Quanita Roberson shares the transformative story of bringing Circle into medical education over a five-year journey.
Transforming Medical Education: The Circle Way
In 2020, Dr. Stephanie White and Dr. Edward Barnes from Western University initiated an innovative approach to medical education by incorporating The Circle Way into their curriculum. Their aim was to bring more wholeness, health, and care to the healthcare system, starting with the training of future doctors. They reached out to Tenneson Woolf and me, Quanita, to facilitate this transformative journey for their first-year medical students.
The Vision
The team was driven by several pivotal questions:
How can we bring more wholeness, health, and care to the healthcare system starting with the training of doctors?
Could we lower the stress and therefore the suicide rate for medical students?
If Circle could support the students in holding each other so that they did more than just survive medical school?
What if Circle became as commonplace as meditation in medicine?
The Journey Begins
With these questions in mind, Tenneson Woolf and I embarked on this journey alongside and Dr. White, and Dr. Barnes
First Year
In the first year, we introduced Circle by holding one host for each of the Care Teams online, conducting three sessions to impart the basics of Circle. This allowed students to have protected time in their schedules to meet in groups of eight with a host.
Second Year
Building on the foundation, we trained two Care Team hosts for each group and offered a refresher course for the second-year students. This approach deepened the students' understanding and practice of Circle.
Third Year
The third year marked a transition, as Tenneson Woolf left the team and Dr. Colleen Talbot joined us. And my company Nzuzu stepped into coordination with Western University. We held our first in- person trainings on Western University’s campuses in Oregon and California. The students expressed a desire for all new medical students to undergo the training, highlighting its impact on their experience.
Fourth Year
In response to student feedback, we trained all first-year medical students—330 in total—during the first week of classes. The students reported that the connections they forged during this training changed how they approached their first week of classes. They even requested moving the training to Welcome Week to enhance their initial experience.
Fifth Year
This year, Marcus Alderman from the Oregon Campus joined the team. We trained another 330 students, bringing the total to over 900 students trained in Circle. Our first group of students graduated in 2025, marking a significant milestone in this journey.
Impact on Medical Culture
The introduction of Circle has not only transformed individual students but is also reshaping the culture of medical education. By fostering a supportive community, we are contributing to a future where medical professionals are more connected, empathetic, and resilient. This initiative is changing not just the students, but the future of medicine itself, one Circle at a time.
Quanita Roberson is an author, storyteller, life coach, master teacher/facilitator, international public speaker, and a devotee of spiritual and emotional intelligence. Quanita is highly skilled and respected for helping human service professionals, including clergy and those in law enforcement, to address and move beyond embedded trauma. As a true Water person, according to the Dagara Medicine Wheel, Quanita has the amazing gift and response-ability to reconcile the irreconcilable.