For Louito Edje (M.D. 1995), speaking at the 2015 University of Michigan White Coat Ceremony was an opportunity to give back to the institution that helped establish her career.
"How do you preside over 'now'?" she asked the auditorium of medical students. "How do you saturate yourself with all that 'now' has to offer?"
Edje, a family medicine physician and director of the Toledo Hospital Family Medicine Residency program, knows those questions are difficult to answer.
"There are three Bs to being present," she continued. "Be bold, build genuine relationships and be balanced."
Edje, who was recently elected president of the Medical Center Alumni Society, is committed to improving medical education. She's pursuing her Master of Health Professions Education, or MHPE, degree in the U-M Department of Learning Health Sciences. She was inspired by her mother, who, three years ago, received her doctorate in education "on the sly."
"She mastered how to teach. As a physician, I wanted to have that mastery as well," Edje says.
Expanding her own education, Edje believes, is the best way to approach the ever-changing health care system and to fulfill her commitments to her patients, residents and fellow alumni. By next year, Edje will be one of the first graduates of the program. She's already implementing what she's learned in her daily life — she's presiding over "now."