OCTOBER STUDENTS OF THE MONTH
L1 Students of the Month
Traci Bourgeois and Jacob Noel
“Each incoming class at LSUHSC is filled with an extremely diverse
group of students--all with a vast array of experiences and
backgrounds, something that I feel contributes to the strength of our
community. Traci Bourgeois isn’t what you would call a ‘typical
medical student’ due to the fact that she left an already established
career as an educator and instructor. However, this has not phased
her current pursuit through medical school. Day after day she
manages to keep a positive attitude and a willingness to reach out to
her fellow colleagues. Traci is an amazing person that brings a
compassionate and supportive frame of mind to any group she works
with--I see it in lab courses, before and after classes, while giving
advice, etc. I believe that she does so without want or expectation of
recognition, which exemplifies professionalism. Personally, I am
proud to call Traci a friend and fellow classmate.”
“Traci is a great classmate that always looks out for others, and is
always willing to help! She's very dependable, supportive, and great to
talk to.”
“I recently served with Jacob Noel at the Student Run Homeless
Clinic. It was his first time volunteering at the clinic. From the
moment he walked in, his passion for his work and for service was
tangible. I noticed on several occasions that he noticeably improved
the mood of patients, members of our student team, and our
attending physician. He truly went the extra mile to make every
patient feel comfortable and effortlessly engaged in deeper
conversation with them to let them know that he truly cared. He
truly embodied so many of the qualities I would like to have as a
physician: humility, compassion, empathy, positivity, and wonderful
bedside manner. I was inspired to be a better version of myself, to
say the least.”
“Jacob Noel is an incredibly kind, compassionate classmate. He is an
awesome source of encouragement and positivity, both of which are
appreciated beyond words especially during this block. He always
sees the best in all of his fellow classmates, and I'm really grateful
to be in the same medical school class with him”
L2 Students of the Month
Addy Reine and Paige Deichmann
“Addy Reine has continuously volunteered her time and resources to
provide invaluable support and guidance to L1s as they maneuver
through the first year of med school. Addy always takes the initiative
to reach out, even before she is asked for help. “The surprise goody
bag she left me and her thoughtful initiative to generously share with
me her old studying materials that she found helpful are just a few of
the examples of how amazing Addy is,” remarked an L1. Despite her
hectic L2 schedule, Addy takes the time out of her life to serve and
care for others. I think Addy embodies the spirits of camaraderie,
empathy, and selflessness that an ideal student doctor should
possess.”
This past month, Paige Deichmann has selflessly served our student
body both inside and outside the classroom while maintaining her
commitment to academic excellence. As an L2 faced with arguably
the hardest exam of the first two years of Medical School, Paige
created useful study guides for her classmates and encouragingly
mentored students having trouble in pathology with her expertise in
gross organ identification. Meanwhile, she remained steadfastly
dedicated to her roles as vice-president (and co-founder) of the
Medical Research Interest Group, connecting students of all years
and disciplines interested in becoming involved in academic, clinical,
and quality improvement research to innovative projects. Paige has
exemplified LSUHSC's commitment to excellence!
L3 Students of the Month
Jessica Chu and Mary Nguyen
“Jessica Chu has been extremely integral to the successes of
our Class of 2016. She is also a kind and very intelligent
individual. As an example, Jessica stayed after a shelf exam
review for the younger students last year to help teach them a
mnemonic she found helpful. She will undoubtedly make a
compassionate, intelligent, efficient physician, and I would
send my family members to her without a second thought.”
“Mary Nguyen has been an amazing student to work alongside
and to witness working with patients. She consistently
demonstrates a positive attitude and keeps the team
motivated, even on the toughest days. Mary’s bedside manner
exemplifies her compassion and empathy. She will make an
outstanding physician.”
L4 Students of the Month
Ronnie Beaulieu and Anna DiCarlo and Philip Fontenot
“Ronnie Beaulieu is an L4 that exceeded the
expectations of an AI this past. He was always
available and willing to take extra steps to help the
team, whether that meant volunteering to do a quick
physical exam, talking with family members,
communicating with nurses, or working with students
and faculty on other consult services. Ronnie spent
extra time with patients and their families to make
sure that they understood our team’s role in their
treatment. When there was downtime, he’d go over
high yield topics with the L3’s that were relevant to
our patients and step 2 studying. He pretty much had
a mnemonic for everything and was always offering
up his tricks for keeping information straight. Ronnie
went above and beyond to try to make everyone’s
experience better, and his teamwork-centered
attitude was noticed and appreciated by everyone
that worked with him.”
“Anna DiCarlo has a deep passion for serving her
community. Throughout her medical school years she has
consistently sought ways to help and serve in the
community, both through school-organized efforts and
outside organizations. Whether she is helping with a
community health screening or serving in the shelter, she
often flies under the radar, because she's too busy working
to garner attention to her activities. She observes the needs
of those around her and quietly goes about finding ways to
meet them. On more than one occasion I have observed her
serving her classmates who were going through difficult
periods by providing encouragement, meeting physical
needs (home-cooked meals, transportation), helping a
classmate catch up in class material, or even just providing a
listening ear. Anna provides a living example of the servant
leadership qualities we all hope to see in our own doctor,
and I feel honored to have had the privileged to learn with
and from her.”
“Philip Fontenot has the unique ability
to make patients feel like more than
an object for doctors to take care of.
He takes time out of his day to speak
with patients and comfort them, even
if it means him staying later than
necessary. I once had plans with
Philip and he had to cancel because he
stayed in the hospital to change one
of his patients wound dressing and
listen to them talk about their
problems. In a world where most
people now consider medicine to be a
profession, he still considers it to be a
vocation that he is honored to be a
part of.”