Her Own Footsteps

Journalist and political activist Gloria Steinem once said, “People now ask me if I’m passing the torch. I always explain that no, I’m keeping my torch, thank you very much. And I’m using it to light the torches of others.”

Patricia Curtin White, MD ’88, Fellow ’00, and her daughter Mary B.C. White, MD ’21, are shining examples of Steinem’s philosophy and how making a difference hasn’t skipped a generation—a mother who continues to light the way in her own medical career while inspiring her daughter to illuminate her own path.

Page 9 of the October 1961 issue of the Jefferson Medical College alumni Bulletin reported revolutionary, historic, and transformational news for the institution. The headline and first few sentences tell the story: “Nine Women Are Members of New Class: For the first time since its founding in 1825, included in Jefferson’s freshman class were nine women students.”

Not only are Patricia and her daughter proud of their multigenerational Jefferson legacy; they can proudly count themselves among the thousands of women who have been honored to take up the banner of the first nine women who made history more than six decades ago.

An internist-geriatrician, Patricia was already well acquainted with the medical field after working for two years as a physician assistant. “I was familiar with some Jefferson physicians with whom I worked at Taylor Hospital and was very impressed by those colleagues. Being from this area, I was a little more familiar with Jefferson and some of the Philadelphia schools; I ended up choosing Jefferson because I loved the interview, and I loved what they said I could become.”

She explains, “I was already a physician assistant, but they said that in my medical school training I would be able to be whatever I wanted to be—whatever type of doctor—and that I would be a good doctor, whether I was going to be an internist, a surgeon, a family medicine doctor, or an OB/GYN. I really liked that.”

Although Patricia was a little bit older than most incoming first-year students, she reports that her experience as a Jefferson student was wonderful. She recalls, “It was everything they said it would be. I mean, it’s hard work, but I learned a lot. What I also loved about Jefferson was that we were able to rotate in all different settings—city, suburban, the country. I tried to tap into most of those experiences. I was very privileged to be able to see all the settings and then decide where I wanted to do [my] residency and then ultimately end up as a practicing physician.”

Patricia is another alum who quotes professor Dr. Joseph Majdan. “He said, ‘Get the history from the patient, [and] you will get the diagnosis,’” she shares. “I learned to talk to the patient, spend time with the patient, ask them questions, and get the history. History is 90% of the diagnosis. I will never forget that. I use that practically every day when we’re asking our patients, ‘Tell us your story; what’s going on? What are your symptoms?’ At Jefferson, that was really the mantra. You’ll become a good doctor; that’s where you’re going to get your answers. We teach medical students at Christiana Care, where I am. I use this quote all the time,” she shares.

“I felt coming into internship and residency that I was well trained,” Patricia says. “I did feel like they were true to their word when I interviewed, and what they said, they would deliver. I had great mentors in terms of how to master biochemistry and physiology and all the core classes. Clinically, I think I probably was even stronger because I had been a PA [physician assistant] before, but I learned, of course, so much more in medical school, which was wonderful. It was the best decision I ever made, to go to medical school.”

The personal connection with mentors and professors was critical to Patricia’s Jefferson experience. “They really do care about you,” she affirms. “They care about you as a student. We had big classes, so we had a lot of professors and a lot of people with whom we worked, both on the basic science side and the clinical side. They really embrace you. They know you’re an important part of the team as a student, and they want to know about you personally. They would say, ‘Tell us about you. How did you get here to Jefferson?’”

“Watching our attendings with the patients themselves, that’s where I learned,” she says. “Having been a PA, I had a style, but I really learned other approaches and how to talk with patients and families from my Jefferson professors and the Jefferson doctors I worked with.”

She continues, “You also just could see how they really did care about not only their patients but also us as students. As a student, you feel like, What’s my role? But they never made us feel less important. We had a different job as a student, but it was an important job.”

Patricia jumped into the medical school experience, both socially and academically. “I was very involved in all years,” she says. “I ended up being president of my class by my senior year, which was a great experience. I really loved being part of Student Council and the daily happenings at Jefferson.”

