The Health Pre-professional Honor Society, Alpha Epsilon Delta, sponsored a seminar Wednesday evening that looked into the aspects of diagnosing students at SMU’s Health Center.
Co-Medical Directors and full-time staff physicians Dr. Peter Davis and Dr. Nancy Merrill spoke to the group of attendees about two unique cases they have seen recently, as well as giving the health pre-professionals a background on their education and expertise.
“When I started out, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Davis said during his presentation. “But I felt comfortable with internal medicine, and some other areas turned me off.”
Faculty adviser to Alpha Epsilon Delta, Dr. Christine Buchanan believes that what Davis stated is primarily why the group sponsors these events.
“It’s career counseling,” Buchanan said, “because the speakers have different paths that got them to where they are today.”
The organization is a national fraternity in which students can apply for membership after taking three pre-med courses as well as other requirements. But the lectures are open to all students.
“If students start coming to these meetings starting their freshman year, then when they apply to medical school they know what they are getting themselves into,” Buchanan said.
Wednesday’s lecture focused mainly on internal medicine and the cases SMU health center physicians see, but the honor society is also inviting a plastic surgeon to speak to students on Oct. 24, Alpha Epsilon Delta President Jaipreet Suri said.
“The cases today were real life cases, so it helps students realize whether the health profession is right for them,” Suri said.
One of the cases Dr. Merrill described was infectious mononucleosis, or mono, causing sore throat, fatigue, fever and muscle soreness.
“We have a lot of people with mono on campus right now,” Merrill said.
According to Merrill and Davis, the most common symptom that students come into the health center with is a sore throat. They also warned that in a college environment, simple illnesses could turn more serious.
“We have a flu outbreak every January or February,” Merrill said.
The health center will be offering flu shots in order to counteract the virus during the flu season. Merrill encourages students to get the vaccine and also recommends that girls get the HPV vaccine, which they can do at the health center.
These speakers helped students in the medical profession gain a better understanding for a career that involves a lot of effort and a long education.
“This is something that you have to want to do for the rest of your life,” Buchanan said.
