Good Shepherd Health Care System (GSHCS) welcomed two third-year medical students from Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) in Yakima Wash.
Both students, Megan Hubbard and Leif Sjoren, have strong ties to the community, as Hubbard’s father-in-law spent time residing in Hermiston, and Sjoren is a Hermiston native. This is the third group of medical students that GSHCS has hosted from PNWU.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GSHCS
“With my father-in-law being from Hermiston, I already knew a little of what to expect from the community,” said Hubbard. “So far I have been spending time shadowing the providers at Family Health Associates and have been enjoying it.”.
Sjoren, being from Hermiston, is equally as excited to be here.
“I’m really looking forward to each of my rotations and keeping an open mind as to what I may choose as a future specialty, but I do have a strong interest in general surgery,” he said. “I think that each of the rotations will help make me a better and well-rounded doctor.”
Gary Trupp, chief of medical staff at GSHCS, believes that PNWU is producing some great students who are willing to listen and get involved in their learning experience.
“This is a great opportunity for us to expose medical students to practicing medicine in a rural setting,” he said. “Medical students receive a well-rounded and diverse mix of skills during their time with us, ultimately helping them to become better doctors. And of course, our hope is that once these medical students complete their residencies they will remember the people and experiences they had at GSHCS and will return to practice medicine here and care for our community.”
Medical students performing their rotations at GSHCS are not eligible for independent privileges and may perform authorized activities only under the personal and direct supervision of the sponsoring/supervising staff appointee who must be in attendance at all times when medical students engage in activities at GSHCS.
