In a panel discussion, hosted by the of Office of Dominican Catholic Identity, three medical professionals shared with students how their faith intersects their professional lives. Brian Credo, MD, joined Dominican alumnae Madeleine Guerin, MD, ’82 and Marie Adorno, PhD, RNC ’78 and shared with students their experiences in the medical field. Following their presentations was a question/answer session.
Jill Cabes, Vice President of Dominican Catholic Identity, said future panels will feature other professions, including business, accounting, law, psychology, social work, arts, and education. She noted that the goal, “is to help the students see how their faith has the power to affect and influence their future professional lives. What the students learn about their Catholic faith can play a significant role post-graduation from high school and college.”
Senior Anne Alexander attended the presentation and shared the following reflection.
Faith and Medicine
By Anne Alexander, ’19
Pursuing a career in the medical field has always been a goal of mine ever since I was a young girl. The thought of helping those in need or even saving a life has been an ambition of mine that I hope to achieve someday.
Having attended a Catholic school my whole life, my faith has always played a major role in how I treat others and the decisions I make on an everyday basis. Recently, I was given the opportunity to attend a lecture given by three medical professionals: Brian Credo, MD, a Pediatric and Adolescent Specialist and Associate Professor at Clinical Pediatrics at Tulane University School of Medicine; Madeleine Guerin, MD, a Pediatric Specialist; and Marie Adorno, PhD, RNC, Assistant Director of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Program and Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing.
Each of these professionals shared how their faith has impacted their careers in the medical field. Sharing how their faith intersects with their professional lives, supports Dominican’s Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, and Math™ initiative that integrates the study of science and religion. My favorite part of the discussion was when the panelists shared with us the oaths they took upon graduating from medical school and nursing school. They noted that the oaths are infused with values shared by Catholics. Dr. Credo, Dr. Guerin, and Dr. Adorno stressed that the compassion, empathy, and faith that we gain from our Catholic education affects how we interact with others. The stories they told us reminded me never to give up on my faith and that it only gets stronger with persistence. From a student’s perspective, I enjoyed the medical panel because they were very informative about their specialty and not ashamed to stand up for what they believed in. This reassured me that my faith is not something that dissolves after high school, but can be used in the future to assist those in need of help.