One of the great advantages of attending Howard University College of Medicine is that from the first day of orientation, you realize that you stand in the halls of excellence and greatness. Good medicine is passed from one physician to another and no where in the United States is this more evident than at Howard University College of Medicine.
Thanks to my very strong foundation learned in the classrooms, halls and ORs of HUCM, I have operated with four former presidents of the American College of Surgeons. The first African-American president of the American College of surgeons looked across the table at me and said, "Scalpel to Drnjbmd" and that was a defining moment is my career.
Every hour that I spent in lecture, in study, in the Gross Anatomy lab, in the Pathology lab prepared me for the "ride of my life" and now I am passing that knowledge on to a new generation of physicians. Howard's roots run through me and now through the physicians (and other students) that I teach along with the research that I love. It is no accident that Howard produced many "firsts" and thousands more "bests" in clinical medicine.
I sincerely hope that the folks who wish to attend Howard get that acceptance letter. I can tell you that it was my first acceptance letter and it profoundly changed my life. Even today, as I still enjoy the fellowship of those that studied before me, with me and after me at Howard, I am in awe of how great Howard is and will be.
Not long ago, I sat down with UVABranch and I can tell you for sure, that she "gets it" and is working extremely hard to learn all of those things that will make her an outstanding physician and leader in medicine. All of the prestige in the world is meaningless unless you have a nurturing environment where YOU can learn the art and craft of medicine. When you are long gone from your medical school (and those 3 years [fourth year is away] go by fast), it will be those relationships with your professors and classmates that will become most important and will influence your success.
Even today, when I encounter some pathology that I want to discuss "off the record", my first phone call is to Dr. Fidelia-Lambert in the path department at HUCM from whom I know that I will get the inside story that I can't always get from my colleagues here. She is just one of hundreds of excellent physicians with whom you will develop close and lasting relationships with who are on the front line of fighting the diseases that plague our community.
The Howard physicians will always give you their best scholarship and teaching where in other institutions, you might be looked upon as a "token" or "affirmative action mistake". You will be pushed and challenged in ways that you thought were impossible but after you come through, you will be miles ahead of graduates of other institutions in terms of being ready for residency. It is not accident that Howard graduates match very well and at good institutions (Hopkins, Mayo, Stanford to name a few).
Black Surgeon is so very right with the post above. The "vibe" at Howard is amazing. In a time (Jan 20, 2009) when history was made a few blocks south of "W Street NW and Georgia Avenue" (yes, you can walk to Ben's Chili Bowl), excellence is made every day at HUCM.
