Collette A. O'Connor
Like many of my colleagues, from a young age I've known that I wanted to do medicine, and hard to say why. I think it's a true calling. My parents are both in different service professions and I considered a lot of different service professions, and I had a grandfather in the fire service. So I looked into a lot of different options, and ultimately my skillset and what I loved doing was in medicine.
As soon as I turned 18, I became an emergency medical technician and really loved that work. I think that's when I knew this was really for me, because it was 3:00 in the morning, you'd finish a shift and you're excited to go back. I feel that way here, leaving the OR and having a weekend day off.
Marcia M. Wofford
I observed right away that Collette had a unique awareness of societal needs and a true commitment and empowerment to make a difference.
Collette A. O'Connor
I think I'm a very idealistic person by nature. I'm grounded in reality, but I want things the way I think they should be, and that's what I wanted to do in medicine. And I think ultimately, the ideals that I had thought in coming to Wake that I would find in primary care, I ultimately felt that urology, the medical and the surgical management of this system, being able to do small cases, big open cases and talk to patients in-clinic, it had all those aspects.
Maria Vromans
Early on, her knowledge, the way she came into anatomy lab, and then as we formed a study group with a few other of my classmates. The knowledge and the effort that she would bring to her studies made me feel more accountable to having to show up well with my knowledge so that we could be teaching each other and that I wasn't always just the learner.
Mark Sokolsky
Well, I met Collette four years ago when I first came to Winston-Salem. I actually met her, she was one of the student aides at the anatomy lab, and I was really just impressed by her knowledge of anatomy. She was really helpful in the anatomy lab. I required some additional training sessions and she was always the first one to offer help.
Collette A. O'Connor
I think what Wake does really well in general is I think what we call the ideals of the profession. We take really good care of patients here and we take really good care of each other. I did surgery as my first rotation and I think I really saw that exemplified by those teams, that we were taking care of patients in a way that I didn't even think was possible.
Marcia M. Wofford
It's easy for me to see why Collette's classmates chose her for this award. She really embodies the medical student who is committed to being competent, who is committed to being patient-centered, who is a great colleague, very interested in the success of her peers. And she's just fun to be around. I mean, she has the kind of personality and approach to life that makes you want to be with her.
Maria Vromans
She's been a part of DKE for all four years, taking on leadership roles. She was teaching the anatomy lab group after we finished our anatomy course for future students.
Collette A. O'Connor
Yes, I think with our DKE clinic, I started off as one of the medical team floor managers after having been a volunteer for my first couple years of medical school. We've seen the DKE clinic transition to two different sites at least over my time here. And the way that we've banded together to move supplies as a group and continue to serve patients, whether that's remotely on the phone, in-person at clinic visits, I think we've expanded our reach as to what the different support services in our community and how we can make those tangible for the folks who need them.
Mark Sokolsky
I think first and foremost, medicine is kind of a ethical responsibility and it's a higher calling, and I think Collette embodies all of the characteristics and attributes that you would want in your mother or your grandmother's physician. She's compassionate, hardworking, extremely intelligent.
Maria Vromans
I think her patients are going to benefit greatly by having her as a physician, in what I've seen already and how she cares for her patients and the way she knows every member of her patient's care team. She also knows her patient and patient charts better than any other classmate I've encountered.
Marcia M. Wofford
She's compassionate from inside out and will be a true advocate for her patients.
Collette A. O'Connor
I think my class, the people that I'm around have really shaped my attitudes and how I approach problems. Being in this class will always make my default that compassionate lens of what would you want in this situation, what should you do? And then do that right thing.
