- College of Medicine Student Affairs
Christin Giordano, an M.D. student in the class of 2016, has been selected as chair of the American College of Physicians (ACP) Council of Student Members, where she will lead 28,000 medical students from around the country who are interested in internal medicine.
The ACP is the nation’s largest medical specialty group with more than 141,000 members. Giordano has been the UCF College of Medicine’s representative on the ACP for the past year.
As a member of the ACP’s student group, Giordano is one of 13 students from medical schools across the country, including Harvard and the University of Washington, who offer student perspectives on council issues. That includes input on the ACP’s “Position Papers” which establish the group’s perspective on emerging heath topics. The latest paper, which discusses e-cigarettes, was done with the help of Giordano and her student colleagues. Council members also help promote internal medicine interest groups at medical schools across the country.
Her Student Council position is “really exciting to me because I think UCF is one of the up and coming universities in the country,” Giordano said. “It’s important for us to have our students out there making a name for ourselves and showing what we’re capable of as such a young school.”
Giordano worked as a physician’s assistant for two years, and decided to attend medical school because she says her “thirst for knowledge could not be quenched.” It’s this same passion that draws her to the specialty of internal medicine, where she plans to apply for residencies next year. “I process information completely differently than I had before,” she said of her medical school training, which has taught her how adapt to each unique situation she encounters. “Now I can critically evaluate and develop unique plans for my patients in a way that my prior training did not allow.”
Giordano says serving as a national Student Council representative has given her the opportunity to network with and be mentored by internal medicine physicians. Dr. Marcy Verduin, the College of Medicine’s associate dean for students, called Giordano’s selection “an impressive national honor, one in which Christin will have the opportunity to further refine and hone her already strong leadership skills. Honors such as this are further evidence of just how incredible our students are – they are making an impact not only in Central Florida, but also around the country.”