O U W B graduate Alex DeMare inside a dark operation room, wearing a blue hospital operating uniform. Has operation tools in each hand, rubber gloves, and wears glasses.

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White coats


icon of a calendarJune 6, 2017

icon of a pencilBy Emell Derra Adolphus

First Class

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine students learn to practice medicine with compassion

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Alex Godin

Before Dr. Nickolas Linkous made his decision to attend medical school at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB), he weighed his options and asked himself: Is it better to be one of 300 medical students or one of 50 in OUWB's charter class?

'One of 50'

"At OUWB I saw the opportunity to have a lot of close relationships with the students, faculty and physicians," he says. That was the case and more. Dr. Linkous is now in his second year as an orthopedic surgeon resident at Beaumont. "I had a lot of unique experiences I would not have gotten, if I were one of 300 people."

Graduating 90 students this year, OUWB's incoming class
size has grown steadily each year since its charter class of 50 students first enrolled in 2011. Uniquely placed as Michigan's first privately funded medical school, OUWB teaches students to practice medicine with an emphasis on care and compassion.

"From the first year of medical school, we were doing real interactions in patient care and seeing real patients," says Dr. Linkous, who received his B.S. from the University of Michigan. "Learning early on how to show compassion, whether you're talking to patients or their families, I think that's both unique to OUWB and something that I really appreciated about my education." And when it comes to patient care, OUWB medical students are taught early on that compassion is part of the cure.

Defining OUWB
Head shot of Dr. Robert Folberg. Wearing a black pinstripe suit with a white shirt and a yellow and blue stripe tie. Wearing glasses. Appears to be in a brightly lit room, the background is blurred.
Dr. Robert Folberg, M.D., is the
founding dean of the Oakland
University William Beaumont School
of Medicine in Rochester Hills,
Michigan.

In January 2007, OU and Beaumont jointly submitted a letter of intent to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to begin the process of accrediting OUWB. Initially, the medical school was thought to be a remedy for a then ailing Michigan economy.

"At a time when unemployment was peaking because of stress in the automobile industry, some individuals began to consider our new School of Medicine as an opportunity to diversify the economy of Southeast Michigan," remembers Dr. Robert Folberg, founding dean of OUWB.

Dr. Folberg was appointed as dean to the School of Medicine in September 2008 — the day the affiliation agreement between OU and Beaumont was signed. As the rest of OUWB's team began to arrive in the fall, the Great Recession took hold in Michigan.

"It was clear to us that the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine would not begin to contribute significantly
to the economy of Southeast Michigan as a new school for many years," says Dr. Folberg. "We, therefore, avoided raising expectations that we would significantly contribute to the diversification of the local economy in the near term."

A crucial step forward in developing the medical school was to determine its identity in relation to Michigan's legacy medical schools, says Dr. Folberg.

"We designed OUWB to be different from the medical schools at the University of Michigan, Michigan State and Wayne State. Our goal was to complement the outstanding legacy medical schools in Michigan — not to compete with them," he says. "When I explain OUWB to various audiences, I stress the unique design of the School of Medicine. OUWB is the first medical school to be developed along the lines of a 'high achieving small liberal arts college.'"

OUWB's multidisciplinary curriculum encourages students to be compassionate. Patients and their families are thought of as "partners in care," says Dr. Folberg.

"The goal at OUWB is to be ourselves — an outstanding venue for training physicians who are scientifically brilliant and who understand the need to become physicians focused not on 'curing disease' but rather on promoting, maintaining and restoring health to individuals and their communities," says Dr. Folberg.

“The school can accurately be described as a liberal arts medical school, and that’s what I wanted. That’s where I knew I would fit in, be happy 
and excel.”

Dr. Saad Sahi

University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School Northeastern University

B.S. | General Surgery

Compassionate care
Head shot of Dr. Jeffrey M. Devries. Wearing a navy blue pin striped suit with an O U W B logo pin on the lapel. Appears to be sitting in front of a wooden file cabinet.
Dr. Jeffrey M. Devries is a professor
of pediatrics, associate dean for
graduate medical education at the
Oakland University William Beaumont
School of Medicine and director of
graduate medical education for
Beaumont Hospital.

In his role as a professor in
the department of pediatrics, associate dean for graduate medical education at OUWB
and director of graduate medical education for Beaumont Hospital, Dr. Jeffery M. Devries ensures there is a natural harmony between what students learn at OUWB and how that knowledge will be applied during residency.

"We have an expectation that when the students graduate they come in with certain skills and abilities," says Dr. Devries, who oversees medical students who are completing their residencies at three of Beaumont's eight campuses. "We have to be tightly in sync with the medical school to make sure it's providing those requirements."

In their first two years of medical school, OUWB students spend most of their time in the classroom on OU's campus, where
 the medical school is based. In their third and fourth years, students spend most of their time at Beaumont completing clerkship training, working with attending physicians on patient interactions.

"We really noticed a remarkable difference in (OUWB) students compared to students we had in the past," says Dr. Devries. "The physicians generally found that our students were very engaged, inquisitive and much more willing to sit at bedside and talk with patients for a long period of time."

O U W B graduate Nickolas Linkous at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. Looking at an X ray, 2 skeletons also in the room. Wearing a white lab coat.

