Editor’s Note: Each month, InterCOM will highlight a "Student of the Month" from the College of Medicine. Students will be featured for their participation in activities outside of medical school and for making a difference in the community. The goal is to recognize students for what they are doing and to encourage other students to get involved in the community. After all, medical school should be much more than studying.
Name: Mike daSilva
Hometown: Bismarck, N.D.
Program/Year: Medicine, Class of 2017
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, biochemistry
Activities:
Healing Gift Clinic: this free clinic is run in Kountze Memorial Church every Thursday afternoon. The mutildisciplnary team cares for 30-40 patients per week. I first started attending as an M1, for clinical experience and to help lecture material "stick." I am among several UNMC students who attend every week we're in town. It's really addictive, and the patients are great. I encourage all incoming students to augment their education here, or at the SHARING Clinics, as soon as they can.
Local and international ophthalmology: The ophthalmology faculty at UNMC are all very friendly and helpful. Dr. Shane Havens and our Truhlsen Eye Institute staff organize several glaucoma and general ophthalmology screening events per year, including a booth at the Bridge to Care Health Fair. These are a great opportunity for students planning to go into any specialty to practice their exam skills, as well as to broaden their cultural horizons.
Dr. Mike Feilmeier and Jessica Feilmeier comprise our International Ophthalmology Division, which has several functions. In addition to annual fundraising events, they are partnering with Olympics swimmer Missy Franklin this year to start a donation campaign called Swim for Sight. This will help to expose the breadth of global blindness, specifically that which is caused by cataracts. It's difficult to think of a more effective one-time intervention than to cure blindness for about $25 in 10 minutes, which is what the international surgical teams do in large volume on their trips.
I hope to be part of these interventions in the future, as they are now focused not only on performing the surgeries, but also on training local residents and faculty for lasting impact. To this end, I am heading to the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in Kathmandu, Nepal next month to see first-hand what a model training institution looks like in the developing world.
Staying Balanced:
My friends, and anyone else on whom I've inflicted pictures, are aware that I go fishing nearly every week. Specifically, I go fly-fishing for carp whenever the water clarity is good enough. I'm also trying archery deer hunting this year for the first time. My wife Laura and I like to attend local concerts. Generally, "leaving work at work" is a skill we've developed over the years.
Three things people don't know about me:
I had an afro in high school.
We had a "pet" wild rabbit in our backyard recently with one stump leg; his name was Benji, and he was ridiculously cute.
Our houseplants also have names, such as Birdy, Planty, Fernadette, and Severus Snake.