Current students, alumni of OUWB answer questions for admitted students

Several admitted students and their family members indicated one of the most impactful parts of OUWB's 2025 Second Look was hearing from current students and alumni.

One session featured Yujin Oh, M.D., OUWB '18, assistant professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, and a PRISM mentor for the Class of 2026, Renee Ringler, M4, Hope Hefferan, M4, and Nedi Affas, M1.

Ringler said it was "great to see everyone here in person."

"It meant a lot to me when I was picking a school to see people that went (to OUWB) and how happy they were to be going there," she said. "I've been very happy at OUWB, and I want these students to have the same experience."

The panel discussion was an hour long. Here is a condensed version for those who couldn't attend:

What brought you to OUWB?

Hefferan: I was born in this hospital, I've always been a patient, and I really couldn't have imagined training anywhere but here. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to train here for medical school and now for residency. (Hefferan recently matched at the hospital in obstetrics and gynecology.)

Ringler: OUWB was the best fit for me. I felt that I was going to get all the support I needed here as a student. I also wasn't sure what I wanted to go into, so I wanted to go to a hospital that had the resources to let me go into whatever I wanted. OUWB and Corewell Health offered that. (Ringler recently matched in urology at University of Kentucky College of Medicine.)

Oh: It was all about the Interview Day. When I first came for the interview, it was just how welcoming they were…the people, the vibe check. That was the most important thing for me because these were people that I was going to spend my next four years with.

OUWB has a guidance and mentoring program called PRISM (Promoting Reflection and Individual growth through Support and Mentoring). It includes a four-year curriculum that focuses on personal growth, wellness, and career development. PRISM mentors are physicians. Has PRISM been different than or exceeded your expectations?

Affas: It's been really nice to have a physician there for you. We all have his phone number and he told us to call anytime…even if facing struggles. He's there to help us overcome them. And he told us if we need to make connections or have interest in a certain specialty to let him know and he will connect us with other physicians. Plus, it's really fun to go on outings with the group.

Oh: I think it's always good to have a cohort of your colleagues as well as a good mentor guiding you through because medicine is a high-stress field, and you oftentimes are having to deal with very difficult situations and interactions. Nothing helps more than confiding in your colleagues who go through the same thing or someone who's done it before. I've always thought it was a very helpful program.

On PRISM, Oh said "it's always good to have a cohort of your colleagues as well as a good mentor guiding you through because medicine is a high-stress field."

Can you talk about your experiences going through the residency application and how you think OUWB prepared you?

Hefferan: One thing that stood out to me throughout the process was the Student Affairs office. I'm a huge fan of (Berkley Browne, Ph.D., associate dean, Student Affairs). We had monthly meetings to talk about my personal statement. And again, when she went through all of my signals for when I was applying to residency and then when I was making my rank list. I feel like her presence is really what made a difference for me.

Ringler: Having an advisor specific to my specialty was extremely helpful. And that's not limited to urology. Every specialty that is available to you there is a specific advisor for. It's open to all students…and that's very good in discerning what you want to do. And then once you decide on a field, they're there to guide you through the process.

What was your clinical experience like in terms of diversity of patients, and how do you think that prepared you for residency?

Ringler: We border a lot of different neighborhoods and niches. Our patient population is very diverse. We're not seeing the same population all day, every day. You're seeing a wide variety with regards to everything - gender, race, religion, age, sexual orientation. We get quite a mix.

Oh: If you consider the big metro area here, it's one of the biggest in the country with a diverse population group. Whether it's in terms of population or cases, you'll get a good variety.

How do you feel OUWB prepared you for board exams?

Ringler: I feel like the school prepared me very well. You get dedicated studying time for Step One…and the school is there to guide you through that process. You have meetings to make sure you're on track with regards to your scores and study plan. And then Step Two the same resources are available to you if you want them.

Hefferan: I had meetings with Student Affairs every month and they would create a study plan with me. They literally created a calendar for me and had daily goals for me to hit. They're very responsive and helpful in Student Affairs.

Oh: From a faculty perspective, I'm also part of the curriculum committee, and a big part of the committee's work is with Step board preparation. We meet monthly. We are constantly going through student feedback…evaluating what's going well, what students like, what they don't like. We're always trying to make sure students succeed.

What was the adjustment like going from undergraduate to medical school?

Affas: I can't say that it was so easy. However, the support that you get is truly tremendous. We have such amazing, supportive faculty. (Paul Megee, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies) would go in on some weekends and bring sandwiches and stuff for students and tell us he was going to be in his office if we had any last-minute questions about material. They really want you to succeed.

Hefferan: I just want to emphasize that if you're here, you did something right and you're smart enough. Don't forget about the things that you did in undergrad to succeed in getting accepted into medical school. It isn't that different. The main thing is the amount of information that's going to come at you. The thing is you guys already know how to handle that.

For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, senior marketing specialist, OUWB, at [email protected].

To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.