43 ‘Give them hope’ With Dr. Dustin Cupp, David McVay walked the halls of Cushing Regional Hospital, a 95-bed hospital that serves the Oklahoma communities of Cushing, Drumright, Ripley, Agra, Perkins, Yale, Oilton and Stroud. The physiology major went to morning and afternoon clinics and on patient rounds with Cupp. On one Tuesday evening, they worked at the county’s free medical clinic. And while he could not treat the patients, McVay listened. David McVay The curriculum took more than a year for the three units to develop, and at first glance, the requirements are standard pre-med. In the summer between their sophomore and junior years, however, the requirements are stepped up, with the students required to complete a three-week externship with a practicing osteopathic physician. In their junior year, students participate in primary care shadowing experiences. Students also join the OSU Student Osteopathic Rural Medicine Club — known as StORM, a name created by the group’s first set of officers in 2008. “The first officers wanted to be more than just a club; they wanted to storm Oklahoma by meeting with legislators, dignitaries, townspeople and new students to address rural health,” says Pettit, the club’s adviser. StORM’s main goal is to serve as representatives on both the state and national level. “In the long run, we want our students to become spokespeople,” Pettit says. A love for medicine A microbiology major, Jessica Branstetter externed in July with Dr. Jennifer Ferrell of Stillwater. The externship, which is shorter than an internship, was a natural transition for the 19-year-old. For the last five years, she has volunteered at Stillwater Medical Center, where she now works as a clerical assistant in the ER. Branstetter says she always knew she wanted to be a doctor. “I have always wanted to be in the medical field. I … wanted to get through high school quickly so I could do what I really wanted to do, which was medicine,” she says. With that in mind, she graduated a year early from Perkins-Tryon High School as valedictorian of her class. OSU’s rigorous program does not faze Branstetter in the least. “I am really excited about this medical program,” she says. “Most of my family lives in Oklahoma. This is where I want to be.” continues “Everyone has fami ly problems, so i t’s good when you can feel for your pat ients.”
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