It’s Wednesday, so it’s appropriate to finally post a little something about the best site director on the planet. Of course, it will not do her justice.
Did you know the term “doctor” meant “teacher”? I might have posted something about that before. The emphasis and dedication some doctors place on education, even at an academic institution, is mind-blowing. It takes a special kind of love of medicine, love of learning, love of sharing…not to mention the organization and efficiency to set aside time strictly for the students…and patience, so much patience. We, medical students, are insufferable.
Yet among the mass of brilliant physicians not only willing but eager to teach and work to improve our education, Wanda takes the cake. She is an Ob/Gyn who serves as the site director to the hospital where I did my clerkship. Rumor has it that she is so beloved that she is perpetually booked up to the brim, a patient of hers has to either move cross country (though plenty still commute) or die in order for her to take another patient (but this is a rumor).
So it’s surreal and surprising that she dedicates Wednesday mornings (the full mornings) to the 6-7 students at her hospital. We start with waffles in the cafeteria, then we move up to a reading room just off the original surgical amphitheater in the oldest hospital in the country to discuss cases, alternate topic presentations, and receive regular coaching and encouragement from Wanda, literally the sweetest physician you’ll ever meet.
Can you believe I studied here?
If you meet her, you will instantly love her. Not only is she wickedly brilliant and as fierce an advocate for her patients as they come, who receives the utmost respect from patients, colleagues, and students, she is also adorable. Have I ever described a physician as “adorable” before? When she speaks of the Labor & Delivery floor or the NICU, even though L&D is not really her area of focus, she’ll say things like, “There’s nothing better than an infant.” In reference to my pregnancy: “Oh, to be pregnant! It’s like having a little friend with you all the time!” Adorable, right?
I want to be her one day. Until then, would she consider adopting me?
anna in med school 