Dermatology Center Becomes Fourth Clinical Elective Site in Canada

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St. George’s University has signed an agreement with North Bay Dermatology Centre to expand opportunities for fourth-year students to gain specialized clinical training in Canada. The center is SGU’s fourth clinical site in the country and one of the more than 70 clinical sites across North America.

Students who choose to do a rotation at North Bay Dermatology Centre, located in North Bay, Ontario, will gain general dermatology experience including treating patients with different types and stages of skin cancer as well inflammatory skin conditions. Run by Dr. Les Rosoph, the Centre also sees patients with psoriasis, dermatitis, rosacea, actinic keratosis, infections, connective tissue diseases, hair loss, acne, benign lesions as well as rare conditions.

“We are thrilled to add North Bay Dermatology to our growing list of impressive elective sites in Canada for students,” said Sandra Banner, SGU’s director of admissions for Canada, adding that she first met Dr. Rosoph in Grenada during Family Weekend when he was visiting his two daughters who are also med students at SGU.

“Through a two-to-four-week rotation with Dr. Rosoph and his team, aspiring physicians will be mentored in a highly specialized field and be able to do procedures once they are comfortable with the practice,” she said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our students seeking to learn more about the dermatology discipline and further gain experience in the Canadian healthcare system.”

Dr. Rosoph said by accepting fourth-year students through the elective rotation, students can get a strong hands-on experience in the field of dermatology, which can be beneficial to those who choose primary care or a specialized field.

“I really believe in giving people opportunity and letting them make their own future,” Dr. Rosoph said. “For students that want to dive right in, we have lots for them to do.”

He also hopes to entice aspiring physicians to come north once they graduate.

“There’s really a need to bring doctors to northern Ontario,” Dr. Rosoph said. “Canada is so short of physicians once you leave the larger centers, and there are huge numbers of patients that never have access to primary care here. I’m hoping students will come and see Ontario and they will decide to relocate here.”

Located three hours north of Toronto, North Bay’s hospital and several clinics, including the dermatology clinic, serve as teaching units for the North Ontario School of Medicine’s undergraduate students and postgraduate programs. Dr. Rosoph also teaches at North Ontario School of Medicine.

SGU has been building its clinical network north of the US border. In November, St. George’s University finalized an agreement with Pembroke Regional Hospital in Ontario that offers fourth-year students a range of disciplines to choose from for their clinical electives. SGU also recently announced agreements in Ottawa with Ottawa Cardiovascular Centre and Booth Neurology Clinic—further expanding the opportunities available to students to broaden their skills and knowledge in preparation for residency. The first student to rotate at Booth Neurology Clinic began earlier this month.

Canadians have flourished at SGU and beyond: 18 Canadians who applied through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) secured residencies this year in competitive fields ranging from anesthesiology and emergency medicine to pathology and psychiatry.

Applications for placement at North Bay Dermatology beginning in January are now being accepted. The center has the ability to take two students at a time.

–Laurie Chartorynsky

Doctors Making a Difference: SGU Grads Travel to Colombia for Medical Mission Trip

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The days were long yet the need to provide medical care to thousands of Venezuelan refugees living in Colombia was never more critical. Graduates from St. George’s University were among doctors and medical staff who recently travelled to Bogota and Cucuta to provide free medical services to the refugees.

Nathalie Briones, MD ’18, an emergency medicine resident at NewYork Presbyterian-Queens Hospital, was one of three SGU alumni who volunteered for the medical mission trip. “We saw a lot of communicable diseases, people dehydrated from having poor sanitation, parasites in children, and severe malnutrition,” said Dr. Briones. This was her second medical mission trip with trip organizers, Centurion Medical Missions. “We didn’t expect how acutely ill so many patients would be when we got there. Many of them were suffering from diseases that we had only ever seen before in our textbooks.”

Despite the dire conditions of the refugees in Colombia, she added that the team left each day more humbled and grateful than ever before. “The hardest part was hearing their stories about having to leave their homes. Many educated people—including doctors, lawyers, and engineers—were diminished to cleaning toilets or selling candy on the streets just to keep their children alive. These people once had everything, and now they have nothing. Many of us had to hold back tears during patient interviews because we knew that there was nothing we could do to change their circumstances.”

Added Dr. Briones: “Some moments you knew that you saved someone’s life by being there to treat them, and other moments you just wished you could do more.”

