Volume 19 Number 1 Winter 2002

index | latest edition.

The legendary mule shoe
found en route to the future
site of the medical center.

Medical School Traditions
by Grace Hammerstrom

Backpacking, carving pumpkins and striving to win an old mule shoe are just a few

Student groups and the medical alumni association have infused Stanford University’s medical school with traditions that promote class loyalty and unity – and bring a sense of fun to the arduous medical school experience. Although the traditions have changed over the past 60 years, their intent has not; they continue to provide a lifetime of memories for Stanford grads. Many of these programs focus on first-year students. That’s due in part to the fact that first-year students typically have more free time, says Phil Ecker, third-year medical student and president of the Stanford Medical Student Association. And traditions such as weekly gatherings at the BBC pub and the Moonlighting fall formal are designed to foster friendships among members of the incoming class.

One respected tradition takes place on the last day of orientation for newly entering medical students. At the stethoscope ceremony, which is sponsored by the Stanford Medical Alumni Association and attended by friends and family, the medical school’s dean presents every new student a high-quality stethoscope. "It’s a symbolic gesture, welcoming them to the profession of medicine," says Ross Bright, MD, associate dean for alumni affairs and a graduate of the class of 1958. "It signifies that you’re now part of the fraternity."

Another memorable experience is the Stanford Wilderness Experience Active Orientation Trip, known as SWEAT. Sponsored in part by the alumni association and run by medical students, this pre-orientation backpacking trip gives incoming first-year medical students the opportunity to meet classmates and medical students from other classes. Nearly 75 percent of incoming students participate, says Bright.

And no first-year medical school experience is complete without anatomy lab. Like many schools, Stanford has a tradition of honoring its cadavers at the beginning and end of the quarter. Before beginning dissections, students offer a moment of silence for the cadavers. And at the end of each quarter, anatomy students organize a memorial service. Traditionally, this ceremony involves students gathered in a circle, talking about what learning from a cadaver has meant to them. It is not uncommon for students to sing or recite poetry, says Ecker. It’s a way to pay respect to those individuals who have donated their bodies to science, he adds.

Another first-year tradition is the annual pumpkin carving contest, which the anatomy department organizes. Each year, medical students impress their classmates and faculty with an amazing display of medically themed pumpkins. Body parts and uncanny characterizations of faculty are always popular, says Ecker, who recalls one student group’s series of pumpkins carved to resemble the circulatory system.

Other traditions focus on the senior year, celebrating students’ accomplishments and next steps. One such event is the annual Match Day celebration, which was started about six years ago, says Bright. On the same day across the nation, seniors learn about their residency placements. At Stanford, students learn where they placed at an informal breakfast cermony and later are honored by classmates, faculty, family and friends at a formal champagne reception and dinner ceremony. At this event, the medical school’s dean reads every student’s name with his or her match and presents students with a gift from the medical alumni association.

Although many of these traditions date back fewer than a dozen years, there is one that has remained constant for over 60 years — the annual variety show, the hallmark of which is the student-inspired skits. Today, skits are performed as part of the Admit Weekend activities in the spring. As in years past, student skits usually have a medical theme and often parody medical school systems, departments or events.

Medical school alumnus Ralph Schaffarzick, MD, recalls that while he was attending Stanford in the early 1940s, the senior class would treat the faculty to dinner at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco and entertain them with skits, often lampooning faculty members. "There was a real sense of friendship with the faculty," he says. In addition to performing end-of-the-year skits, graduating students in the 1960s used to make movies, humorous accounts of their medical school days. As 1965 graduate Linda Hawes Clever, MD, points out, these films still exist today and are absolutely hilarious, at least to her and her classmates.

Another beloved tradition of the past was the Spring Sing, an annual competition that pitted campus groups against each other. As former participant Clever describes, there was a hush in the audience when the medical and nursing school representatives came on stage in their crisp white coats and uniforms. "It was a show stopper," she says, noting that they usually won. That’s a memory shared by 1946 graduate Schaffarzick, who remembers the medical school group being so successful at this annual fête that the university created an entirely separate category for it. He also recalls classmate Brad Young, who composed a song titled, "Clay Street Blues," in memory of the medical school on Clay and Webster in San Francisco. The song was recorded and sung on many occasions, including the last day at the old school, when the building was to be dismantled. "There was nary a dry eye in the audience," says Schaffarzick.

As legend has it, in November 1966, Wallace Sterling, president of the university, and Peter Allen, director of its news service, were walking across campus to the site of the future medical school. Sterling stumbled upon what he thought was an old horseshoe and saved it as part of the Stanford memorabilia collection. It was later discovered to be an old mule shoe, dating back to the Portola Expedition of 1769. Years later, Gunther Nagel, MD, the alumni association’s representative to the medical school, suggested that the mule shoe become a symbol to honor a distinguished alumnus who has been out of medical school for 30 years or more. When asked why the mule shoe was chosen for the award, Bright explains that it represents tenacity and stubbornness. As Nagel pointed out years ago, mules are smarter and more reliable than horses, and they have a lot more kick.

And though some would say it’s not a tradition, there is an integral part of Stanford life that distinguishes it from many other medical school campuses – the flexible five-year curriculum. "The five-year plan is revered by students," says Ecker. "The flexibility is key. It’s the reason a lot of people come here." Adds Clever, one of the first students to take advantage of the added year, the five-year plan allowed her to finish her undergraduate degree while attending medical school. She also believes it helped foster warm student/faculty relationships and provided more opportunities for open idea exchanges and mentoring.

In the minds of these students and alumni, the diversity of Stanford’s traditions – the awards, the competitions, the informal gatherings and the cherished celebrations – all add depth and texture to the medical school experience.

SM

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