Page 27 - COM Outlook - Spring 2013

27 COM Outlook . Spring 2013
I was asked if I ever considered teaching
as a career option. As I pondered what I
was going to do after completing residency,
it was like a light bulb went off. Having
received the full-tuition scholarship, I felt
indebted to NSU-COM, so I applied and
received a job offer a few months later.
Today, 15 years later, I am blessed to still be
employed at NSU-COM.”
Nadine Chipon Schoepp, D.O., a 2007
alumna and current assistant professor of
family medicine who joined the faculty in
2010, had a brief but telling response to ex-
plain her return. “In my eyes, NSU-COM has it
all—a collegiate atmosphere, an emphasis on
medical outreach and community service, and
students who are eager and willing to learn.”
Like most professions, medical schools
and their faculty members have to contend
with numerous challenges, inherent pres-
sures, unforeseen frustrations, and incessant
fiscal concerns. Although the demands placed
on faculty members can be overwhelming at
times, the sense of fulfillment they feel usu-
ally supersedes the job stress they may be
experiencing. This is especially true of those
NSU-COM alumni now serving as faculty
members, who have witnessed academic life
from both a student and faculty perspective.
“The most fulfilling aspect of being em-
ployed at NSU-COM is being able to work
with the students and help mentor them as
they are beginning on their path to a reward-
ing career in medicine,” said Victor Jaffe,
D.O., an assistant professor of family medi-
cine who graduated in 2006 and rejoined
the college family several years ago. “Also,
it is amazing to work in an institution where
it feels like everyone is family and so readily
eager to help you advance in your career.”
According to Jacqueline Thomas, D.O.,
a 2005 graduate who joined the Department
of Dermatology in 2013, “The word doctor
in English comes from the Latin word for
teacher,” she explained. “Not only does this
imply the lifelong commitment to learning,
but also teaching—teaching patients, their
families, students, other doctors, and one’s
staff in a collegial environment.
“Watching students’ and residents’
faces light up once they truly understand
a medical concept is gratifying,” added Dr.
Thomas, who worked as a Mohs surgeon
and taught medical students, residents,
and fellows in a clinical environment before
returning to NSU’s College of Osteopathic
Medicine. “Throughout medical school, stu-
dents are taught to learn from those above
them and teach those below them. That
idea continues throughout the physician’s
career and is such a foundation in medical
education, it is difficult to imagine practicing
medicine without it.”
Robert Hasty, D.O., FACOI, a 2000
alumnus who serves as associate professor
of internal medicine and program director of
the NSU-COM/Palmetto General Hospital
Internal Medicine Residency Program, finds
Dr. Anderson-
Worts (far right)
during a medical
outreach trip to
Jamaica in 2012.
Drs. Victor Jaffe
and Nadine
Chipon Schoepp at
the North Miami
Beach Clinic.
Drs. Ken Johnson (left) and Robert Hasty
sharing a collegial moment.
Dr. Jacqueline
Thomas assessing
a patient.