Members of the UNMC chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society will be showing their appreciation for medical center residents on Friday to mark national Thank a Resident Day.
GHHS member Lauren Engel, an fourth-year medical student, said marking the day was something GHHS did at all its chapters across the nation.
“Residents work really hard, and they’re not always recognized for the work that they do,” she said.
The national initiative is student-run, as is the effort at UNMC, she said.
“We want to show that, as medical students, we appreciate what residents do — for us, as our teachers, for the patients, as their caregivers, what they do as a whole.”
Activities this year will include the medical students writing thank you notes to the residents. That effort goes beyond GHHS, Engel said — GHHS members have reached out to all of the medical students to ask them to write to a resident or residents who have been particularly helpful or important to the student.
“This year, we’re expanding these efforts to the fellows, because they are important to our education as well,” Engel said.
On Friday, GHHS students will set up snacks in the officer lounge for the residents and fellows, as well.
There are approximately 20 student members of the GHHS at UNMC, Engel said. A new class was inducted earlier in 2020.
Engel herself is writing to roughly 20 residents.
“I’ve learned what I can from the books, especially the first year in medical school, but residents have really bought medicine to life for me and taught me how to interact with patients,” she said. “Learning from the residents is a fun intersection between medicine, diagnosis and treating patients.”