AUGUST 29 • 2024 | 45
career exemplified moral courage or
other times when their integrity as
physicians was tested,” he says.
“(Carpenter)
did a good job
of bringing
in examples
that helped us
understand some
of the choices that
were made,” adds
Shepherd. “It was
really helpful as I
tried to imagine
myself as a future
physician and
facing similar
situations.”
Concurrently,
Carpenter says the
sessions helped
him understand
how students were processing the
experience. He calls them “amazing
… courageous, thoughtful and
mindful.”
“Everyone walked in as individuals
who knew each other, but they
walked out as more of a family,” he
says. “People were openly sharing
how they were feeling, what they
were struggling with.
“I was really impressed with them,
and I think they’re all different
because of this trip,” Carpenter adds.
Much of the last day was spent
reflecting on the week. It included a
lecture from Krzysztof Antonczyk,
head of Auschwitz’s digital archive
and tour guide, that was titled “Why
am I here? The meaning and human
value of our work in Auschwitz.”
Time also was dedicated to allow
students to discuss trip-related
projects they plan to pursue upon
their return to the U.S.
“It was an amazingly impactful
experience for the students,”
Wasserman says. “The student group
was phenomenal and took it with the
seriousness that the topic deserves.”
A seven-week seminar follows the
OUWB Study Trip to Auschwitz,
taken for credit as part of the
Medical Humanities and Clinical
Bioethics (MHCB) 3 course,
in which students discuss and
reflect upon the trip experience,
the relevance of this history to
contemporary medicine, and
develop projects to
disseminate what
they learned at a
symposium dinner
as well as to other
community groups
at OUWB, OU and
beyond.
‘CASCADE OF
COMPASSION’
It can take awhile
to completely
process a visit
to a place like
Auschwitz.
But Carpenter
says he’s already
given it a
tremendous amount of thought,
especially with regard to how it will
impact the students for the rest of
their lives.
“They’re not only going to be
better physicians, but they’ll make
the physicians around them better,
too,” he says. “
As they move into
leadership roles throughout their
careers, there will be the obvious
cascade of technical knowledge, but
also a cascade of compassion and
humanism.”
Carpenter adds that he believes the
students “will be stronger individuals
because of the experience, too.
“They’re going to be able to reflect
back on what they saw, heard and
learned and ask themselves if it
can be applied to situations they
encounter,” he says.
The unique insight afforded by the
study trip also left Carpenter feeling
even more proud of the students who
graduate from OUWB.
“This type of program makes us
the school that we are,” he says. “Our
focus on humanism and medicine
is obvious in a lot of other areas, but
this really brings it home.
“You can’t get this experience in
any other way,” he adds. “This is the
most moving, sobering experience
I’ve had as a dean, and I think the
students and faculty would agree.”
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PUZZLE ANSWERS
Solution to puzzle in 8/22/24 issue.
1. Mulch bag on right
2. Green shovel in blonde woman’s hand
3. Green shutter on left
4. Pink flowers to right of man in blue
5. Porch light