Students Arrive At Scranton Med School

Scranton's first medical college opened its doors Sunday to welcome its inaugural class. More than 60 medical school students have arrived from all across the country, getting ready to hit the books and the classroom.

Orientation began Sunday morning for the brand new class of medical students in Scranton. The school received more than 1,000 applications and only 65 of those applicants received acceptance letters, something to make any student proud.

"There are a lot of schools and it is a tough decision, but for me, the thing that really made a difference was getting to be a part of a new school, something the whole community is behind," Lucas Gilbride of Colorado.

After a few hours of getting to know one another in Scranton, the new med students went on a 35 minute bus ride that took them to an overnight adventure at Camp Ladore near Waymart.

The future doctors took part in ice-breaking activities as they continued to bond with their classmates, and even though students came from all over the country and applied to dozens of different schools, many of them already like the hospitality of the northeast.

"Well, it's pretty competitive! And there are a lot of cut-throat people, but I liked the people that I met up here. That's why I came," said Emily Roe of Malvern.

For now, Commonwealth Medical College students will study in the main building at Lackawanna College. Over $5 million was invested to update the structure. Even so, a brand new home is already in the works.

Construction on the new facility has already begun. The brand new class will spend about two years there. It's set to be finished in 2011.

Dr. Robert Wright and Dr. Robert Naismith both sit on the school's board of trustees. They said the new medical college is off to a grand start.

"This is really exciting. It really is a thrill to see something of this magnitude accomplished in such a short time," said Dr. Wright.

"One of our people had a hat on in Germany that said TCMC and someone ran up to him in Germany and said that's the new medical school in northeastern Pennsylvania," Dr. Robert Naismith.

Once the brand new building along Pine Street in Scranton is finished, TCMC will be able to accept even more students per class. School leaders hope that means more doctors will stay in the northeast and they say that could help defray the cost of medical care.

Source