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Hometown: Eureka, Calif.
College and major: University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Wash., Psychology
Likely to do on a free weekend: Beading to relax; playing kickball with MMS classmates; hiking and camping; exploring - going somewhere new. Amelia hopes to get to know Minnesota's many parks and extensive wild lands - "and to survive the winter!"
Guilty Pleasure: "People always make fun of me for listening to Whitney Houston and for watching 'Sex and the City.' And I sing in the car."
Best Advice from Parents: "My dad taught me about conflict resolution by teaching me this: 'Bring it up, talk it up, wrap it up. Finish it and move on.' I was raised believing everything in life is a lesson, so I've gained an underlying optimism. Even if the path looks bad, it's leading to a lesson." |
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Meet Amelia Sattler,
Mayo Medical School Class of 2010
In a way, it was bumblebee brains that brought Amelia Sattler to Mayo Medical School.
A psychology major at University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Wash., Amelia worked as a researcher in a neuroanatomy lab, investigating the role of Pavlonian conditioning in the proboscis extension reflex. "It was fascinating, and we found significant results and we're still publishing on them," she says.
From this work Amelia realized two things: eight hours a day at a microscope for three weeks at a time was interesting, and it was not enough. She wanted to apply her scientific talents working with people to preserve and improve their health. "The bumblebee brain research project was really great - I learned so much," the Eureka, Calif. native says. "But in the end, it just wasn't as interesting to me as people are, and especially, their struggles for health. I definitely prefer people over tissues."
Why Mayo Medical School?
Growing up in a rural community in northern California, Amelia had never heard of Mayo Clinic. But as she began to talk to classmates and professors in college, she quickly learned that Mayo Clinic was a world-renowned medical center. She got curious and began investigating Mayo. "The Mayo mission is really what attracted me right away," Amelia says. "It was all about patients as people, not just numbers in a system."
Like most prospective medical students, Amelia applied to a number of schools. When she got invited to interview at Mayo, she was excited. After the interview, she was thrilled. Says Amelia: "Once you get here and spend a day, you see so clearly how Mayo is all about people - patients, colleagues, teams. It's all about treating people really respectfully and humanely. It immediately jumped to No. 1 on my list, because I really felt so clearly that if I came to Mayo, I'd become the doctor I hoped to be, not just a learning machine. I would maintain my compassion and my enthusiasm for interacting with people."
Biggest Surprise about Mayo and Rochester
Newly arrived in Rochester at the start of school, Amelia and her mother maintained their priorities: They bolted for the beading store. "My mom and I just looked at each other and said, 'First thing we have to do: Go find beads!'" Amelia laughs. They were quickly gratified to find a vibrant community of beaders and excellent beading supplies to maintain Amelia's hobby.
Once school began, Mayo Medical School quickly surpassed her expectations. The biggest surprise: "Even after being here a while, I see the Mayo commitment to people has held true. It's not a ploy or a cover," Amelia says. "Sometimes it almost seems too good to be true, but it is real. And it's incredible."
She quickly discovered that the Mayo Medical School commitment to clinical immersion experiences for its students is also exceedingly real, not just talk. On day three, Amelia found herself in scrubs, in the operating room, observing a Caesarian birth. By day eight of MMS, Amelia was again in scrubs and this time scrubbed in, and handing instruments to the surgeons. "It was actually awesome!" she says. "I was right there! There were four people and I was one of them. That just blew my mind. It still does!"
What MMS Is Like
Despite the demanding course work and clinical experiences, Amelia says Mayo Medical School makes great efforts to care for the student as a whole person. Students receive instruction on healthful habits such as getting enough sleep. MMS professors and administrators address potential mental health issues students might face under academic stress, and teach them how to succeed in medical school. MMS leadership encourages academic experiences that address different learning styles. They also arrange social outings, entertainment and relaxation for the students so they feel connected, in it together. Students learn practical team-building and leadership skills, such as how to function smoothly with nurses, phlebotomists, X-ray technicians - the entire range of allied health care professionals.
Says Amelia: "There is so much help here; they really want us to succeed - without suffering."
And free time really does exist. Beyond beading to relax, Amelia likes to hike and camp and hopes to get to know Minnesota's many parks and extensive wild lands - "and to survive the winter!" A soccer player, Amelia sought out the Rochester community recreation league at the start of medical school to find out about forming a recreational soccer team, only to find soccer wasn't available. But kickball was. "That sounded fun, too," she says. "So I started organizing a team. One reason I sought out the community rec leagues is that with such a small class - just 43 of us - I thought it would be nice to get to know non-medical students, too."
Their team name declares a central feature of first-year medical students' lives: indecision in the face of so much opportunity. So it is that "Undecideds" is the team name emblazoned across the jerseys. Says Amelia: "With so many great things happening to us every day, it's just too soon to know where we'll be in five, 10 or 20 years."
On that, they decidedly concur.
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