 

View Videos and Photos from the Colombia Medical Mission Trip on Instagram

 

As one of the largest humanitarian crises in recent histories, more than four million Venezuelans—approximately 13 percent of the country’s population—have fled the country due to political instability, poor living conditions, and high crime since the revolution began in 1999. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 1.3 million of those refugees have sought asylum in Colombia, leaving behind loved ones and most of their possessions to search for a better life.

However, once they arrive in Colombia, all is not what it seems. During a site visit this past spring, trip organizers visited one hotel where they encountered at least 100 refugees to a floor, with eight to nine people living in each room.

“All they have with them is what’s in their backpack,” said Gib Gerlach, vice president of humanitarian strategies for Centurion Medical Missions, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. “When they get to Colombia, their money is worthless. One of the greatest things they need is medical care and if they need it, they have no money to pay for it. We saw a great need to help out.”

The trip, which took place December 9 to 13, included Dr. Briones, Chelsea Hoenes, MD ’13, and Yalda Hazrat, MD ’16, as well as a local physician, an emergency medical technician, and support staff. Volunteers flew in on Sunday, December 8 and spent the next four days seeing approximately 1,000 patients. The clinic welcomed all comers, including those with high blood pressure, acute respiratory issues, open wounds, malnutrition, urinary tract infections, and pregnant women, among other cases. The group purchases all of its medicine in country to help the local economy and to help build relationships, Mr. Gerlach said.

Dr. Hoenes also shared her perspective of the trip: “On arriving in the heart of Bogota, it is easy to see how the Venezuelan people are suffering one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. Starvation and disease are their everyday reality. The medical care we provide is excellent but imperfect: the goal of our mission is to provide acute care, immediate access to imperative health resources, and hope, until permanent health infrastructure can be achieved for the growing refugee population.”

Centurion Medical Missions has previously performed medical clinics in La Vega, Dominican Republic. Of the six trips that Centurion Medical Missions has completed to La Vega since March 2018, 18 SGU doctors have so far travelled with the group, and many of them return for multiple trips. However, the need is so great in Colombia that the organization will be solely focusing on the country in 2020.

“We’re really happy to have to that relationship with SGU,” said Bill Honeycutt, founder of JET ICU, an air ambulance provider offering medical evacuation, medical repatriation, and other air medical transport services for patients worldwide and the parent company of Centurion Medical Missions. “It opens a lot of doors for the students and residents to build something down the road and eventually when they go into practice, they can continue to work to help thousands of people around the world.”

Dr. Briones said she hopes to inspire others to volunteer their services and training on future medical mission trips.

“I have always believed that every person in healthcare should try to do some kind of humanitarian work with underserved communities,” Dr. Briones said. “You really won’t know how much you can help until you go and see how much you actually do help.”

Visit SGU’s Instagram page for more images detailing the medical mission trip. 

– Laurie Chartorynsky

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SGU Diagnostics Vet Protects the Health of Food Animals

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Katie Woodard, DVM ’14Raised in Houston, Texas, Katie Woodard, DVM ’14, grew up raising show pigs for Future Farmers of America (FFA). Not only was it a big part of her childhood, the experience later fueled her interest in swine medicine, and eventually spurred her on toward a career in veterinary medicine.

Today, Dr. Woodard resides in rural Iowa with her husband and three children, working as a veterinary specialist at the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (ISU VDL). At one of the largest food animal diagnostic labs in the country, her job is to support food animal veterinarians in the field and provide quality service to the food animal agriculture industry.

“Growing up as I did, I never developed much interest in the small animal side of veterinary medicine,” said Dr. Woodard. “And I knew, even then, that I wanted to be involved in safeguarding the health of food animals, a role perhaps I was always destined for.”

Working at the VDL for the past five years, Dr. Woodard’s case load consists of about 85 percent swine—a reflection of the large swine industry located in Iowa and across the Midwest. On any given day, the diagnostics lab processes between 400 and 500 cases, making for a dynamic and ever-changing work environment. In her current role, she is responsible for all client outreach and education, where she assists her clients with disseminating information coming out of the lab, IT innovations, and retrieving diagnostic data from the lab.

“Our clients are veterinarians, and my job is all about making the diagnostic lab/client interaction as streamlined and straightforward as possible,” Dr. Woodard said. “My position helps to bridge that communication between lab and real life.”

