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Terry Wooldridge, M.D., with College of Medicine Dean James Armitage, M.D. |
- Lesson 1: Children are not little adults.
- Lesson 2: It is important to attend to the child’s emotional as well as physical needs.
- Lesson 3: Don’t be afraid to examine a child.
Dr. Wooldridge, a UNMC volunteer faculty member and pediatrician with the Fremont Pediatric & Adolescent Care – Kid Care, in Fremont, Neb., has opened his clinic to third-year medical students since 1994. For his commitment Dr. Wooldridge received the UNMC College of Medicine Volunteer Faculty of the Month Award for June.
“As a third-year medical student, this is their first exposure to pediatrics,” he said, of the students who spend six weeks in his office. “I like to bring them in, expose them to the entire field and give them a good perspective.”
It doesn’t hurt that he enjoys being a teacher too.
“Even though Dr. Wooldridge has a busy clinic with a large volume of patients he still takes the time to teach,” said Fred McCurdy, M.D., professor and regional chairman of the department of pediatrics at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Amarillo, Texas. Dr. McCurdy previously served as the associate chair for pediatric education at UNMC.
In 1993, Dr. McCurdy approached Dr. Wooldridge with the idea of taking on third-year medical students for their pediatrics rotation. “This was a new concept for the state of Nebraska at the time,” Dr. McCurdy said. “Dr. Wooldridge’s practice was one of the first, if the not the first, pediatric clinics to have third-year medical students from UNMC.”
The program’s success, he said, is directly related to Dr. Wooldridge’s continuous support.
“He has been extremely flexible and very helpful in attaining the educational goals we set out for these medical students,” Dr. McCurdy said. “He is really a true colleague in this process.”
Humbling words for someone who says he is just repaying an old debt.
“I stop and think about my training at UNMC and some of the people I respect the most are the people who taught me,” Dr. Wooldridge said. “It’s really gratifying to see the students come in and be scared to death to examine a child. By the time they leave they are so comfortable. It’s amazing to see their confidence grow over the six weeks they are here.”
While at his clinic, students see a variety of patients from premature infants on ventilators to adolescents and young adults. They also take patient histories, come up with treatment plans and see patients on return visits.
Dr. Wooldridge, who earned his medical degree from UNMC in 1990, is medical director of pediatric advanced life support at Methodist Hospital and is a member of the patient care review and maternal childcare committees, FAMC, in Fremont. He also serves on the Dodge County child abuse team.