As a cardiology patient, I thought participating in this study could help me, too, and perhaps extend my life and help others as well. Even as a little girl, she always told her parents she would be a doctor. Now they know I didn t lie, Woodbeck says. In May, Woodbeck, who completed her entire third and fourth years of medical education in Phoenix, will graduate from The University of Arizona College of Medicine and shortly thereafter will begin a combined residency program in internal medicine and pediatrics. Ultimately, I want to specialize in adolescent medicine, Woodbeck says.
Adolescents have many psychological and social issues and health problems that are unique.
For example, a diabetic child may not question daily doses of insulin, but an adolescent may rebel and refuse to take the medication and end up in the hospital. Understanding teen-agers can help doctors facilitate treatment. Woodbeck graduated from Ohio University with a degree in zoology. She considered a few other medical colleges before coming home to Arizona. She credits the Dean s Luncheon, held each year to introduce potential students to the college, with persuading her to choose the UA medical college.