Additionally, each summer she takes on a veterinary student intern to work on a project related to the lab and/or the swine industry. This could include anything from collecting samples in the field to developing better testing protocols or testing different swab types in the lab to make more informed recommendations to her clients in the field.

Continuing her tradition of educating future veterinarians, Dr. Woodard has also chosen to give back to her alma mater. Now, a visiting professor at SGU, she teaches the swine portion of the three-year veterinary students’ curriculum in the School of Veterinary Medicine. In addition, she has interviewed students applying to the veterinary school for several years.

“St. George’s University was actually the only veterinary school I applied to,” stated Dr. Woodard. “Having worked at the Louisiana State University School Of Veterinary Medicine as a technician for two years, I was already familiar with the traditional US model, and wanted to see what other options were out there for schooling. This, combined with my impatience to get started, led me to choose SGU since it offered rolling admissions, a much-needed change of scenery, and a more hands-on approach to learning.”

According to Dr. Woodard, she looks forward to continuing to play her part in the training of young veterinary students and considers it a privilege to be able to introduce them to the work of swine medicine and all the industry has to offer. With her future interests turning toward biosecurity and transportation and the impact those practices have on the health of food animals, she still maintains her commitment to the education of food-animal-oriented veterinary students.

–Ray-Donna Peters

School of Graduate Studies Celebrates 25 Years of Excellence

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Seventeen years after establishing a successful School of Medicine, St. George’s University further evolved as an international center for excellence with the launch of the School of Graduate Studies (SGS). Spearheaded by SGU’s second Vice Chancellor, Dr. Keith B. Taylor, it was his vision for international expansion which led not only to forming SGS but to creating the Office of Research, the Panel on Research and Scholarly Activity and most noteworthy the founding of the Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF)in 1994.

This year, the school celebrated 25 years of excellence, having graduated more than 1,300 students.

“Dr. Taylor recognized that if a tertiary education institution wanted to enhance its excellence in medical education, this could be done through expanding its academic offerings,” said Dr. Calum Macpherson, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and director of research at SGU. “Today, SGS aims to achieve and sustain excellence in every area of its graduate programs, evolving its reputation as a world-class school, and enriching international, national, and regional communities through the outcomes of its programs and the skills of its graduates.”

At present, the SGS has 34 different graduate degree programs, including a Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Business Administration, Master of Arts, and Master of Education programs. In addition, students can earn dual degrees such as the DVM/MSc, DVM/MBA, MD/MSc, and MD/MPH, which has more than 1,000 graduates and is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Established in 1999, SGU’s Master of Public Health program has been fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) since July 2010, having recently earned CEPH re-accreditation of the MPH program through 2022. According to Dr. Christine Richards, chair of public health and preventive medicine, that makes it the only accredited program in the region and only one of five such programs accredited by the CEPH outside of the United States.

With approximately 25 percent of graduates hailing from Grenada, the School of Graduate Studies has had a significant impact on Grenada and research in the Caribbean as a whole—especially on the quality of jobs and the level of Grenadians entering senior posts in the country and within the region. Many SGU grads have gone on to hold high-profile positions in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), occupy top placements in Grenadian financial and health institutions, and assume the role of Grenada’s Chief Medical Officer, including Drs. Carlene Radix and George Mitchell.

 

“Today, SGS aims to achieve and sustain excellence in every area of its graduate programs, evolving its reputation as a world-class school, and enriching international, national, and regional communities through the outcomes of its programs and the skills of its graduates.”

 

In terms of research, substantial work has been completed in collaboration with the Ministries of Health, Education, and Agriculture through WINDREF, also commemorating its 25th year. The foundation is a non-profit charitable trust which attracts considerable contributions of grants and donations from international organizations and private donors. WINDREF has hosted several dinners at the House of Lords in the UK with notable speakers, such as Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Olympic Games Organizing Committee. It has also held a number of fundraisers, including one in 2000 at the United Nations in New York, which raised US $400,000, of which $200,000 was donated to renovating Grenada’s General Hospital.

“WINDREF brings in approximately US $1.2 million a year in research funds,” said Dr. Trevor Noël, deputy director, WINDREF. “It is also one of the largest employers of our MPH graduates, providing not only employment but exciting research opportunities for Grenadians so they don’t have to move abroad to become research scientists. They now have the opportunity to work on well-funded research projects right here in Grenada.”

