Confessions of a DMS Groupie

Why is it that people who share common schools, institutions, summer camps, or other experiences seem to be hard-wired to form groups? As a member of the DMS Alumni Council, I am one of these congregators or groupies. Why? Is it the occasional trips to DMS to check out the Lebanon campus? Or the drives through Hanover, during which I refresh and likely embellish old stories and memories? Or just seeing old and making new friends who share the DMS “experience”?

While all of those are factors, perhaps the most important is my allegiance to the school. I celebrate the quality education that I received, and the professors and classmates who have proven in so many ways to be charismatic role models. I value my time spent at DMS, and I want to constructively ensure that the benefits of DMS are sustained and available to current and future students. You can do the same. There are several ways to be supportive and involved.

• You can join the DMS Specialty Network and serve as a resource for students who have questions about medical specialties and practices as well as what life is like in various geographic environs. We are actively recruiting alumni to populate this new web-based resource that allows current students to connect with alumni based on common interests.

• You can give a kind word of welcome to incoming students by volunteering to write a personal note for the White Coat Ceremony. Three years ago we started a tradition in which each first-year student will find a note of welcome in the pocket of their white coat. Contact the alumni relations office by May 1 to participate this year.

• Perhaps the most obvious is to make a financial donation. Your gift to the Fund for DMS will provide critically needed unrestricted support to the Medical School. Indeed, this is the top funding priority for the school right now. As alumni, our participation sends a powerful message of our support for the School's mission.

The Alumni Council is interested in finding new and better ways to involve and communicate with alumni. We look forward to your suggestions, feedback, and good stories about DMS. I invite you to contact me, care of the alumni relations office at dms.alumni.relations@dartmouth.edu.

Pearl O’Rourke, MD ’73
President, DMS Alumni Council

Read more about Pearl O’Rourke