Megan Ward didn’t learn to tie her first surgical knot in a simulation lab. She learned it alone in a study room at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine–Northern Kentucky Campus, logged onto Zoom.
Across the screen, a fourth-year medical student in Lexington demonstrated the technique using a professional knot-tying trainer secured neatly to his desk. When he asked if she wanted to try, Ward looked around.
She didn’t have one close by.
“So, I grabbed my phone charger and my water bottle,” she recalled. “I flipped the bottle on its side, wrapped the charger around it, and that’s how I practiced.”
The improvisation worked. She learned the knot, and the moment stayed with her.
Students at the Northern Kentucky Campus have access to task trainers, suturing kits, and other procedural tools. At the time, what was missing was a space to practice with other students to help develop their clinical skills outside of formal coursework.
Ward saw an opportunity.
Growing up in a small town in Ohio, just north of Dayton, her graduating high school class had fewer than 100 students. She was the first person in her family to attend college, and resourceful problem-solving was familiar territory.
“I come from a place where if we don’t have it, we figure it out,” she said.
That combination of resourcefulness and systems-thinking has shaped her path to medicine, and her initiative led to an innovative opportunity to help future students thrive.
From the trauma bay to medical school
Before medical school, Ward spent five years as a nurse, most of them in a Level 1 trauma center emergency department.
“I loved it,” Ward said. “I loved the service I could provide, and I felt like I was good at it.”
Over time, trauma nursing sharpened Ward’s view of the larger systems shaping who arrived in the emergency department — and the limits of intervening only at the point of crisis.
“It’s hard to see things happening every day that you know are wrong and not be able to do anything about it,” she said.
After considering becoming a nurse practitioner, Ward ultimately chose medical school.
“I remember thinking, if I’m going to do it, I might as well get as high as I can,” she said, “to give myself the biggest platform to try to make the greatest amount of change.”
After completing a post-baccalaureate program in Louisville, she enrolled at the UK College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus. She was drawn to the regional campus for its proximity to family and its collaborative culture.
“There’s a real sense of camaraderie here,” she said. “I can walk through campus and be on a first-name basis with faculty and deans.”
Building the DOCS Lab
Ward never forgot that improvised knot-tying session.
During her first year, she began working with classmates and faculty to create a dedicated space for procedural training at the regional campus.
She identified an underused space that could become a practice site for clinical skills, and with strong support from campus leadership, the idea quickly gained momentum. The result was the Development of Clinical Skills (DOCS) Lab, an accessible space where learners could practice suturing, airway management, and other core procedures before entering clinical rotations.
Working alongside peers, faculty mentors and local physicians, Ward helped transform the room into a functioning skills lab equipped with task trainers and structured opportunities for feedback.
“When you’re about to enter third year, confidence matters,” Ward said. “Having a place to practice, ask questions, and get feedback makes a difference.”
For Ward, creating the DOCS lab with her classmates was a labor of love. It also reflects the supportive culture of the close-knit campus, where students are encouraged to learn, but also to help shape the resources and experiences that will benefit future classes.
“Seeing students using the lab makes me incredibly proud,” she said. “It feels special knowing that something my classmates and I built together will keep helping students long after we graduate.”
Looking toward Match Day
As Match Day approaches, Ward feels both excited and ready for the next chapter.
“Fourth year has been a good year to build my confidence and feel like I’m ready to take that next step,” Ward said.
She misses the rhythm of bedside care that defined her years as a nurse and looks forward to returning to it as a resident.
From a small-town, first-generation college student to trauma nurse to medical student who helped build a clinical skills lab, Ward’s path has been defined by persistence — and a willingness to improve the systems around her.
On March 20, Ward and other graduating medical students across the country will celebrate Match Day. At noon ET, envelopes from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) are opened simultaneously to reveal where students are heading for residency training.
The UK College of Medicine is celebrating Match Day across all four of our campuses. More details about Match Day events can be found here.
