DukeMed Alumni News

DMAN 2024 Spring

DukeMed Alumni News, Spring 2024

School of Medicine Students Volunteer in Duke’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic

Duke medical and health professions students are playing a prominent role in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to the Duke Health community. 

More than 100 students from the School of Medicine have volunteered to assist with the administration of the vaccines at Duke vaccination sites. As of January 13, 2021, more than 18,000 vaccinations have been administered to Duke Health employees. Last week, Duke began vaccinating community members over the age of 75. 

Will You Put the Hat On?

A paper hat made by a five-year-old, especially one that doesn’t quite look like a hat at first glance, may not appear to have anything to do with racism. But for Kenyon Railey, MD, and those listening to his presentation during the Duke University School of Medicine’s “Turning a Moment into a Movement” event last June, the hat has to do with just that and more.

Alumni Spotlight: Charles Lucore, MD'83

When reports early last winter indicated that a mysterious new infectious disease had broken out of its point of origin in Wuhan, China, Charles Lucore, MD’83, P’17, MBA, began to prepare for its possible arrival in New York. Lucore was one year into his new position as president of St. Francis Hospital, a highly rated hospital and cardiac care center on Long Island. Because New York is a hub of international travel, he anticipated the novel coronavirus would eventually show up.

Adapt and Innovate: Medical Education During a Pandemic

Last spring, when Prince Boadi accepted an offer to attend Duke University School of Medicine starting in the fall of 2020, he knew the experience—leaving his family and friends in Chicago, learning his way around Durham, meeting new people, and taking on the rigors of medical school—would be different from anything else he’d ever done. He just didn’t expect it to be quite this different.

A Heavy Burden to Bear

For most medical students, getting the opportunity to don a white coat is a major milestone, one that fills them with excitement to be that much closer to becoming a doctor.

Kirsten Simmons had that same excitement initially too. But as time passed, Simmons, now in her fourth year of medical school at Duke, says her white coat gradually gained new meaning. It now feels heavy and represents a burden she wishes she didn’t have to bear.

Alumni Spotlight: Claire Aldridge, PhD’96

Before Claire Aldridge, PhD’96, and her husband, Matt Burnside, took their daughter on a long-planned spring break trip to New York City, she checked travel guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she is associate vice president of commercialization and business development. The focus at the time was on surface transmission of the novel coronavirus: avoid touching doorknobs, wash your hands frequently, and don’t touch your face.

Heeding the Call: Dismantling Racism

'Say their names.' That’s the call made by many in reference to the numerous Black people who have been killed by police or civilian vigilantes in this country. It’s a call that some say represents the long-overdue need to address systemic racism in the U.S. And it’s a call that many students, faculty, and staff say must include Duke University School of Medicine.

About DukeMed Alumni News

DukeMed Alumni News is published twice a year. If you have a story idea, please write to us at the address below or send an e-mail to dukemed@dm.duke.edu. We are interested in remembrances of favorite faculty or stories about your time at the School of Medicine, as well as alumni who have interesting hobbies, alternative careers, global and community health experiences, and anything you think would be of interest to other Duke medical alumni. Letters to the editor are also welcome.

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