before and after pics

When Lauren Gilgannon, MD Class of 2023, was deciding where to attend medical school, it was EVMS’ emphasis on community that drew her in. At her White Coat Ceremony in 2019, she said that community focus – both on and off campus – made EVMS her first choice. “Community truly facilitates learning in a different way,” says Dr. Gilgannon. “You have a connection with your peers and you’re excited to learn with them and excited to serve the people around you. That just drives passion forward.” 

Now, nearly four years later, she says she made the right choice. “I feel like I was able to step outside the medical school bubble and really get to know Norfolk,” Dr. Gilgannon says. “It really takes going out in the community and understanding people’s needs and passions to be able to serve them. You can’t serve them without knowing them as people.”

Every medical student chooses a Community-Engaged Learning initiative to participate in during their time at EVMS. Dr. Gilgannon selected Medical Spanish. This initiative, founded by a gift from the Batten Educational Achievement Fund of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, gives students the opportunity to learn medical Spanish, work with Spanish-speaking physicians, visit areas with Spanish-speaking populations and take part in a clinical Spanish immersion rotation.

“I remember one clinic I spent three hours in a room with a grandmother, mother and son,” Dr. Gilgannon says. “That’s not something you’d normally get to do in a clinic visit and it made a real impact on me.” She says being able to spend that time getting to know the family helped her get a better understanding of how family relationships and social contexts influence health outcomes.  

It's an education she says you won’t be able to get anywhere else. “The teaching and feedback that I’ve gotten from faculty, attendings and residents was outstanding.” She adds that her first two years were great, but that she learned so much in third and fourth year. “I was surrounded by so many great teachers and mentors. I just don’t think you’re going to get that anywhere else.”

After commencement, she’s heading back to her hometown of Charlottesville to begin a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Virginia. “I’m excited to serve a community that I’m close to and that helped raise me,” Dr. Gilgannon says. “I’m thrilled to be able to give back to them after all they’ve done for me.”