SEPTEMBER 1999
FEATURES
Dr. HURT
PIMS DIRECTOR
DEDICATED TO MED STUDENTS
By Dana Peck
Special to the Florida State Times
Every year an FSU faculty member takes the stage at the University of Florida (note: University of Florida) medical school graduation. The faculty member is Dr. Myra Hurt, the director of FSU's Program in Medical Sciences.
The yearly graduating class of 115 doctors from UF includes 30 who received their first year of medical training as Florida State PIMS students.
Under the direction of Hurt, PIMS has developed into an innovative and highly successful program. Even after the 30 students transfer to UF to complete their medical school education, they insist that when they have their moment of glory, Hurt must be there.
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"I think that's a real testimony," said Dr. Robert Watson, senior associate dean for educational affairs at the UF College of Medicine. Not that Watson is surprised.
"She's extraordinarily dedicated to the PIMS program," said Watson. "Myra takes a very personal interest in the selection of students. She sort of puts her stamp on them."
Thorough, energetic, enthusiastic, dynamic are all words used by Hurt's peers to describe her. "She is extremely intelligent," said Bonnie Wright, coordinator at PIMS. "Her intelligence enhances her ability to think outside the box, keeps her creativity going."
Hurt began the journey that led her to FSU after she graduated magna cum laude in biology from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. At the urging of a college professor, Hurt decided to begin graduate studies. By 1975 she was a graduate assistant in microbiology at the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences in Memphis.
Her ascent began and hasn't stopped since.
Among the highlights of her life to date are her cancer research on the molecular level, and teaching molecular biology to medical school and other graduate students. And Hurt has developed an unparalleled PIMS at FSU.
Since 1992, when Hurt's creativity began to mold PIMS, the program has climbed from nearly rock-bottom to the top. In 1992, 48 percent of the PIMS class failed the national exams at the end of the second year of medical school. Four years later, there were zero PIMS failures.