Peggy
Dupey (MA ’90) says that a late 1980s conversation
with Professor Robert Fitch changed her life.
“I was debating about whether to go to law school or into education,” the
assistant dean for student affairs at the University of Nevada School of Medicine
said. “He could hear in my voice the passion for working with young adults
and convinced me to get a master’s degree in education.”
Dupey says Fitch also taught her that social science research
can profoundly influence education—a lesson she continues
to apply. In the course of her doctoral work at Nevada,
for instance, Dupey collected longitudinal
data
about medical student wellness, information she then applied to design
and direct the University of Nevada medical student wellness
program.
“Often medical students are so focused on academics they neglect other
aspects of their development,” Dupey said. “This program
integrates an emphasis on their own health and wellness into the medical
school curriculum.
It also tries to help them develop better communication, empathy, and
teamwork skills.”
“The wellness program has influenced faculty and staff to think about the
health and welfare of medical students in a proactive way,” says Director
of Recruitment and Students Services Ann Diggins. “The faculty
now makes a real effort to teach and model good self-care among students.”
Students also contribute to the program. One second-year medical student, for
instance, hosts weekly yoga sessions that are wildly popular with her peers,
staff, and faculty members. A self-described pragmatist, Dupey has incorporated
workshops, individual counseling, and academic advising into the program.
“With individualized attention,” Dupey said, “we try to cover
all the students’ needs—psychological, financial, spiritual, and
social—to help them maintain balanced lives.”
And do her Nevada colleagues know about her ties to the Midwest?
”I don’t believe there is a person anywhere in the University of
Nevada medical school who doesn’t know Peggy is from Iowa,” says
Diggins. “She is very proud of her home state and The University of Iowa
and has an impressive supply of Iowa T-shirts. Her time in Iowa is an important
part of the professional she’s become.” –by
Jean Florman
