Baby Andrew coos contentedly while Varsha Pudi ’27 listens to his heart, feels his abdomen, and looks inside his ear with an otoscope.
This is Andrew’s six-month checkup, a time for the pediatrician to scan his growth and talk with his parents about his eating, sleeping, and development.
This is Pudi’s third session of Doctoring In Vermont, an eight-session course that spans the first and second year of the medical school curriculum.
Pudi listens and learns as Hannah Johnson, M.D. ’20, confers with Andrew’s parents. Johnson, a pediatrician at Essex Pediatrics in Essex Junction, Vt., serves as Pudi’s preceptor. “The experience has been fun and interesting,” Pudi says. “A physical exam on a newborn, infant, or toddler is very different than an adult because they move around a lot and are significantly smaller… Reassuring parents about their child’s health is very different than the practice of medicine with adult patients.”
Doctoring in Vermont (DIV) pairs first year medical students with physicians in the community. Students spend eight sessions observing and participating in direct patient care and practicing history-taking and examination skills. Martha Seagrave, PA-C, R.N., professor of family medicine, serves as course director and Judy Fingergut, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine, is associate course director.
In addition to Doctoring in Vermont, Larner medical students have multiple opportunities to participate in hands-on learning in the community during their first year of medical school. This includes visits to the medical center to shadow nurses and talk with patients, summer research projects, and community field work.
Read more about hands-on learning at the Larner College of Medicine.