The foundation’s largest research projects have included partnerships with SGU’s Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPHPM) and the Ministry of Health covering both noncommunicable and infectious disease research through the lens of their public health and epidemiological importance in a small island developing state. Appropriate, applied research has been the foundation’s focus with practical solutions such as instituting the Touch Toe Test—a simple examination to help diabetes sufferers detect loss of sensitivity in their feet. Along with a PSA, the program potentially reached thousands of Grenadians in hopes of resulting in a reduction of diabetic foot amputations.

Similarly, with the introduction of the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) epidemic in 2014, WINDREF also collaborated with Drs. Clare Heath and Desiree LaBeaud of Stanford University to study the epidemiology and long-term effects on those infected with the virus. At present, the foundation has partnered with renowned Dengue expert, Dr. Timothy Endy from SUNY Upstate Medical University on an incidence study of infection within the SGU student population, as well as the immunology of the primary infection and the feasibility to support dengue vaccine development.

With much of the School of Graduate Studies’ research conducted on its True Blue Campus, SGU also houses the first WHO Collaborating Centre on Environmental and Occupational Health in the Caribbean, the Global Water Partnership (GWP)’s Caribbean network, and one of six regional collaborating centers of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in the world.

“One of the largest research focuses in the future will be the effects of climate change,” added Dr. Macpherson. “In addition to the environment, it’s going to have an impact on both human and animal health. We hope to be at the cutting edge of research into this global problem. Our capacity to develop research protocols and partnerships will certainly be of importance regionally but will also have relevance globally.”

– Ray-Donna Peters

Major Canadian Hospital Joins SGU’s Burgeoning Clinical Network

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Pembroke Regional Hospital, Ontario, CanadaAdding to more than 70 clinical training locations across North America and the United Kingdom, St. George’s University has finalized an agreement with Pembroke Regional Hospital in Ontario, Canada that will offer fourth-year students a range of disciplines to choose from for their clinical electives.

SGU is the first Caribbean medical school to secure an agreement of this kind with Pembroke. Students will be able to apply for an elective at Pembroke starting in early 2020, selecting from a menu of specialties spanning radiology, surgery, anesthesiology, and more to be announced in the new year.

With more than 80 percent of SGU’s Canadian students from the Ontario area, “this is a golden opportunity for SGU Canadian students to do electives in a major hospital near their home,” said Charles Furey, SGU’s director of admissions for Canada. “Electives are important because of two major reasons—it gives the students the clinical experience and ability to network in a hospital, as well as the opportunity to achieve a letter of reference which is solid gold when seeking residencies.”

Added Furey: “In addition, the agreement also provides an opportunity for Pembroke to have a look firsthand at the quality at SGU students and attempt to recruit them following their residencies. It’s a win-win.”

Located 150 kilometers northwest of Ottawa, Pembroke Regional Hospital delivers a broad range of acute, post-acute, outpatient, and diagnostic services to a mixed urban and rural population of approximately 55,000 residents in the city of Pembroke, the town of Petawawa, and surrounding municipalities, including Petawawa Military Base.

“The medical staff at the Pembroke Regional Hospital are excited to provide an opportunity to SGU students to experience medical practice in a community hospital,” said Dr. Tom Hurley, chief of staff at Pembroke Regional Hospital. “Fourth-year students will be introduced to the Canadian healthcare system through a variety of specialties ranging from internal medicine to surgical subspecialties. Teaching well-trained students is one of many ways we ensure our physicians remain current in their areas of expertise.”

SGU has been building its clinical network north of the US border. SGU recently announced new agreements with two Canadian facilities—Ottawa Cardiovascular Centre and Booth Neurology Clinic—further expanding the opportunities available to fourth-year students to broaden their skills and knowledge in preparation for residency.

Canadians have flourished at SGU and beyond, with 94 percent of eligible students and graduates applying for residency in North America successfully obtaining one in 2019. Eighteen Canadians who applied through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) secured residencies this year in competitive fields ranging from anesthesiology and emergency medicine to pathology and psychiatry.

