Medical students’ 40-hour orientation hints at work weeks to come
Damani Fitzgerald and Emily Jordan were both in clinical spaces this spring when they got the phone call. The call. The one inviting them into East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine’s Class of 2029.
“I had my phone on full ringer,” said Fitzgerald, who had applied once before and was then a primary clinical assistant at a practice in Concord. “It came over my lunch break. I said to the doctor I worked with, ‘Oh, it’s a 2-5-2 number!’ He’s like, ‘Answer it, answer it, answer it!’”
Associate Dean for Student Affairs Kema Gadson speaks to a room of 91 first-year students inside the Brody School of Medicine. “Everyone we selected,” she said of the class, “shares our values. We are confident these students are going to be the best of the best for North Carolina.” (ECU Photo by Bobby Ampezzan)
“My phone didn’t leave my pocket, waiting on that call,” said Jordan, who was also a medical assistant at a clinic, this one in Winston-Salem. “When I got it, I actually was with a patient. I was like, ‘Do you mind if I step out?’ She must have heard me in the hallway because when I came back in, she said, ‘Congrats!’”
They were two of the 91 students who arrived at the school July 21 to begin four-year journeys to M.D. More than a month before the fall semester commences for the rest of the students at ECU, this hardy crew underwent a 40-hour orientation week, an immersive introduction with events to connect, equip and inspire. From curriculum overviews and advising sessions to personal stories and pep talks from faculty and students, orientation week offers a blend of practical training and emotional encouragement.
Jordan and Fitzgerald recalled their phone calls from the school standing outside the clinical simulation laboratory where they’d just taken their first written test, a certification exam for CPR following a four-hour intensive. It felt like warming up before a game, Fitzgerald said.
“I enjoy testing,” said Jordan. “For me, sitting with pen and paper and showing what I know — it’s kind of perfect.”
Meet Your Team
“This is not just a week of events — it’s the beginning of your journey as a physician,” said Dr. Kema Gadson, associate dean for student affairs. “It’s your training camp. Before game day —before the exams, clinicals and patient care — you’ve got to learn the playbook, meet your team, and prepare your body and mind.”
Eighteen second-year students served as orientation ambassadors. One, Maribel Reyes, second row, third from left, wondered if anyone would look like her before her own orientation. “That’s why I came back. I wanted to be the face I needed to see last year.” (ECU Photo by Bobby Ampezzan)
That preparation includes everything from navigating the curriculum and learning study strategies to forging friendships and committing to Brody’s core mission: improving health care in North Carolina, particularly through primary care and practice in underserved communities. This mission shaped the selection of this year’s incoming class from a pool of more than 2,200 applicants.
“We wanted great test scores, of course, but our main focus was fit,” Gadson said, “Everyone we selected shares our values. We are confident these students are going to be the best of the best for North Carolina.”
Second-year medical students returned to campus to help guide and encourage the incoming class. These orientation ambassadors offered relatable tips and stories, and a reminder that nerves are part of this acclimation.
“I remember last year being scared out of my mind,” said Dana Nguyen. “I just wanted to come back to say, ‘You’re going to be OK.’”
Maribel Reyes, another second-year, shared that as a first-generation high school and college graduate, she was genuinely concerned about belonging. “I remember wondering, ‘Will there be anyone who looks like me? Anyone else who gets it?’ That’s why I came back. I wanted to be the face I needed to see last year.”
Like Reyes, new student Jeff Lambert is a first-generation college graduate. At 47, he’s also a nontraditional medical student. Lambert had a lengthy career as a surgical tech. Before that, he was a home builder, septic tank installer, carpenter and more.
“I have failed an exam in my life. I have been late on a credit card payment. I have done all those things, so when my classmates have this happen for the first time, and it might feel like it’s the end of the world, I can tell them it is not,” Lambert said. “I’m 47 doing this — you can get anywhere you want to go.”
Where Else Would You Like To Be?
Senior Associate Dean Dr. David Eldridge challenged students to embrace the learning process — not as a test to pass but as the foundation of future patient care.
“This is a job, and it starts today,” he said. “Don’t just ask what’s the least you need to do to pass the test. Ask yourself, ‘What else would I want to do?’ Because this path is hard, but it’s also awesome.”
Emily Jordan, middle, and Damani Fitzgerald, right, sit in a CPR lecture and practicum course given inside the medical school’s clinical simulation lab. At the end of the four hours, they took their first written exam in medical school for certification in CPR.
By the end of orientation week, students had bonded over shared excitement, nerves and purpose. They practiced CPR, sat in academic sessions and met faculty mentors. They were drafted, as Gadson put it, into a mission much bigger than themselves.
The week ended with the feted Jose G. Albernaz Golden Apple Distinguished Lecture, now in its 17th year. The speaker was renowned thoracic surgeon Dr. Carlos J. Anciano who shared both near-recent clinical stories as well as ones two decades old, from his time as a new doctor traveling the vast Amazon River rain basin, carrying specialized care to far-flung (and very appreciative) people.
Be sweet, he told the first-year students. Eat when you can. Sleep is your weapon. Make time to read books (not screens). The trip is better with others, and — soccer is life.
The lecture and luncheon was funded by the Albernaz family endowment. The entire week was laced with food, treats and programming made possible by gifts from alumni and donors to the Brody Loyalty Fund, maintained by the ECU Health Foundation.
“I’ve just been overwhelmed by the amount of support this school gives its students,” said Ben Woodard, a member of the incoming class and a Brody Scholar.
The Brody Scholars program, created in 1983 with gifts from the Brody family and the Brody Foundation, is a merit award that pays for tuition over four years, most living expenses and $5,000 for travel. Only three incoming students get it.
“I’m so honored that I’m here, sitting across from the CEO of ECU Health and hearing from these incredible clinicians,” Woodard said at the luncheon. “It just shows what a personalized attention to our medical school class each of us enjoys, and it makes me feel so welcomed and thrilled to be a part of this school.”