As president, Patricia worked with the Dean’s Office on programs for students who needed emotional support. “I remember they really embraced what we brought to them and then ended up developing a program for students who needed more help,” she recalls. “I felt like we were listened to at Jefferson. They didn’t always say yes, but they said yes to the important things. They really took the students’ opinions to heart. I think to this day they still do that.”

And she is grateful that the tradition has continued. “They like working with the students,” she says. “I have a lot of memories of whe[n] we worked with administration and then with each other to help the community as much as we could. I know through my daughter that they do even more now as students, like through the JeffHOPE program. I think that’s always been important to Jefferson, to be part of the community and not just the medical school in the midst of Center City.”

Patricia stayed connected with Jefferson through her stints as a Young Alumni Board trustee for five years after she graduated and as a member of the Admissions Committee for several years, and she returned to do a geriatric medicine fellowship in 1999–2000. In addition, she recently served as the SKMC Alumni Association president and currently serves as immediate past president. “I’ve continued with my friendships and connections there, which has been great. I served in these roles because I felt so passionate about Jefferson. I’ve stayed connected for a variety of reasons through the years. Dr. Joe Majdan, who I mentioned earlier, is a wonderful role model and was also president of the Alumni Association. There are so many others who have inspired me to serve. This immediate connection with our Jefferson alumni that is just so strong is the reason I said yes to becoming the president for the last two years.”

Patricia is incredibly proud of her daughter, fellow alumna Mary B.C. White, MD ’21. Yet while they also attended the same high school and college, Patricia is quick to clear up any misconceptions when people mention Mary following in her footsteps. “Because she happens to be following on a path that’s similar to mine, they’re not my footsteps; they’re her own footsteps.”

Mary’s path to medicine began in high school and college. Volunteering at her mother’s hospital exposed her to a hospital system and more importantly to helping patients. A pre-med major at Notre Dame, Mary joined her mother on medical trips to Haiti through the Notre Dame Haiti Program. “I was exposed to how medicine could help people, not only in the United States but in other countries, Mary says. “I was able to see what she does for service work and how medicine can extend to so many parts of the world.”

Other inspiration came through her science courses, additional volunteer work at Notre Dame, and working with children with disabilities. “I initially went into medicine thinking I wanted to be a pediatrician and work with kids with disabilities. Really, just the combination of the science and being able to help people through medicine helped me decide to apply to medical school,” she explains. “I applied right out of college. Jefferson was obviously always on my radar because my mom went there, and it was close to home, but I applied broadly in the Midwest and on the East Coast.”

Mary continues, “Ultimately, through the doctors that I shadowed near home who, like my mom, really put the patient first, listened to them, and incorporated everything about them into the treatment plan, I felt like Jefferson had prepared physicians to be compassionate healers. I wanted to be able to become that physician.”

Jefferson’s new educational program was a wonderful incentive. “The new curriculum at Jefferson seemed like it was really going to prepare physicians to be good scientists and clinicians, and I felt that it was going to be a great fit for me,” she says. “It was also nice to be close to home. That’s why I ultimately chose Jefferson.”

Mary recalls her extremely meaningful White Coat Ceremony. “Mom was able to put the white coat on me, and it was really powerful for her to bestow what she’s learned through her career onto me as I started medical school.”

She recounts how her comprehensive, multidisciplinary Jefferson education and experience prepared her for a future in medicine. “My Jefferson experience was great. It was amazing in many ways,” she says. “We were the first year of the new curriculum, which integrated all the clinical and pathology aspects into learning each of the organ systems. It also integrated more case-based and team-based learning and clinical skills. We were able to be exposed to the clinical side of medicine much earlier, and it also incorporated many different aspects of learning into each organ system, which I think really helped us understand it better. It prepared us for working as a team later in medical school and our careers because we were constantly working with our classmates figuring out cases.”

