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: Joe Novotny
Hometown: Omaha
Program/Year: College of Medicine – Class of 2019 (second-year student)
Education: Bachelor of Science from UNMC in Radiation Science Technology (Nuclear Medicine) – 2011
Activities:
President – Pediatrics Interest Group (PIG)
House Calls for Kids – a program sponsored by PIG where medical students visit low-income schools in the area and present to K-1st graders on what it is like to see the doctor. We teach them how to use a stethoscope, otoscope and ophthalmoscope, and show them that visiting the doctor doesn’t have to be a scary thing.
Hospital Buddies – another PIG program that facilitates arts and crafts activities and silliness between medical students and pediatric inpatients. It gives the little kids a sense of normalcy while in the hospital and it shows med students a little bit of the humanistic side of the medicine.
Staying Balanced:
Spending time with my family keeps me focused on why I'm pursuing a career in medicine. My wife and I have an eight-month-old son and a two-year-old black lab, which keep us on our toes and provides plenty of entertainment. The activities we enjoy most are (weather permitting) going on walks as a family, golf, and cheering for the Omaha Mavericks hockey team.
Three things people don't know about me:
1. I am an Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska.
2. I'm still a certified nuclear medicine technologist (CNMT).
3. My first job was in 7th grade selling concessions at a local nine-hole golf course on weekends.