Roman Miller, EMU professor of biology, said the four students attending Hershey Medical "embody EMU's values of service for Christ, compassion and integrity." (Left to right): Ben Ruth, Jon Spicher, Brianna Oelschlager and Austin Baer.

EMU well-represented at Hershey Medical Center

Four Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) graduates are part of the fall class at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, giving the Pennsylvania campus an “EMU feel.”

“We were surprised to find that EMU is one of the best represented schools in our class, excluding Penn State itself,” said Brianna Oelschlager, ’11.

Oelschlager, Austin Baer ’06, Ben Ruth ’09 and Jon Spicher ’10 are the latest students to enter Hershey Medical Center after graduating from EMU. Other graduates include Anny Smucker, a 2008 alum who served as a mentor to Oelschlager as she made the transition to medical school.

“Anny answered all my questions about coming to Hershey which helped ease my transition into medical school,” said Oelschlager. “She told me that the classes at EMU taught her how to study, which put her one step ahead of many of her classmates.”

Over the past 10 years, more than 90 percent of EMU students who completed the pre-medical program were accepted to medical school, compared to the current national average of 46 percent.

David Leaman, PhD, a 1960 graduate of EMU and physician at Hershey Medical Center said EMU students are prepared for the rigors of medical school. “The education they received, coupled with a strong work ethic and positive attitude, allows them to adjust quicker to medical school than some students.”

Oelschlager said their class schedule has consisted of time in anatomy lab, daily lectures and a course on the “Foundations of Clinical Medicine.”

“The class on the ‘Foundations of Clinical Medicine’ is really interesting because we learn how to perform a cardiac exam and to identify abnormal heart and lung sounds,” said Oelschlager. “But right now our time is mostly devoted to lectures on anatomy and being in the lab.”

With another nine weeks remaining in anatomy, Oelschlager knows their journey into the medical field has just begun.

“I am starting to see that what we are learning now is just building on the foundation of knowledge we gained at EMU,” said Oelschlager.

Discussion on “EMU well-represented at Hershey Medical Center

    1. Tammy, we’d love to know about the EMU nurses and their impact at Penn State Hershey Medical Center! One of the alum in this photo tipped us off to this story by sending the photo. Let us know about you and other nurses and we’ll gladly publish an update!

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