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Synapse The UCSF Student Newspaper
Thursday, September 12, 2013
synapse.ucsf.edu
Volume 58, Number 2
ORIENTATION ISSUE
NEWS
OPINION
What to Expect in Your First Year of Medical School
Watkins Appointed Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Affairs By Lisa Cisneros UCSF.edu
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lizabeth Watkins, PhD, Dean of UCSF’s Graduate Division, has been named Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Affairs. She succeeds UCSF Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Affairs Joseph Castro, PhD, who accepted a position as the next president of California State University in Fresno. Watkins, who joined UCSF in 2004, will retain her academic appointment as dean and professor, and will fully assume the responsibilities of vice chancellor. In this expanded position, Watkins’ responsibilities include overseeing all student and graduate affairs. She will lead strategically important educational initiatives and partnerships for UCSF, acting as primary advisor to the Chancellor and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Jeff Bluestone, PhD, on all matters related to students. “Liz is perfect for this role,” said Bluestone. “Above all, Liz cares deeply about students and is committed to ensuring their
well-being and success at UCSF and beyond. She has a history of working with and across diverse and varied disciplines and areas. The depth and diversity of her personal and professional experience will be invaluable as Vice Chancellor-Student Academic Affairs.” Watkins began her career at UCSF as a professor in the Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine and director of Graduate Studies for the History of Health Sciences program. She has served as the dean of Graduate Division since April 2012. The Graduate Division offers top-ranked programs in basic biomedical, translational, social and population sciences. Watkins’ experience working with and on behalf of graduate students and postdocs, building community within the Graduate Division, and developing programs for enhancing diversity and student support, is highly valuable for the Student Academic Affairs role and environment. In her first year as dean, Watkins improved graduate student funding opportuni-
By Yi Lu Editor
A Courtesy photo In her expanded position as Vice Chancellor, Dr. Watkins will oversee all student and graduate affairs.
ties, including securing gifts for and creating new annual fellowships. She and her staff conducted a comprehensive career outcomes study of all PhD graduates since 1997, as part of the effort to enhance career exploration and planning for students and postdocs.
WATKINS » PAGE 4
ARTS&CULTURE
Burning Man Offers an Enchanting Escape By Sun Wu Kong Contributing Writer
S
pread across a scorched sand basin in the heart of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, 50,000 people are pitching tents, parking RVs, scrambling up giant statues, putting on Day-Glo fur costumes, dancing to techno and brewing coffee on Coleman stoves. The sun rises over distant mountains. Before the week is done, both a 100-foot statue of the iconic “man” and an elaborate temple will rise out of the sand and be consumed by explosions and flames. Hedonism, serenity, beauty and chaos — all these await you. As you step out onto the sand street by your camp, a 50-foot-long dragon rolls past, and the break-beat ambient bass is interrupted suddenly by a burst of flame shooting out of its nostrils. The driver of the magical beast slows her down and beckons to you to climb up onto the dragon’s back.
BURNING MAN » PAGE 3
Photo by Stephen Naylor/graduate student The meaning of some pieces of art are self-evident. The Temple at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert can be seen in the background.
s I enter my second year a little older, a little wiser and a lot better at parallel parking, I look back at my first year and think, “Wow, I really regret buying 1,000 shares of Facebook’s IPO.” But I also think back to the time just before I started medical school, when my white coat was still body-fluid-free and Grey’s Anatomy still sounded like a terrible show on ABC. Now that the Class of 2017 is officially on campus getting orientated, I’ve found it the perfect chance to reach into that ratty old dumpster that some people have called my brain, shake out the summer pool reading and Netflix TV show binges and try to remember what life was like as an entering first-year medical student. So, in no particular order, here are six things that you can expect in your first year of medical school at UCSF. 1. You will be amazed at how many facts your brain can absorb. When you finish Prologue and look back at that 1,000-page syllabus, you might feel a little in awe over how much material you just covered in a mere two months. Remember this feeling when you receive in your Inbox 10 pages of pharm cards with drugs, mechanisms and adverse effects to memorize. 2. You will be horrified at how quickly you can forget it all. When you walk into your preceptorship the week after your cardiology final and your preceptor asks you three drugs you might want to give that patient with hypertension, don’t freak out if it takes you a few seconds or minutes to answer him. You’ll learn it again come Boards time. 3. You won’t be able to imagine life without Pass/Fail. Gone are the days of curves, grade deflation and calculating how many points you can miss on the final and still pull off that “A.” You might still do some quick mental math on how many points you can miss to comfort-
FIRST YEAR » PAGE 4