Providing a support system

The office of the Pre-Health Society is small and cramped, and never for a second is it quiet. Crowded with computers, books, a skeleton, group officers and, of course, a couch, it’s a haven for harried pre-med and pre-nursing students.

The group’s main goal is to provide a resource for pre-med students, allowing them to further their own education without saddling themselves with extra debt. However, the group isn’t only for future doctors. It once was, when it was called the Pre-Med Society, but they now try to take a much wider view of the field of medicine and health care.

President Anela Puljic and Vice President Jirina Truneckova are the driving forces behind the group, and both women bubble with ideas and enthusiasm. They provide information and help to anyone who wants it, and have a plethora of textbooks and other resources available.

“We’re here to help students in general, to do anything to help enrich their lives,” Truneckova said.

They do this by holding many events over the course of the year—everything from workshops on how to check your blood pressure to how to properly suture a wound. (Hint about the suturing: If you’re doing it right, it hurts.) These are held fairly regularly.

“I ask myself, what is worth getting out of bed for the in the morning?” Puljic said jokingly when asked how the group decides what kind of events to hold.

The events are normally taught by professionals who donate their time to help out.

In fact, that could be considered the group’s prime directive. Puljic and Truneckova make it very apparent that the Pre-Health Society feels that community outreach is the most effective method of supporting students.

The group also participates in ongoing, long-term projects, such as a blanket drive for the youth shelter Outside In and a feminine hygiene collection for Rose Haven. One massive undertaking is a program that sends a few students to Nepal, where they give medical assistance to impoverished and underserved communities.

The connection between the work and the reward is tangible for both women, as they feel that this group has a lot to offer the university.

Also important to the group is the collaboration between the other medical student groups. This relationship has been almost nonexistent in the past, so working together to make every event matter is key. To this end, they ask themselves: “Why not make the events bigger?”

In fact, most events that the society holds are in collaboration with other student groups, even the social events they hold, such as the ’80s dodgeball tournament.

The people who go to these events are not the only people who benefit from the society’s efforts. Both Puljic and Truneckova admit that the work involved with keeping the group running has been strenuous, but they believe that it will help them in the medical field.

“I’ve learned that if you care about something, you need to be active about it. You know, do something,” Puljic said. “And running this group, you see that all the time.”