March 9, 2023 — Two UF medical students will have the opportunity to learn leadership skills from nationally renowned academic medicine leaders during a spring seminar from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Medical students Alyssa Nielsen and Emily Beydler were nominated and selected to join the 2023 cohort for RISE: Developing Future Leaders in Academic Medicine & Science for 4th Year Medical Students. Medical schools can nominate two rising fourth-year students to attend a two-and-a-half-day seminar at the AAMC Learning Center in Washington, D.C. Participants are chosen who have demonstrated a willingness and ability to impact the culture and/or learning environment at their medical school.

Nielsen was nominated by the college’s associate dean for medical education, Heather Harrell, M.D., and serves as the director for the Equal Access Clinic Network’s Eastside clinic. She also started the EACN psychiatry clinic and is the class of 2024 debriefing co-chair, a leadership role that involves gathering student feedback about the educational program and relaying it to faculty.

“Together, my co-chair Caroline King and I started a debriefing process for the third- and fourth-year clerkships that has led to more consistent review and response to student feedback, which has been positively reviewed by clerkship directors and other administration,” Nielsen said. “I’m also one to always encourage my peers to discuss and advocate for the changes they’d like to see in their medical education, letting them know I’ll be supporting them as they do so.”

Shelley Collins, M.D., the associate dean for student affairs, nominated Beydler for the conference. Beydler has exhibited leader excellence in mental health awareness by developing a suicide prevention workshop for medical students and serving as co-director of the EACN psychiatry clinic.

“One of the reasons I chose the UF College of Medicine was the culture of humanism and deep care for patients and others, which is something I really value and want to cultivate,” Beydler said. “I’m incredibly grateful to the people who have mentored and helped me along the way. A quote I love is ‘Lift as you climb,’ which means as you ascend the professional ladder, bring others with you and lift them up. It’s easy to compare yourself to others as a medical student, but building each other up, whether it is sharing resources or lending a listening ear to a classmate going through a hard time, makes us a better team.”

Both Nielsen and Beydler will attend the conference at the end of the month, where they hope to learn about other leaders’ experiences to  better serve their peers and patients.

“I’m hoping to hear from current leaders in medicine and medical education about their experiences so I can start my academic career in residency in a way that maximally benefits my future career, as well as the med students and resident peers I will be teaching,” Nielsen said.

Beydler said she is excited to find out more about how future physicians can shape policy to improve patient care.

“In particular, as someone going into psychiatry, we have a duty to advocate from a policy standpoint for improved access to mental health care, especially for patients on the margins of the power structure. I also want to learn how to best advocate for patients and one another as our responsibilities and time demands increase as residents and attendings,” she said. “In addition, I would love to learn about how to be a more effective mentor. Someone like Dr. Shelley Collins is a meta-mentor for all of us, and I would love to learn how to best help others find their path in medicine in the future.”