Feb. 22, 2011 | Sitting at a table with a group of older guests, second-year medical student Steven McKee was asked what made him decide to go to medical school.

“I was interested in science,” he began and was soon visiting with John and Joyce Jones of Little Rock, who were among the 25 guests attending the Young Hearts luncheon Feb. 18 at the Reynolds Institute on Aging at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

The event was hosted by the Institute’s Geriatric Interest Group, a voluntary group of about 50 students from across all of the UAMS colleges, drawn together by an interest in geriatric care and the chance to meet students in other programs.

“This is one of the first chances for students in the different programs to meet and collaborate,” said Jeanne Wei, M.D., Ph.D., executive director of the Institute on Aging and chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine. “We encourage collaboration, especially in such an open and warm environment that this group fosters.

“It is a truly precious moment for the students to meet patients, when the patients are not here because they are ill,” she said.

Gohar Azhar, M.D., associate professor in the Reynolds Department of Geriatrics and co-director of the Cardiovascular Aging Program, has sponsored the student group for the past two years. She agreed that the luncheon is a great experience for the students: getting to interact with students from other programs and also with aging patients.

“For the students to get a chance to see the strength and see the heart in these seniors is such a rich experience for them,” Azhar said.

This is the second year for the voluntary student group and the second year the students have planned and hosted the luncheon. The students handled decorations and all of the logistics for the Valentines-themed event that drew patients and supporters of the Institute on Aging.

Leslie Warford, a first-year student in the UAMS College of Pharmacy who led the planning for the luncheon, said she welcomed the chance to meet other students. Having worked with geriatric patients before deciding to come back to school, she also wanted to explore her interest in geriatrics.

“It’s nice to meet students in the other programs to share stories and to help one another,” Warford said. “It’s good to get someone else’s perspective, especially when you’re able to see that person outside the work or school environment.”

Senior medical student Chris Winfrey, the group’s president; Warford, the group’s vice president; and other group members introduced themselves at the start of the luncheon, then filtered out around the room refilling drinks and sitting down to eat and visit with the patients. They were asked about their interests and in turn asked the patients about what they did before retirement.

The patients, a number of whom were in their 80s or 90s, said they thoroughly enjoyed the event, Azhar said. They also were full of praise for the students and expressed their appreciation for the care they received at the Reynolds Institute on Aging and at UAMS.

Wei and Warford said they would like to see more students in the Geriatrics Interest Group, which in addition to UAMS students includes students in the social work program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Wei praised the group not just for their interest in geriatrics but also for their service projects. In addition to the hosting the luncheon last spring the group fixed up flower beds and gardens at area nursing homes.