BYU alum top of class at GWU

    118

    By JUSTIN WHITE

    The valedictorian of the George Washington School of Medicine surprised prestigious medical schools all over the country by choosing to do his residency at a family-friendly hospital.

    J. Rob Faux, a BYU alumnus from Springville, graduated as valedictorian of his class at GWU in Washington, D.C., last month.

    Then he surprised prestigious schools like Harvard and Rochester by choosing to go to the University of California at Irvine for his residency, because it is an “up-and-coming program that is more conducive to a family environment” than other schools, Faux said.

    His decision “blew a few people away,” said his father, Gene Faux of Springville.

    Faux graduated in orthopedic surgery at GWU.

    Faux’s adviser at GWU, Dr. John Star, said Faux represents a trend of medical students who are “making decisions (about where to do their residencies) not based merely on U.S. News and World Report rankings.”

    Faux made a “mature, family-oriented decision,” he said.

    No matter where one does a medical residency, long hours are involved, Faux said. But Irvine offered a better vacation program, time to do research away from seeing patients, and less nights of being on call, Faux said. He said this is partly because there isn’t such a huge volume of patients at Irvine compared to large schools like Harvard.

    California schools in general are good with vacation hours for those doing medical residencies, Faux said

    He earned several other important awards at GWU. He was chosen by his classmates to receive the Benjamin Manchester Humanitarian Award, given to the student they feel will be the best humanitarian as a physician, Faux said.

    It was the first time the valedictorian had also won the humanitarian award, Faux said.He also earned the Alec Horowitz Scholarship Award and the Lawrence A. Rapee Student Marshall Award.

    He said being valedictorian “was a surprise. I was humbled.” There wasn’t a huge emphasis on grades at the school, so no one knew who the valedictorian was going to be until the dean called Faux into his office before graduation.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email