Betty Spangler, M.D., '86

In my previous life, I was a full-time R.N., homemaker and mother of two with a distant dream of becoming a doctor. Only when my children were grown did I feel free to apply to medical school. By that time I was 41 years old. As the oldest student at MUSOM, I was never treated as an oddity by professors or classmates. I was just blended right in and was lucky enough to be invited to become a member of a super study group.

Concern for each student’s success and respect for the unique contribution every individual brings to the program permeates the MUSOM environment. Such a philosophy fosters a caring, mutually supportive community of students who are encouraged to carry the same values to their professional lives. I consider myself fortunate to have been a part of that community, and proud to be a graduate of the Marshall University School of Medicine.

The faculty and staff of Marshall University School of Medicine are dedicated to student education and personal development. They devote endless hours teaching the art of medicine and nurturing those students whose educational interests extend beyond the classroom. Within my first two years alone, they helped me attain a national leadership position in the American Medical Women’s Association, valuable research experience in and out of the institution, and supported my travel overseas to study international medicine. I can imagine no other institution giving students that kind of dedicated individual attention and support.

Attending Marshall University has given me the chance to experience the advantages of a larger college as well as the intimacy and closeness of a smaller program. The faculty and staff foster a family-like atmosphere, as they are always available for extra assistance and guidance. Because of the limited class size, professors are able to provide a high level of personal attention and quality instruction. Professors routinely meet with students and schedule reviews in the evenings and over weekends. Furthermore, your opinions are taken seriously, and student evaluations are actually used to make changes in curriculum.

My four years at Marshall University School of Medicine set the ground work for what has become a very rewarding academic orthopedic surgery practice. After completion of my M.D. degree, I started my residency in orthopedic surgery in Morgantown at West Virginia University Hospital. I found I had been well prepared during my clinical years at Marshall. After residency, I completed an orthopedic surgery trauma fellowship in Seattle, Wash., at Harborview Medical Center.

Although Marshall University School of Medicine has become a leader in training primary care physicians, it annually places medical students in competitive subspecialty residencies around the country.

My years at Marshall gave me a strong basic science and clinical foundation that prepared me well for my "big city" residency. I will always appreciate the time taken by my professors when I went to them with a question or problem.