Premedica Celebrates 35 Years at Colorado State University with Reunion

Colorado State University is hosting the 35th annual Premedica Symposium, "Oncology from Various Aspects of Healthcare," on Feb. 21-22 in Room 104 of Yates Hall on campus. The symposium with be combined with a reunion of Premedica members from the past 35 years.

The symposium will feature presentations on the role of nurses, physician assistants, researchers and physicians in the treatment of cancer. Returning physicians may take campus tours and meet with faculty members and health professions advisers in addition to attending the symposium. A reception and dinner honoring pre-med advisers at Colorado State will be held at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Hilton Fort Collins Hotel, 425 W. Prospect Road.

The reunion will continue on Sunday morning, Feb. 22, with a continental breakfast, student panel, and networking between students and reunion attendees.

The Colorado State Premedica organization was founded in the 1970s as a student organization linking pre-medical advising with pre-med students. The CSU student group has more than 800 alumni across the country and world. About 50 doctors who are former Premedica students still practice around northern Colorado.  

Currently about 500 pre-medical students are enrolled at Colorado State in biology, biomedical sciences and microbiology. The Premedica student group has about 150 members, who participate in activities such as a shadowing program with local doctors, a night in the emergency room and volunteering for blood drives.

The reunion will allow current and past Premedica students to support the organization. Organizers hope to raise at least $25,000 to endow a permanent scholarship for future pre-medical students. "The Premedica Scholarship will relieve some of the financial stress for one or more CSU pre-medical students each year," said Jack McGrew, assistant dean for undergraduate student affairs in the College of Natural Sciences and a long-time pre-med adviser. "The scholarship program continues the unbroken chain of support for students interested in a career in medicine."

"It’s a way to pay it forward," said Dr. Timothy Allen, Fort Collins neurologist and 1988 CSU graduate. "The Premedica program gives aspiring doctors the opportunity to experience different aspects of medicine and different areas of specialties." The reunion is also a way for practicing doctors to reunite with colleagues. "This is an opportunity to return to CSU to celebrate an important part of our lives," said Dr. Michael Swanson of Littleton, who graduated from Colorado State in 1973 and now specializes in obstetrics and gynecology.

For more information about the Premedica reunion and symposium, go to www.natsci.colostate.edu/premed_reunion/information.cfm or contact Jack McGrew at (970) 491-1300 or Jack.McGrew@colostate.edu.

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