A Culture of Learning

Physician’s planned gift to the School of Medicine reflects his appreciation for invaluable learning opportunities.

By Michelle G. McRuiz

Whether studying chemistry, moonlighting at mortuaries, or completing a residency in internal medicine, Ron Thomas (BA ’70, BS ’76, MD ’80) always had a hunger to learn how to do things the right way with no shortcuts. And at the UNM School of Medicine (SOM), he found a culture that fostered intellectual curiosity as well as faculty who eagerly provided growth opportunities.

“I was very aggressive about learning new things, and they gave me opportunities to learn,” Ron says of the Anatomy Lab, where he was employed during the mid to late 1970s under the mentorship of A.J. Ladman, chairman of the Department of Anatomy. “They had a strong basic sciences program and a strong clinical program. Hanging out with those scientists allowed me to grow socially, personally, and professionally. It formed who I am medically.”

Ron has capped his appreciation by designating SOM as a beneficiary of his retirement fund. Half of the gift will be earmarked for the Anatomy Lab and the other half for the Ann Gateley, MD Internal Medicine Residents’ Fund. Making this type of planned gift is easy and doesn’t require an attorney. It’s as simple as completing a beneficiary form.

Unlimited Potential

A graduate of the SOM in 1980 and of the internal medicine residency program in 1985, Ron was born in Indianapolis. When he was 5 years old, his family began visiting Albuquerque. His father wanted to open a pharmacy here, but he died when Ron was only 13, and Ron moved to Santa Fe the following year.

After graduating from Santa Fe High School, Ron began pursuing a Russian studies degree at UNM in 1965 then moved to San Francisco to earn a degree in mortuary science. He returned to Albuquerque, completed his UNM degree, and worked as a licensed embalmer and mortician. “I learned a lot about people and technical skills in mortuary science,” Ron says, “and also about death and how people cope with it. It was an important piece of my past.”

Ron worked in the funeral business for a few years in Santa Fe. His growing interest in practicing medicine led to him embarking on a path to earn a chemistry degree at UNM. During that time, he began working as a histotechnician, preparing biologic samples for microscopic examination at Van Atta Labs, a private local pathology laboratory, and continuing to moonlight in local funeral homes.

He then joined the SOM Department of Anatomy. His mortuary and histotechnical experiences benefited the Anatomy Lab, where he worked as A.J. Ladman’s understudy. “I used those skills to help move the department’s cadaver preservation program forward,” Ron says. In 1976 he completed his BS degree in chemistry and was accepted to the SOM.

Ron intended to pursue internal medicine after graduating medical school. But after an internship in his hometown, he felt pulled toward emergency medicine—which was a young specialty in the mid-1980s. “I liked treating critically ill patients,” he says. “It was a fast-moving, stimulating environment.”

At that time, the American Board of Emergency Medicine allowed candidates who were board-certified in other specialties to pursue emergency medicine training through a practice track for five years and then take the board exam. And that’s exactly what Ron did. “I felt, early on, like I had a role to help emergency medicine grow and improve,” Ron says. “And my internal medicine training gave me a basis for good decision making.”

Basic Sciences and Beyond

Ron worked as an emergency medicine physician from 1981 to 1983 then completed his internal medicine residency at UNM. “It was a great residency with great directors,” he says. “They, too, created a culture where you could achieve proficiency in all sorts of skills.”

Through his planned gift, Ron hopes to provide students with the tools they need to have the kind of experience he enjoyed at UNM.

“My gift is to help sustain and improve the basic sciences and to provide resources that help turn out good internal medicine residents,” Ron says. “It was that entire environment that helped train me to be the physician I became.”