Guy I. Benrubi, M.D., urged the graduating class of University of Florida College of Medicine to treat people right, face their fears and, of course, not to be full of hot air.

Benrubi, senior associate dean for clinical affairs and chair of obstetrics and gynecology on the Jacksonville campus, showed his standard entertaining style Friday when he delivered the "Last Lecture" to the class of about 140 students.

Students vote on who they’d like to give those last bits of wisdom before they head off to their residencies, and Benrubi was the first Jacksonville faculty member to give the lecture.

Benrubi stressed being personable and showing respect to everyone, reminding the students that every interaction is a deposit, and you want it to be goodwill.

"If you think all of your life you are not going to make a withdrawal, you are making a mistake," Benrubi said.

"Last Lectures" had been longstanding traditions on some college campuses, but gained notoriety following the 2007 lecture by Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor Randy Pausch, who spoke about living with childlike wonder as he was dying from pancreatic cancer.

Pausch’s words became an inspiration to many, and the lecture and lessons were the subject of a best-selling book he co-authored before succumbing to cancer in 2008.

The UF College of Medicine started its "Last Lecture" sendoff for graduating students in 2009, said Bobby Casey, class president and academic chair. Casey asked for nominations from the approximately 140 graduates and then opened it up for a vote among four faculty members who were mentioned the most.

Benrubi implored students to "Know Your 68," a reference to the Prague Spring, a revolution in the former Czechoslovakia in 1968. National Hockey League star and Czech Republic native Jaromir Jagr always wore number 68 and said everything he did was in honor of his country and his family that was killed when the Russians invaded the country.

Benrubi told the soon-to-be graduates to identify their "68" to learn what they are striving for and then make sure that every day they are doing this to further their "68." If what they are doing isn’t furthering that goal or mission, they will not be happy professionally, Benrubi said.

Benrubi, whose son Daniel is among the graduates, referred to William Shakespeare, Groucho Marx, George Burns and seemingly all points in between.

All UF medical students do rotations in Jacksonville during their third and fourth years. Casey said case-based conferences students had with Benrubi had a different feel than with many other professors who went through prepared cases with notes and such.

Not Benrubi. Casey said he would stand with a poster-sized notepad and a Sharpie, jotting notes and teaching on the fly.

"He’d be making jokes, but at the same time teaching us very important, complicated things in a way we would remember them," Casey said.

There was plenty to remember Friday afternoon, and the students thanked him with a standing ovation.

He thanked them back, and quipped: "I expect at least seven Nobel prizes out of this class."

Featured Faculty

951

Guy I. Benrubi, MD, FACOG

Professor - Robert J. Thompson, M.D., Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Emeritus Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology