For Alaska WWAMI Foundations faculty member Dr. Carol Paredes, the first year of medical school is about more than building scientific knowledge. It’s about helping students become compassionate physicians. She believes great doctors earn their patients’ trust through empathy, respect and genuine listening.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of teaching is partnering with first-year medical students as they begin their medical journey,” Dr. Paredes said. “Watching them gain an incredible amount of knowledge is exciting, but even more meaningful is seeing them grow, both in their understanding of medicine, but also their belief in themselves.”
As block lead for Cardiovascular Systems, Respiration & Regulation, and Head, Neck & Gut, Dr. Paredes teaches students during the final three Foundations blocks of their first year. That unique perspective allows her to witness remarkable growth as students develop stronger study habits, sharpen their clinical reasoning and begin to connect the molecular and cellular basis of diseases with patient care.
“Witnessing that transformation is both inspiring and deeply rewarding,” she said.
Although students spend their first year mastering complex scientific concepts, Dr. Paredes hopes they leave her classroom with lessons that extend well beyond textbooks.
“We do, admittedly, firehose our first-year medical students with an enormous amount of information,” she said. “Yet beyond the science and the facts, what matters most to me is helping them stay grounded in the human side of medicine.”
She encourages students to care for patients with empathy, respect their autonomy and genuinely listen to their stories. Dr. Paredes believes those simple, powerful bedside skills are among the most important tools they will carry into clinical practice.
Since joining Alaska WWAMI in 2015, Dr. Paredes has found endless inspiration in the students she teaches.
“Alaska’s WWAMI students are the most highly motivated, determined, resilient, hardworking and ambitious people anyone will ever meet,” she said.
One unforgettable moment brought Dr. Paredes’ teaching journey full circle. Her son’s pediatric gastroenterologist was one of the first WWAMI students she taught. Seeing Dr. Robert Merkouris recently care for her son with compassion reminded Dr. Paredes why she loves teaching.
“I could not help but be so proud of him (and myself) when he was treating my son and talking to him so lovingly while we were at his clinic,” Dr. Paredes remarked, praising him for the fine physician he has become.
“Not that I made him one, but that I was a part of his journey,” she added.
Students also know Dr. Paredes for another reason: her homemade Filipino dishes and other favorite foods. On exam days, she prepares meals to help sustain students through long hours of testing, continuing a tradition inspired by her own mother, who welcomed and fed Dr. Paredes and her classmates throughout medical school. Many students have expressed their gratitude with cards, food, and hugs.
“Food is my love language,” she said. “My students know I genuinely care for them and their well-being.”
Whether she’s sharing a lesson in the classroom or a homemade meal on exam day, Dr. Paredes hopes every student leaves Alaska WWAMI with the knowledge, confidence and compassion to make a lasting difference in the lives of their future patients.