Nancy Snyderman, M.D., is arguably the most famous alum of the UNMC College of Medicine.
The 1977 graduate has built a distinguished career as a medical reporter on network television –15 years with ABC and the past nine years with NBC.
This week, Dr. Snyderman returned to UNMC to meet with medical students and campus leaders and speak at two events.
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TIME OUT |
WITH T.O. by Tom O’Connor |
“It’s nice to be home,” she said. “Where people are smart and grounded — where normal people live.”
Dr. Snyderman spoke glowingly of the medical center’s role in taking care of Ebola patients last year.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my alma mater,” she said.
Dr. Snyderman knows all about Ebola. She was in West Africa doing stories for NBC when one of her freelance videographers, Ashoka Mukpo, came down with Ebola.
Mukpo was transported to Nebraska Medicine, where he was successfully treated.
One of Dr. Snyderman’s rules is to avoid being a part of the story. “If I do my job well, it’s never about me,” she said.
After returning from Africa last October, she was supposed to be in voluntary quarantine for 21 days and self-monitoring herself for possible symptoms.
She messed up. She left her house in her car and was spotted by someone who recognized her from television. It set off a firestorm.
“It was my fault,” Dr. Snyderman said. “I failed to recognize the fright of America over Ebola. America was falling apart.”
She was placed back in quarantine and had to cancel her scheduled trip to UNMC.
Thankfully, she didn’t back out on her commitment to come to UNMC.
She shared stories on her television career during a forum Thursday at the Durham Research Center Auditorium and admitted that she’s starting to tire of doing routine medical stories.
“My passion now is public health and global health,” she said. “I so worry about public health in the U.S.”
She was thrilled to convey to students “the mantra of her existence – just talk plain.”
“My job,” she said, “is to explain complicated stuff in an interesting way. I’ve found that the more letters someone has after their name, the less likely they will be able to talk in plain English.”
I must say it was nice to have Dr. Snyderman back in Nebraska.
She says she’s proud of UNMC — well, to put it simply, UNMC couldn’t be more proud of her.
Great article, Tom!