In the Spring/Summer issue of Think Magazine, Case Western Reserve University’s School of Dental Medicine is chronicled & focuses on key differentiators in their program – the thread of professional ethics and emphasis on leadership. These pillars drive their program as well as their students post-graduation, they attest, as they highlight one of their more recent success stories, Dr. Margaret Richards Frankel.
Frankel began her community service while only a few months into her program – helping to care for the children throughout the Cleveland Municipal School District. Seeing the impact her work had on the children of this community, Frankel was inspired to find ways to continue to give back through her work. She began performing complimentary teeth cleanings to adult patients in the school’s clinic each Friday, but she felt compelled to find ways to impact even more to patients in need in our community and others around the globe.
Over the next two years, Frankel worked with the public 5-days a week at the school clinic, only breaking to volunteer for a summer health-care mission to rural Nicaragua. She has taken these experiences with her following graduation – donating time through Medworks to screen patients for head/neck cancers and finding other ways to be involved in our community outside of medicine (even being awarded this January by the Jewish Federation for her efforts to fundraise on behalf of those in need).
“Philanthropy and volunteerism are a way for me to better connect with people and aid in humanitarian efforts in a world where there are so many in need,” says Frankel. “Volunteering within my profession is a way for me to give back to the greater community and share my expertise with those that may not be able to receive dental care in a private practice setting. I feel so fortunate to give back in Cleveland, a city that has awarded me such a beautiful life.”
The full article is available here.
