Sage advice offered as Clerkships loom

By Lin Lofley

Dr. Marshall Wolf
Dr. Marshall Wolf

Speaking to UT Southwestern Medical School students, Dr. Marshall Wolf, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, recently offered advice, counsel, and tips on becoming a better physician.

The setting was the annual William H. Snyder, III, M.D., Lectureship. Many of those listening were second-year students who were about to start their Clerkship phase of education. Dr. Wolf’s topic, “What I Wish I had Known When I Was a Medical Student,” offered some general rules for students – get adequate sleep, take a break every 15-20 minutes – and also some specifics on how to master the pre-clinical curriculum.

“Read about clinical aspects of the topics in basic science that you are studying, and make it a point to read at least one case discussion weekly,” he advised.

But he further implored the students to become better physicians through interaction with patients and their families.

“Sit down and address the patient by name,” he said. “Ask about their family, and know what they do for a living.

“Ask how you can help them, and be sure that you understand what they are telling you.”

Pausing for emphasis, he looked out at the students from the podium in the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium, and said, “Look at the patient, and not at the computer.

“Examine the patient, treat the patient as you would wish to be treated. Tell the patient the truth, but preserve hope.”

Dr. Wolf counseled his audience to avoid ambiguous words. “Dizzy. Sharp. Fatigue. Flank pain. Find out what the words mean to the patient when he or she uses one of those words.”

And he further exhorted the students, saying, “One thing I hope you will remember: The only mistake is the failure to ask for help.”

The Snyder Lectureship was established by numerous individuals in 2010 after the death of the revered surgeon. Dr. Snyder’s wife, Sandra, to whom he had been married 49 years at the time of his death, attended the event.

Dr. Wolf began his presentation by expressing his gratitude, and specifically about Dr. Snyder, “who was clearly a very inspiring teacher and a wonderful clinician who cared about his patients and about his students. That this lectureship was established by his patients, colleagues, and students, is a wonderful testament to what a great educator he was.”

The Class of 2019 entered a new phase of its curriculum in January, beginning the 18-week Clerkship phase.
Second-year Medical School students (from left) Rohit Reddy, So Youn Park, and Bethany Werner prepare to start another day of clinical education at Parkland Memorial Hospital. The Class of 2019 entered a new phase of its curriculum in January, beginning the 18-week Clerkship phase. During this period, students will complete required (core) clerkships including eight week rotations in Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Pediatrics, six-week rotations in Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Ambulatory Medicine, and four-week rotations in Neurology, and Family and Community Medicine.

Second-year medical student Kelvin Pho said, “Dr. Wolf’s lecture showed me that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Med school is a time you’re always learning, even when you sit and think about how you learn.”

“I liked how he described the relationship with the patient,” said MS2 Hannah Justice. “I was particularly taken with how he emphasized seeing the patient as a whole, and seeing to it that every symptom is appropriately addressed.”

Dr. Snyder joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 1971, specializing in general and endocrine surgery, with an emphasis on thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal diseases. He established the school’s endocrine surgery program, a program that became renowned in the country.

In 2006, he was one of six Professors selected to lead an Academic College within the Medical School. Dr. Snyder became College Master of the Dr. Edward H. Cary College, named for one of the pioneers of medicine, and of medical education, in Dallas.