Louisville Medicine Volume 64, Issue 10 | Page 24

HOW MEDICINE HAS CHANGED ME : WE ARE THE INSTRUMENTS OF CHANGE

Cynthia Rigby , MD

When I read the announced topic for the Richard Spear , MD , Memorial Essay Contest in the practicing / retired physicians ’ category , I did not linger on the page , but it has been a recurring topic that has finally prompted me to attempt a response .

In my case , the question is “ How have we changed medicine ?”
When I joined the University of Louisville School of Medicine Class of 1985 , I became a member of a group that should be considered a watershed class in the school ’ s history . Before the term “ non-traditional ” became a buzzword , we were told that we were the oldest entering class since the post-WWII GI Bill returnees . The average student was almost 27 years old , and had diverse experience to bring to the pursuit of a medical degree . We also were to be the first class with year-round clinical “ tracks ” and the first to do these assignments in the brand “ new ” University of Louisville Hospital ( RIP General Hospital ).
My path to medical school had been unique . After having been diverted from pre-med by a department chair (“ women in pre-med just take up space ”) and having no other means of support , I directed my energies toward what I thought were other avenues for my desire to make a difference : education , social work and eventually government service . I already knew from summer work in migrant education that gender , geography , education and language were barriers to the benefits that society had to
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