“Jefferson was great for many other aspects, such as leadership,” Mary recounts. “I was also on Student Council, so I was able to work with the administration to advocate for my fellow classmates and plan social events, like the balls. Jefferson provided me with many opportunities for service and volunteer work to serve the community and fellow students through mentorship programs. I was a part of Jeff Cares for Kids, a program that helped kids with disabilities through music.”

She continues, “I think my favorite memory of Jefferson was volunteering for JeffHOPE, which helped our surrounding communities through free medical clinics. I was at the Sunday Breakfast Mission, and the same group of us went every Tuesday for an entire year. I was on the education committee, which helped patients think about things like smoking cessation or what they [were] eating. For patients who [we]re experiencing homelessness, sometimes you [had to] become a little bit creative helping them stay healthy. Working with the same team for a year and figuring out how to tackle problems together and get creative to find solutions for our patients was great. The bonds that we made with those patients and the small things we were able to do to help them was really special.”

“In terms of research and investigative purposes, there was a longitudinal curriculum, which exposed me to … working on research and connected me with multiple mentors I still am connected with today,” Mary shares. “I feel like it provided me with everything I needed and more than I could ask for during my Jefferson experience and really prepared me to be a physician.”

When comparing their Jefferson experiences, both mother and daughter agree that the new JeffMD curriculum was a positive change. Patricia says, “I think the new curriculum is phenomenal. In the first days of her medical school, Mary texted me and said, ‘Now, what do you use for congestive heart failure? What do you treat your patients with?’ I think the training is different, and I’m glad that while a lot of the tradition has been held onto, they’re moving forward.”

While initially Mary had wanted to specialize in pediatrics, her time working in internal medicine changed her trajectory. “I felt like I was more interested in the disease process of adults, working on preventive medicine and with my patients to make them the healthiest version[s] of themselves,” she says. “It really is a team-based specialty. Everyone works together to have the best outcomes for the patient.” Today, Mary is in her second year of the Yale Traditional Internal Medicine Residency program. 

“Jefferson prepared me for both interviewing and for applying,” she says. “They gave me every core aspect of my application that I needed to be a good applicant in terms of research, education, clinical skills, and preparing for tests. It’s a true testament to Jefferson for how well I was able to interview.” While she has not yet determined her specialty, Mary is interested in specializing in fields including gastroenterology, cardiology, pulmonary and critical care, or hospital medicine.

Mary enjoys sharing the Jefferson experience with her mother. “It’s nice to have something relatable to look back on and compare our experiences,” she states. “Even now, as she was the president of the Alumni Association, we can talk about similar events, and we have similar mentors. Dr. Majdan and some of the people in the administrative offices are still there. They all speak very highly of my mom. It’s nice to have her as a role model in a similar educational experience. We are both internists, and learning from her and her passions has definitely always inspired me.”

Mary left Jefferson with enduring friendships and relationships, including her fiancé, also a Jefferson medical graduate. “I definitely made lifelong friends. They were all at my engagement party,” she says. “I feel like in medicine, you make friends, but you also meet consultants to help you with your patients later. Being on rotations together, you form a bond that you can’t explain to anyone else unless you were on rounding for hours together.”

“I think Jefferson is a great place to be part of,” Patricia states. “Volunteering as the Alumni Association president for two years was one of the best experiences. Physicians tend to run toward crises. That’s why we went to Haiti. And during the pandemic, I really saw the strength of the Jefferson alumni and the Jefferson employees, too, [who ran] toward this crisis and tr[ied] to make everything work better and to figure it out in a short period of time for our students—and Mary was a student during that time—as well as for the alumni and the residents too, in addition to the patients.”

She concludes, “I’m just really proud to be Jeffersonian. I really feel blessed that I’ve had the privilege of getting the education that I did at Jefferson and then being able to still be part of it at this part of my career.”

Referring to her mother, Mary shares, “I think I saw her passion and wanted a similar passion. I will always just encourage my children in the future to find what they’re passionate about. So if they ever find the passion for medicine, I would definitely encourage them if they wanted to go to Jefferson because of the great memories and the success it led me to. And then we would have a third generation.”