In 2021, Nancy Reid had a lot to celebrate. She finished her Doctor of Medical Science; her husband Jason graduated with his MBA from Lynchburg later the same day, and daughter Emily finished high school.
“It has made for an interesting year competing for computers, office space, and bandwidth. I know this has been a common issue for so many during the past year. We had four online learners in the house this year!” she said.
Reid was not only a valued DMSc faculty advisor, associate professor, and mentor, she’s an alumna. Despite having already earned her Doctor of Health Sciences, Reid enrolled in the Lynchburg DMSc.
“I wanted to see what was going on in the other classes – the ones I don’t teach,” she said. “I knew there was a lot of valuable information being shared among cohort members. I especially learned a lot in Healthcare Law — it was tough! I knew there were a lot of interesting discussions going on, and I wanted in on that!”
Reid found that studying the federal laws that apply to emergency medicine was especially relevant during the COVID-19 situation.
“It was fascinating to learn about the laws that govern specific areas of practice, particularly when you can transfer a patient. For example, if the [emergency room] is at 100% capacity, what do you do? If the patient is present, you cannot divert them,” she said.
Reid enjoyed the collaboration and relationships formed between members of her cohort.
“We had so many interesting discussion board posts — I think many of my classmates did not know I was faculty — we were all DMSc colleagues!” she said.