“St. George’s University is committed to preparing our students with the foundation of knowledge and clinical skills to prosper in their medical careers,” said Dr. Richard Liebowitz, vice chancellor at St. George’s University. “Adding a premier institution like Pembroke Regional Hospital to our clinical network is a major feather in our cap for students who wish to return to Canada to obtain a valuable and rich experience across a wide variety of disciplines.”

– Laurie Chartorynsky

More Than 100 Students Awarded Legacy of Excellence Scholarships in Fall 2019

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Aerial images of Sir Eric Gairy Hall and Andrew J. Belford Centre.

This fall, St. George’s University welcomed another class of Legacy of Excellence scholarship winners, continuing its tradition of rewarding individuals who have demonstrated academic excellence throughout their studies.

This term’s 25 Chancellor’s Circle Legacy of Excellence (CCLOE) scholarship recipients hailed from 12 United States, the District of Columbia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and from such undergraduate institutions as Johns Hopkins University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Miami; and the University of Guelph. The CCLOE partial-tuition scholarship is awarded to incoming students who meet or exceed an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.7, a science GPA of 3.5, and an MCAT score of 506 or above.

Eighty-nine American and Canadian students were bestowed Legacy of Excellence (LOE) scholarships this term. The award is granted to students who exhibited the dedication necessary to achieve excellence in medicine, both in the classroom and the field.

“This class of Legacy of Excellence recipients is made up of highly accomplished students who have very bright futures in the field of medicine,” said Dr. G. Richard Olds, SGU president. “We are thrilled to present them with this scholarship, which allows them to focus more on their studies and less on the financial element of their education.”

Since the University launched its Legacy of Excellence Scholarship program more than 10 years ago, CCLOE/LOE scholarships have been presented to hundreds of students who have gone on to successful careers as physicians. All told, approximately 28 percent of each entering class is granted an institutional scholarship, with awards based on academic excellence and/or need.

– Brett Mauser

Mother’s Cancer Battle Motivates SGU Grad to Become Breast Surgeon

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Joseph Di Como, MD '14A doctor delivered the news—cancer, an aggressive form. Joseph Di Como’s mother, a cornerstone of the family, would have to undergo surgery and many months of treatment.

Her struggle changed the course of his life forever. More than 15 years later, now a doctor, Joseph Di Como, MD ’14, is providing important care and instilling hope in patients as a breast surgical oncology fellow at Brown University, Women and Infants’ Hospital of Rhode Island.

“Although I enjoyed all of my clinical rotations, surgery was the one that called to me the most, and even though I enjoyed every subspecialty of surgery, I felt that breast surgical oncology would give me the most personal satisfaction,” he said.

He was just a sophomore in high school when his mother learned that she had inflammatory breast cancer. The diagnosis blindsided the family. His mother was healthy, still young, and there was no family history of cancer.

“It was extremely difficult, as a young kid in high school, to juggle between school, extracurricular activities, and coming home to that situation every day,” Dr. Di Como said. “We were all optimistic at first, but as her health continually worsened and we learned more about what was going on during the different stages of the disease, it was very difficult for everybody.”

Antonina Di Como battled the disease for 16 months before passing away in November 2003 at age 44. Her death was the turning point for Dr. Di Como. He went from being an average student to a superior one—and his career path was clear.

“After that, I knew I wanted to be a doctor, specifically to treat cancer,” Dr. Di Como said. “I tried to keep an open mind throughout medical school, but I knew what I wanted to treat.”

Now fully immersed in cancer care, he works toward achieving positive results for patients in Rhode Island. Dr. Di Como operates on patients with both benign and malignant conditions, using the most up-to-date surgical techniques. He marvels at how these techniques are rapidly evolving and how treatment has become tailored for patients based on the biologics of a tumor. As a fellow, he preps patients for surgery or any extra imaging or testing they may need, and also co-coordinates a weekly tumor board, for which he and another oncology fellow present all new cancer patients or those with any benign masses or conditions for further workups.

“Different tumors behave differently, and different factors will direct how we tailor the therapy,” said Dr. Di Como. “It will depend on everything from a patient’s hormone receptor status and their reaction to chemotherapy to his or her age, medical comorbidities, and where they are in life. There’s no one cure that fits all.”

 

“A doctor’s job shouldn’t just be treating and curing disease; it’s about improving the life of a patient through empathy and compassion.”

