One message resounded throughout the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) diploma ceremonies: Never stop learning. Reamer L. Bushardt, PharmD, PA-C, senior associate dean for health sciences and professor of physician assistant studies at SMHS, made a charge to the graduates during the Health Sciences ceremony. “I want you to commit today to aggressively pursue lifelong learning,” he said.
He told the graduates that they should harness the knowledge they have, and be mindful of what they don’t know. During the MD Diploma Ceremony, Griffin P. Rodgers, MD, FEL ’89, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, shared tips he had cultivated over time. One example: “What you learn tomorrow is even more critical than what you know today.” Jeffrey S. Akman, MD ’81, RESD ’85, vice president for health affairs, Walter A. Bloedorn Professor of Administrative Medicine, and dean of SMHS, also addressed graduates at both ceremonies, reflecting on truth, integrity, and honor as the fundamental values for a physician.
