On Thursday 7th July, Cokethorpe School hosted a masterclass with Dr Marlys Witte MD of which some of our Year 12 students interested in a medical-related career or one in biological sciences attended.
Dr Witte has had a ground-breaking career extending many years. She is a founding member of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona, personally training hundreds of medical students and physicians. However she is not, nor ever has been, an operating surgeon, instead assessing patients and conducting surgical research. She is among only a select few to be described as a ‘surgeon without hands’, and as one of the first female academic surgeons, Dr Witte also became involved in mentoring other female physicians in the US. In addition, she is known for her work on the Medical Student Research Program (MRSP) which provides funding for medical students to conduct research from molecular to clinical projects. Her most intriguing passion lies in the theme of ignorance, pursuing and inspiring curiosity in students to uncover the answers to unanswered questions.
The talk was thought-provoking as well as interactive. Nadeen commented:
“Dr Witte’s work and approach to teaching medical students was impressive to hear about as her approach involves learning about the students’ interests through their questions and showing that being ignorant not only means lacking knowledge, but also curiosity to find out the answers to unanswered questions. Overall, the session was a great way to reflect on ourselves and our interests and a lot was learned.”
