ing environment for the eager young scientist. ville Hospital, who encouraged her to move forward by applying to Rutgers Medical School. "I had learned a lot, including the fact that I didn't want to spend my career in a lab," Dr. Sampson-Landers says. But the work provided valuable experience that emphasized the importance of team- laugh, she acquired a skill that would prove unique among her first-year classmates at Rutgers Medical School: performing phlebotomies. (MMS), a two-year degree that fea- tured academic rigor and a scientific focus. The fledgling medical school was ahead of its time in preparing medical students. The Class of 1976 topped the national average for the dents. "Rutgers Medical School was a home away from home," says Dr. Sampson-Landers, "where everyone looked out for you, like family." other schools, the degree represented the strength of our preparation in the basic sciences," she says, "and it was a great foundation for the next level." At the start of her second year, she decided |