2 minute read
Scholar spotlight
Scholar spotlight
Medicine is the highest form of service
Growing up in Clarks Summit, Pa., Nick Gershey was inspired by the medical school right near his hometown that was gaining distinction for its positive impact.
“Having a medical school in this area that’s focused so much on community was a wonderful thing,” he said.
“And, as a kid, thoughts about my future consistently revolved around a desire to give back to the community that raised me. The Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program is an outlet for me to fulfill that goal.”
Nick has worked with Geisinger College of Health Sciences Pathway Programs, volunteering at a middle school serving students of greater economic need. “My community immersion project shows kids they can become the next generation of physicians. We do this by giving presentations on different specialties followed by a fun activity, such as making a spine out of candy. The intelligence of these young children is impressive!”
Nick is most interested in med-peds as a primary care specialty. He was introduced to it thanks to the seminar series, a unique feature of the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program.
“We’re able to see why each specialty is so interesting,” Nick says. “When you’re a firstyear medical student, you may or may not really know what each one entails. The medpeds residency director in Danville discussed his work in complex care, and I thought about having the ability to treat either pediatrics or internal medicine and follow patients through that transition of pediatric to adult medicine.”
The seminar series has reinforced the service aspect of medicine for Nick. “Hearing about the lives of these physicians, how they conduct themselves every day and hearing about why they do medicine — it’s been one of the great benefits of the Scholars Program. The program’s focus of bettering the Geisinger community at large is what keeps me motivated in pursuing my goal of becoming a physician.”
