OhioHealth CEO advises graduating medical students to be accountable and humble

OhioHealth’s chief executive officer challenged graduates of the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 2022 to hold themselves accountable to be the doctors they want to be and do so with humility.

“With your medical degree comes an accountability to uphold the principles of the Hippocratic and Osteopathic Oaths,” said OhioHealth President and CEO Stephen E. Markovich, M.D. “Basically, to be the best physician you can be.”

Markovich spoke at the Heritage College’s 43rd annual Commencement at the Ohio University Convocation Center. The 239 graduates of the Class of 2022 were the first students trained under the college’s new Pathways to Health and Wellness Curriculum, which takes an integrated, patient-centered approach to medical education and emphasizes team-based problem solving. Approximately 70 percent of the class of 2022 will stay in Ohio for graduate medical education training and nearly 55 percent of the graduating class will pursue a primary care specialty.

Markovich told graduates to remember why they wanted to become physicians, and to not only hold themselves accountable, but hold the people who will continue to teach and mentor them accountable as well. Although they’ve received their medical degrees, students will now spend several years in residency and fellowship programs completing their graduate medical education requirements.

Markovich reminded graduates that their learning doesn’t end today; it’s just beginning, and they have an obligation to learn. He added that graduates will need to be ready to navigate curveballs, like a pandemic, that might be thrown their way. “The real learning, it happens when you’re faced with patient responsibility in the real world.”

Markovich urged graduates to hold their future health care teams accountable for providing the best care for patients. He cautioned graduates to do all this with humility, saying, “It’s one thing to earn the degree, it’s another thing to live the degree.”

Graduating from medical school in the best of circumstances is an accomplishment, Heritage College, Cleveland, Dean Isaac Kirstein, D.O., pointed out. “By completing medical school during a global pandemic, you have shown tremendous resilience, flexibility and grace as you’ve overcome every challenge that has come your way,” he said. “The qualities that allowed you to not just survive, but to thrive, during this time will serve you well in the months and years ahead.”

Heritage College, Athens, Dean Beth Longenecker, D.O., recalled her own graduation from the college in 1991 and the excitement and nervousness she felt at the time knowing, “I would no longer be a medical student, but now I would be someone’s doctor!” She reassured graduates that they are well prepared for their careers as osteopathic physicians.

Andrew Williams, president of the Class of 2022 at the Heritage College, Athens, and a representative of the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents, said their knowledge of clinical and basic sciences has grown over four years of medical school, but that’s not all.

“We’ve laughed together. We’ve cried together. We’ve sat around the same TV listening for updates on the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve scrolled the same Instagram feeds witnessing social injustice. Through it all, we’ve really become family. Family sees you at your best, and family sees you at your worst,” he said. Williams went on to offer words of encouragement to classmates. “May you always be patient with the problems of life and know that any clouds will eventually give way to the sunlight of your most hoped-for days.”

Heritage College, Dublin, Dean William Burke, D.O. (‘88) told graduates, “I’m incredibly proud of each and every one of you – particularly as you’ve navigated the many changes necessitated by studying medicine during a global pandemic. I know each of you will continue to do great things in service to your patients and communities throughout Ohio and beyond.”

Cary Cooper, J.D., Chair of the Ohio University Board of Trustees, said the graduates should be proud of their hard work and determination.

“As Heritage College graduates, you are well-prepared to practice medicine with integrity, commitment, compassion and respect for each patient. I firmly believe your work will make a real difference in the lives of those you serve. We expect that you will be outstanding osteopathic physicians and worthy representatives of Ohio University in the years ahead.”