Hands-on medical training

At the Florida State University College of Medicine graduation Saturday, 17 of the students spent their third and fourth years on or near the Treasure Coast.  They served at the side of experienced physicians, treating real patients.  Maybe one of them helped to treat YOU.  The FSU College of Medicine’s philosophy is: hands-on, patient-centered and community-based.  The students spend their first two years at the main campus in Tallahassee.  For years three and four, they are based at one of six regional campuses.  One is at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce.  The Fort Pierce program can count on 247 physicians who take turns teaching the students.  It partners with 15 health-care institutions and organizations, including major hospitals  The 17 graduates from this program are a diverse group – nine males and eight females, 12 whites, three African Americans, one Latina and one Asian American.   One of them, Claudia Zapata, told an administrator that two years on the Treasure Coast “enabled me to have excellent physicians as teachers, top-notch facilities, and patients who were happy to have an integral role in my training.”  Now we can call her DOCTOR Claudia Zapata.  For 88.9 FM, this is Paul Janensch.