Quinnipiac University conferred 96 medical school degrees Monday during commencement exercises for the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine.
Yale School of Medicine Professor Dr. Auguste Fortin VI addressed the graduates at the People’s United Center and reminded them that when it comes to effective patient care, the most powerful medicine evolves from care, compassion and love.
“Medicine is an act of love. It’s not just an intellectual activity; it’s an act of the heart. That’s how we serve our patients,” Fortin said. “Practicing love means doing the right thing. It means keeping the patient at the center. It means caring for mind, body and spirit. I have come to believe that communication skills are the most important medicine that I dispense on a day-to-day basis.”
During her address to the Class of 2022, Quinnipiac President Judy Olian commended the graduates’ ability to persevere and adapt during their academic tenure at Quinnipiac. She highlighted the class’ accomplishments, including the creation of a new app to help emergency room physicians treat patients with musculoskeletal issues, scholarly work, crisis hotline management, staffing at community health clinics, telehealth patient care and providing service to need-based organizations across Connecticut.
“I congratulate every one of you for devoting yourselves to this noble calling and the practice of medicine that serves others first,” said Olian as she encouraged the graduates to continue to be a force for positive change in addressing societal needs. “Find ways to help those in need, to advocate for marginalized communities that don’t have the same access to care, and to be a beacon for the human kindness, compassion and support that we all so desperately need right now.”
As he reflected on the Class of 2022 and their academic journey together, Dr. Phillip Boiselle, dean of the School of Medicine, also challenged the graduates to channel all they’ve learned into the type of care that will benefit not only their patients, but also the communities in which they will serve.
“As members of our sixth graduating class, you have faced unprecedented challenges amid the pandemic, and you’ve met them with an admirable combination of grace and grit,” said Boiselle. “It’s the commendable way in which you’ve met these challenges that has defined you. As you begin your future careers as physicians, I challenge you to continue your work as change agents for healthcare equity by working to eliminate racial bias and to proactively address the social determinates of health for your patients and your future communities.”
Moments after receiving her medical degree, Dr. Linda Kerandi delivered the student remarks for the Class of 2022, echoing the call to provide compassionate, equitable and patient-centered care.
“We may know medicine, but patients know their bodies, and we are never above learning. The journey we are about to embark on is not easy. In fact, it might be one of the hardest things we ever do,” said Kerandi. “So, on the weeks where you forget what day it is, when all you have is the strength to just survive, lean into the people who have brought you here and remember that someone’s life has been improved because you are in it.”