 

In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Di Como is committed to conducting research to help progress oncology even further. Current projects include the use of radiofrequency identification (RFID) to tag breast cancers for surgical excision, in comparison to the standard use of wire localization in breast tumors, whereby wires mark lesion locations prior to surgery. Also, with the help of new technology, he conducts intraoperative angiograms using a florescent green marker to identify vessels in the patient’s breast prior to doing a mastectomy with reconstruction.

“By doing this procedure, our hope is to preserve these vessels to see if that has any impact on tissue viability and flap viability,” he said. “Having a flap that isn’t getting enough blood flow is one of the biggest and most detrimental complications a patient can have, so we’re trying new ways to avoid that, in order to help these patients that are undergoing reconstruction right after surgery.”

Each day, he is reminded of his family’s own encounter with breast cancer. It has changed him as a person and as a doctor, and has indirectly assisted the patients that he treats.

“I know how it feels to be on the family side of these diagnoses,” Dr. Di Como said. “Even if the prognosis is poor, it’s very important that, even if you cannot cure the patient, that we find a way to make everybody feel comfortable. A doctor’s job shouldn’t just be treating and curing disease; it’s about improving the life of a patient through empathy and compassion, to try to do everything you can to make the rest of their time here as comfortable and fulfilling as possible. Patients and their families are appreciative as long as they know that somebody cares, that somebody is on their side.”

He describes it as a “vital, sacred experience that cannot be underestimated.” With the care his own mother received, Dr. Di Como witnessed the kind of difference it can make for a family, and the experience has helped shape the rest of his life—and the lives of those he treats.

“Before she passed, I told my mom that I was going to be a doctor,” he said, “and I’m proud to say that I am.”

– Ray-Donna Peters

For more SGU coverage of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, check out Cancer Scare Inspires Grad To Become Oncologist At Memorial Sloan Kettering.

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Clinician, Teacher, Researcher: Silicon Valley Gastroenterologist Kept “On His Toes”

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Andrew Roorda, MD ' 04, gastroenterologist

Gastroenterologist Andrew K. Roorda, MD ’04, is thrilled when he holds an endoscope in his hands. He is likely helping a patient suffering from any number of symptoms affecting his or her digestive tract. From a person who has food stuck in his esophagus, to those who are bleeding or managing chronic illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome, Dr. Roorda encounters patients with a wide variety of ailments.

“What’s nice about gastroenterology is you can be in the endoscopy suite in the morning, the emergency room during your lunch hour, and assessing patients in the office in the afternoon,” he said. “I love the multiple settings of my job.”

Originally from San Francisco, Dr. Roorda has been practicing in the Silicon Valley since 2012 and is affiliated with three Northern California hospitals—El Camino Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, and Stanford University Medical Center. He also performs outpatient endoscopy at the Silicon Valley Surgery Center.

Thanks to advancements in technology, the field is evolving to become more interventional, allowing Dr. Roorda and his peers to diagnose and treat more complex cases.

“Technology is helping the field in many ways,” Dr. Roorda said. “Both endoscopes, such as the newer high-definition ones, those with a wider field of view, as well as their endoscopic accessories are in a constant state of development. Artificial intelligence is on the horizon in many fields, including endoscopy, and we anticipate that it will be used to help us identify polyps during colonoscopy. The more options we have in our endoscopic toolbox, the more we are able to offer our patients during their procedures.”

EARLY BEGINNINGS

Dr. Roorda credits his early interest in becoming a doctor after reading Erich Segal’s “Doctors” during a summer vacation. The book follows a group of fictional characters through their training at Harvard Medical School, and it gave Dr. Roorda an in-depth look into what medical school is like. “I saw how almost super-human those characters were and thought this would be something really cool to do,” he said.

In college, Dr. Roorda got his first chance to be a superhero himself when he helped stopped a person from committing suicide. Seeing how he could contribute to saving someone’s life moved him. “We were there to help somebody who really needed it and we changed the outcome,” he said. “While doctors don’t get to do that every day, there are definitely times that I still get to feel that way.”

While he didn’t immediately set off to medical school. Dr. Roorda graduated from the University of California San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in history and considered becoming a history professor. But his interest in medicine was never far from his mind. Going to SGU “was initially a leap of the faith, but I got over that very quickly,” Dr. Roorda said. “When I got down to Grenada, I started to see the caliber of students who were there and began to learn more of the success stories, so I knew things were going to work out.”

