projects at the end of the fall 2021 semester. Working with faculty and community mentors, each student group applied practical research methods to identify ways to translate science into public health practice. Through this process, they learned lessons about health policy and advocacy, discovered how Vermont legislators prioritize community health needs, and encountered challenges associated with addressing social determinants of health and the unique health needs of the state’s rural communities. 

On June 1, students shared their findings at a Public Health Projects Poster Session and Community Celebration, held in the college’s Hoehl Gallery.

According to course director Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for public health and health policy, “Vermont’s public health issues are also linked to national Healthy People priorities, and our students' projects contribute to broader knowledge of community engagement, health advocacy, and scholarship in public health.”

The 2022 collaborating agencies included: American Heart Association; American Red Cross; Champlain Community Services; Give Way to Freedom; Northern New England Clinical & Translational Research Network; Prevent Child Abuse Vermont; Support and Services at Home; UVM Medical Center; UVM Office of Primary Care and Area Health Educations Centers (AHEC) Program; Vermont Cancer Support Network; Vermont CARES; Vermont Department of Health; Vermont Public Health Association; Windham County Seniors' Health Collaborative; Winooski Food Shelf; and Winooski Partnership for Prevention.

Read more about the Class of 2025's public health projects. 

Pictured above: Katherine Barker ’25 (left) and Jennifer Chen ’25 (center) discuss their project findings with an attendee at the June 1 celebration event.

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