Inside Duke Medicine
Student-Faculty Show brings laughs to Medical Families Weekend
posted March 2nd, 2010
Medical students act out the experience of being a student at Duke, here in a Molecules & Cells class.
Medical Families Weekend, held February 26 and 27, once again featured the Student-Faculty Show. The Friday evening performance in Page Auditorium is an annual event that gives medical students a break from the seriousness of studying.
More than 30 students worked together to produce the series of skits and musical numbers that gave their families a comedic glimpse into the medical school experience. The show was dubbed "Top Gunner" this year, with character names and scenes of competition that referenced the 1986 film Top Gun and gave the students a way to lampoon the stereotype of overachieving and hyper-competitive students who want to be at the top of the class.
"There aren't that many opportunities to be creative in medical school, and it's good to have this outlet for our creativity," said Drew Henderson, a third-year student who served as one of three producers of the show.
Faculty cameos included the four advisory deans, in a skit about medical school orientation. The advisory deans (pictured below, from left: Phil Goodman, Caroline Haynes, Robert Drucker, Delbert Wigfall) meet weekly with the students for group lunches in order to support them through the rigors of the Duke medical curriculum.
Proceeds from the show and a raffle - a bit more than $3000 - will be donated to the Durham Rescue Mission.
See photos from Medical Families Weekend here, and watch for video clips from the show to be posted to Inside Online in late March.