Alumni Spotlight: Jeffrey VanWingen
Dr. Jeffery VanWingen is a Class of 1993 Briggs alumnus, with a bachelor's degree in Physiology and specialization in Health and Humanities, and later earned an M.D. from the MSU College of Human Medicine.
He and his wife are raising four children, ranging from kindergarten to college. In addition to his family practice, Jeff has been a hospice doctor, a move inspired by the passion he discovered during his time at Lyman Briggs. Jeff also co-founded a social justice non-profit and has been providing medical care in India for the past 14 years. He helped develop a telehealth platform which marries acute care and population health. And with the state of our current pandemic, his expertise in telehealth has been widely valued. Finally, Jeff has written over 300 blogs on various health and social topics. Our health is both a gift and responsibility. Jeff hopes to use this avenue to inspire people to make the most of this gift and to make better, more responsible choices with their health.
In the following webinar, from July 2020, Jeff discusses his personal background with volunteering and service, and how they set him up to be a successful doctor.
He says, “The best preparation I had in becoming a doctor occurred in my undergrad years during the summers when I worked at a hospital coffee shop. I learned to serve the people.” Even in a time of limited academic internships and shadowing opportunities for medical students, the great societal needs presented by COVID-19 can provide ample experience for students. Volunteer experiences are what show depth and character on any admissions application and can make students stand out among their peers.