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine graduate Nickolas Linkous at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. Photo by Alex Godin.

O U W B students in white coats. The O U W B logo crest is in the front of the photo, on the white coats.

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine students in white coats. Photo by Alex Godin.

O U W B student celebrating his residency match at the Match Day 2017 ceremony, held at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Michigan. Hugging a female friend in a banquet room.

An Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine student celebrates his residency match at the Match Day 2017 ceremony, held at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Michigan. Photo by Alex Godin.

O U W B students celebrating their residency matches at the Match Day 2017 ceremony. Many people standing in a banquet room looking at a piece of paper, smiling.

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine students celebrate their residency matches at the Match Day 2017 ceremony, held at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Michigan. Photo by Alex Godin.

O U W B graduate Dr. Sara Gerhardt serving her residency at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. Standing in the hospital hallway, looking at an i pad, wearing a white coat.

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine graduate Dr. Sara Gerhardt is serving her residency at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. Photo by Alex Godin.

O U W B dean and professor, Dr. Robert Noiva in O'Dowd Hall at Oakland University. Standing in front of a classroom, smiling at the camera, wearing a grey suite and glasses. 6 students in the room.

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine associate dean for Medical Education and associate professor of Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Robert Noiva in O'Dowd Hall at Oakland University. Photo by Alex Godin.

Among physicians and friends

A great bedside manner goes a long way helping patients feel comfortable, which makes them more likely to share more with their physicians, Dr. Devries says.

"Because if you can engage a patient and become a partner with a patient and their care, rather than dictating, then the patient
is more likely to provide more thorough and comprehensive information about their past medical history," he says.

Dr. Sara Gerhardt regularly relies on this approach in outpatient care as a Beaumont internal medicine resident.

"I like the continuity of developing relationships and being able to get to know the patient and follow them over time. You don't get that as much in emergency," says Dr. Gerhardt, also an OUWB charter class graduate.

Dr. Gerhardt says completing her residency at Beaumont gave her the opportunity to continue building a rapport with the medical professionals she learned to trust at OUWB.

"I know so many people from all the different specialties in Beaumont. It makes it easier to communicate by knowing these people," she says. "There is an element of trust that was built previously at OUWB. So, we don't have to page each other, we text each other. It's certainly something that's not normal for most hospitals, so it's kind of an extra perk."

Hospital residencies are often structured like an inverted pyramid, explains Dr. Alex DeMare, another OUWB charter class graduate and Beaumont general surgery resident.

"You start out with less responsibility but it increases year after year," he says. "You get a lot of hands-on experience the last two years at OUWB, but you are never really the one having to make a decision."

Hospital residencies also vary in intensity. On a normal day, Dr. DeMare arrives at the hospital at about 5 a.m. and is done around 7 p.m. He works about 80 hours a week on average, has performed about 300 surgeries since starting his residency and will have performed about 1,500 surgeries when he's finished with his residency.

"It's kind of a marathon," he says. But he gives the credit to his OUWB professors and now fellow physicians for helping him pull through. "They are the reasons I wanted to come here for residency. They mentored me and pushed me to want to go into surgery, and they fostered my interest from there," says Dr. DeMare. "They are the people I interact with on a day-to-day basis. It's great."

With a team of trusted professionals by his side, Dr. DeMare says he can rest easy. "When I wake up, I have a fire in my chest, and I am ready to go again."

Physicians of the future

A medical school may not have been in OU founder Matilda Dodge Wilson's original plans for the University, but in many ways OUWB's mission embodies her core values.

"I always point out Matilda's appreciation for the humanities,
 her embracing of a community and a global view," says 
Dr. Robert Noiva, Ph.D., associate dean for Medical Education and associate professor of Biomedical Sciences. "So when I talk about community medicine, we talk about the importance of the community but we also talk about global relationships."

Seventy percent of OUWB's charter class students came from local universities. Graduating its third class this year, Dr. Noiva says that percent is rapidly changing as OUWB builds a national reputation among Michigan's medical school offerings.

"We're a different school but the quality is there," he says.
 A testament to this quality, OUWB students are often top of mind when Beaumont is looking to fill openings at its hospitals. "Beaumont knows the quality of the students they are educating, and they want to see OUWB students come back and work in the hospital."

From its founding in 1955, Beaumont has always had an educational component in its hospitals and began hosting medical school residencies early on.

"Beaumont has been teaching medical students and resident fellows for many years. So they knew how to teach. But we wanted them to teach our way," says Dr. Noiva. "We sent
a number of their physicians for a month-long training at Stanford University to learn the Stanford system and they came back as instructors."

Most medical schools follow the 100-year-old model developed from a report by Johns Hopkins University educator Abraham Flexner. This model stresses two years of academic training and two years of hospital training.

"Schools have made small changes to this model. But they still hold true to this model where there are foundational courses that students take so they have a knowledge base to start," Dr. Noiva says. "At OWUB, students receive hospital training early on."

OUWB students receive clinical training in the hospital and ambulatory setting in their first two years. They are all trained as general physicians and do not specialize in an area of medicine until their fourth year of medical school.

"We want them to come out with a broad understanding of medicine," says Dr. Noiva. "That's what the M.D. degree is all about."

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