“St. George’s made me resilient,” he added. “In your clinical years, you get to go to a lot of different hospitals. It taught me how to adapt quickly to new settings which helped me to be flexible during rotations in my residency and fellowship.”

Dr. Roorda, who is 6’6″, originally wanted to be a surgeon. However, his height posed a problem when standing for long periods of time during operations. He became interested in gastroenterology after realizing he still could do plenty of procedures that were shorter in duration.

SECURING A RESIDENCY IN A COMPETITIVE SPECIALTY

Obtaining a residency or fellowship in a competitive specialty like gastroenterology is not easy. Students who take the extra step to make themselves stand out will likely be more successful in securing a position, recommends Dr. Roorda.

For GI, it was identifying mentors who conducted research. “I was very fortunate—I learned how to write papers and I presented the research as posters at conferences. That stood out on my resume.”

Dr. Roorda completed his internal medicine residency at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco, CA. He then went on to become a clinical fellow in gastroenterology at West Virginia School of Medicine in Morgantown, WV.

Dr. Roorda has published research in scientific journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Digestive Diseases and Sciences, Diseases of the Esophagus, and Practical Gastroenterology. In between seeing patients, he also teaches at Stanford University School of Medicine as an adjunct clinical assistant professor in the school’s Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Sharing his knowledge with aspiring doctors is important to Dr. Roorda.

“The science cannot really advance unless people are teaching it to a new generation of trainees,” he said. “I love the exchange of knowledge and in the process I learn new things myself. The trainees ask questions that keep you on your toes.”

– Laurie Chartorynsky

SGU Welcomes Two Canadian Institutions to Clinical Network

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Through new agreements with two Canadian facilities, St. George’s University medical students can now receive highly specialized clinical training north of the US border.

In August, SGU welcomed Ottawa Cardiovascular Centre and Booth Neurology Clinic to its clinical network of more than 70 training locations, further expanding the opportunities available to fourth-year students to broaden their skills and knowledge in preparation for residency.

“We’ve been thrilled by the response from our students,” said Sandra Banner, St. George’s University’s director of admissions for Canada. “With these training opportunities, they obtain a close-up sense of the Canadian healthcare system, and are able to experience some of the differences between the US and Canada, inevitably improving their chances of success on their exams and in pursuit of residency.”

 

“With these training opportunities, students obtain a close-up sense of the Canadian healthcare system, and are able to experience some of the differences between the US and Canada, inevitably improving their chances of success on their exams and in pursuit of residency.”

 

Applications for training positions at each site are now being taken for the charter class intake in November 2019. Ms. Banner said that SGU students are able to pair up the elective opportunities, giving them two full months in Canada’s capital city. At each clinical site, they will work directly with physicians who have dual appointments with University of Ottawa Medical School.

“Rotating in clinical training facilities throughout Canada, the US, and UK gives our students a worldly view of medicine that they can’t get just anywhere,” said Dr. G. Richard Olds, president of St. George’s University. “We firmly believe that taking advantage of these unique opportunities not only benefit them as they ramp up toward residency but well into their medical careers.”

Canadians have flourished at SGU and beyond, with 94 percent of eligible students and graduates applying for residency in North America successfully obtaining one in 2019. Eighteen Canadians who applied through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) secured residencies in competitive fields ranging from anesthesiology and emergency medicine to pathology and psychiatry.

– Brett Mauser

CityDoctors: Scholarship Paved Way for Grads to Practice Medicine in Greater NYC

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What makes a CityDoctor? Since 2012, St. George’s University’s collaborative scholarship program has provided more than 150 aspiring physicians opportunities to foster their medical careers.

While each CityDoctor’s story is unique, they’re all tied together by the fervent desire to serve communities in and around New York, to connect with their patients, and the willingness to do what is necessary to reach their goals.

The CityDoctors scholarship program is made possible through a partnership with three affiliate hospital systems—NYC Health + Hospitals, Hackensack University Medical Center, and Hackensack Meridian Health Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

As SGU prepares to greet a new class of CityDoctors on campus in January, four scholarship recipients shared how the award helped them realize their dreams of becoming doctors, and how the diverse patients and communities they work with will benefit from their training.

Read More About How CityDoctors Scholarship Recipients Are Making a Difference