Students confident in CMED

The month of August brought us the beginning of the fall semester and with it, the first wave of medical students to attend the Central Michigan University College of Medicine. These soon-to-be doctors are the beginning of a new era and a new doctorate program at Central.

The world of medicine is unfamiliar territory to the 25,000 undergraduate students who walk Mount Pleasant’s campus every day. To take a further look inside this program, Trista Osantoski and David Hales decided to give readers access into the next four years of their academic life as medical students.

Excitement was written on their faces as they talked about what their journey into the medical world might entail.  They are part of a group venturing into unknown territory at Central, but are thrilled with the opportunity. Some might ask why these medical students would choose Central, when there are more established and prestigious medical schools throughout the country.  For Hales, the answer was simple.

“I completed my undergrad at CMU, so I knew I liked it here and was already familiar with the campus,” he said.

For Osantoski, her reasoning was a bit different.

“I knew I didn’t want to go to school in a big city,” she said.  “I applied (to Central) and to Michigan State but the classes here were much smaller. At State, the classes could be 200 students, here they’re 64.”

Central offers prospective doctors a more intimate atmosphere to complete their program. With small class sizes, exclusive study rooms and graduate housing directly across the street from their classes, Mount Pleasant’s campus offers a comfortable experience where students will not get lost in the crowd.

When asked if they were confident that Central was the right choice, they answered with a definite “yes.”

“We have state of the art technology and a great teaching staff,” Hales said.  “I love the community and everything it has to offer.”

Osantoski agreed that Central is the place for her.

“At this point, I really can’t imagine going to any other medical school because this one just works for me,” she said.

 

This is the first story of a series following med students in their first year. 

 

Photo | Brittni Hengesbach, Staff Photographer