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OUTREACHFour Directions Fetes 10th AnniversaryThe last day of residency is monumental enough, but for Patrick Linson, HMS '97, it also marked the 10th anniversary of the Four Directions Summer Research Program, which he helped start during his first year at HMS. On June 27, with just a few dictations standing between him and the end of his training at the HMS Joint Center for Radiation Therapy, Linson celebrated the milestones by welcoming 10 Native American students at the start of the Four Directions summer session.
Participants in this year's Four Directions program include (l to r) Charity Bishop, Pearlyn Tomosie, Gaylene Fred, and Nazune Menka. (Photo by Liza Green, HMS Media Services) Completing the first decade is a remarkable achievement for a student-run program. After all, the considerable responsibility of coursework and rotations leaves students little time for anything else. Early on, there was also the concern of having only one Native American student or none entering HMS each year. The secret of Four Directions' staying power is its roots in personal experience. A New Route to Medicine"Brent Hale [HMS '96], Shawn Franklin [HMS '96], and I began talking about how we each took a circuitous route to get to medical school," said Linson, referring to the origin of Four Directions. "We wanted to do something to help gifted, aspiring Native American students to shorten that route." Their conversations evolved into a summer research program for highly motivated Native American students.Four Directions is open to Native Americans 18 or older who have a keen interest in medicine or biomedical science and are devoted to supporting the Native American community in their professional lives. Participants train in basic research and clinical medicine during an eight-week session each summer. The native students not only have access to top HMS labs, but have many opportunities to gather and participate in Native American traditions such as talking circles and local powwows. Helping HandsThe day-to-day operations continue to be carried out by Native American medical students or previous participants, whose presence helps dampen the culture shock for anyone unfamiliar with the East Coast. Administrative guidance from the Division of Medical Sciences, particularly faculty director of minority programs Jocelyn Spragg, keeps the many grant and administrative issues manageable. As Native American HMS students have graduated and begun residency programs in the Boston area, many have remained involved in Four Directions as program directors. Examples include Linson; Tom Sequist, HMS '99; Ashleigh Guadagnolo, HMS '01; Walter Lech, HMS '01, and Otter Quaking Aspen, HMS '03.At a surprise party for Linson, the current participants and coordinators shared in a toast to him by Guadagnolo, who said, "Linson was among the first to greet me when I came to HMS. He has been friend, mentor, role model, and overall example of serving his community with a lot of heart." The words of participant Dan Calac, HMS '99, now practicing at an Indian Health Service clinic for greater San Diego, demonstrate the impact of the Four Directions program: "Six years ago a friend suggested I explore the option of applying to a small program for Native Americans at HMS. Retrospectively, I can say that my life changed so dramatically that I find it difficult to put into words the magnitude of this event. Four Directions not only fanned the fires I had burning for medicine, but it nurtured, stoked, and focused these desires to excel in my career." --Siobhan Wescott, HMS '06, an Athabascan from Fairbanks, Alaska, currently coordinating Four |
