VCOM-Auburn Provides Aid to Tornado Victims, ICOM's Therapy Dogs Bring Smiles, and More in Campus Roundup

Boys Reach for Opportunities in Science at DMU

Nearly 200 central Iowa boys in grades two through six gathered on the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine (DMU-COM) campus March 2 to gain hands-on experiences. Led by DMU students, the group covered topics including anatomy, surgery, microbiology, nutrition, and sports medicine.

Boys Reaching for Opportunities in Science, or BROS, is a new program this year at DMU. The program was created in response to statistics regarding the high likelihood of disengagement that minority males can experience early in school if they are not exposed to creative learning opportunities. Read more.

Therapy Dogs Bring Smiles During Finals Week at ICOM

As the student doctors of the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) wrapped up their cardiovascular exams on March 15, they were visited by a group of four-legged friends. A team of therapy dogs from Helping Idaho Dogs, Inc, a local non-profit organization, visited ICOM’s Meridian campus to provide stress relief and emotional support.

“We saw the students come in and pretty quickly they had big smiles on their faces. You can just see that it really made a difference,” said Nancy Eimer, board member of Helping Idaho Dogs Inc, and one of the dog’s handlers. “You could see the joy in the students and the joy in the dogs because they truly love what they do. Seeing others benefit from the love my dog shares is priceless.” Read more.

KCU-COM Expands Children’s Preventive Health Screening Program to Joplin Campus

For more than 25 years, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCU-COM) has offered Score 1 for Health, a children’s preventive health screening program, to families in the Kansas City area. In February, KCU launched the program at its Joplin campus. Through this program, KCU-Joplin second-year osteopathic medical students, Missouri Southern State University dental hygiene and nursing students, and Crowder College nursing students, provided a variety of free health assessments for nearly 700 elementary school students under the supervision of physicians and registered nurses.

“The primary purpose of this program is to connect children and their families with health resources and providers in the community,” said Laura Rosch, DO, CS, MS, FACOI, KCU-Joplin campus Dean. “This is an opportunity to build a foundation of health.”

Dean of KYCOM Presents at 2019 U.S. Osteopathic Medical Regulatory Summit

Dana Shaffer, DO, FACOFP, dist., FAOGME, Dean of the University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM) (pictured left), participated in the 2019 U.S. Osteopathic Medical Regulatory Summit along with a number of other leading organizations and associations that oversee the education, licensing, and certification of osteopathic medical students and physicians.

The summit, which took place in Naples, FL, was hosted by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME), the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), and AACOM.

The two-day event included osteopathic medical students, residents, and other key stakeholders in osteopathic medical regulation. During the summit attendees discussed how patients are assured that when they seek medical care from an osteopathic physician, the physician is qualified to provide the distinctive osteopathic care needed.

“It was interesting to hear how leaders in the osteopathic profession understand that everything we do is all about the patients we serve,” said Shaffer.

Shaffer, who was appointed chair of the NBOME board of directors in January 2018, attends numerous professional development events throughout the year representing KYCOM and is a frequent presenter and advocate for osteopathic medicine.

He gave a presentation at the summit titled “Distinctive Osteopathic Medical Licensure and Assessment.” Financial support for the summit was obtained from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation and the Osteopathic Founders Foundation.

NSU-KPCOM Students Inducted Into Omega Beta Iota

First-year student Sean Friefeld, second-year student Regina Zambrano, and third-year student Adedeji Olusanya were inducted into Omega Beta Iota—the National Osteopathic Political Action Honor Society—at a ceremony that took place on March 4 during DO Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

NYITCOM at A-State's Inaugural Class Begins Clinical Rotations 

The inaugural class at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) at Arkansas State University is now in its third year, which means for the first time, students from the Jonesboro campus are conducting clinical rotations throughout Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta region.

Over the past three years, NYITCOM at A-State has developed relationships with roughly 150 hospitals, clinics, and individual physicians who will provide invaluable hands-on training to third-year medical students. So far, the experience has been overwhelmingly positive for both the medical students and the preceptors (licensed, practicing physicians that partner with NYITCOM to train students in a specific area of medical practice for a specific period) who are training them. NYITCOM at A-State is the first osteopathic medical school in Arkansas, so the arrival of the NYITCOM students marked a milestone for the college, the region, and osteopathic medicine at large.

Med Buddies Learn and Play at PCOM

For the second year in a row, students at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) welcomed athletes with the Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia program for a day dedicated to physical fitness, arts and crafts, and health and wellness education. This year’s event more than doubled in size; more than 100 athletes were partnered with students in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Bio-Medical Sciences, Physician Assistant Studies and Psychology programs on activities such as basketball, parachute time, T-shirt design, X-ray pictures, and “Pretend Doctor,” where athletes practiced their medical skills and knowledge.

The annual event is designed to teach special needs children about health, nutrition, and physical fitness, while giving students studying in the medical, behavioral health, and health science fields exposure to a population they may not otherwise interact with so early in their careers. Read more.

PCOM South Georgia Counts Down to August 2019 Opening

The PCOM South Georgia offices temporarily located at Hospital Park in Moultrie, GA, are abuzz with activity. Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) leased this space to house a number of full-time employees prior to the summer opening of the new Tallokas Road location.

PCOM South Georgia is a private, not-for-profit, four-year additional location of PCOM, a multi-program institution of educational excellence founded in 1899. The new location, which will have a 75,000 square foot facility on 31 acres, is being developed to help meet the health care needs of the region.

The PCOM South Georgia admissions team is in full swing traversing the South Georgia region visiting high schools and colleges to tell the PCOM story. Admissions Assistant Director Dana Brooks and Admissions Assistant Victoria Heath are in the midst of planning an April welcome luncheon for students who have been accepted to the Class of 2023 and will matriculate in the late summer of 2019. The event will be held at Southern Regional Technical College in Moultrie. Read more.

RVUCOM Honored by Mayor Mike Waid for Contributions to Community Safety

At a special presentation during the Town of Parker Council Meeting, Rocky Vista University (RVU) was honored by Mayor Mike Waid (pictured center) for “contributions to the safety of [the Parker] community through the sharing of resources, a commitment to emergency preparedness, and for a dedication” to training first responders. As part of an ongoing partnership with South Metro Fire Rescue (SMFR), RVU participated in a variety of simulation drills to train Parker’s local emergency responders for worst-case scenarios.

Most recently, RVU provided military equipment and other resources to support a nine-day active shooter/mass casualty drill. RVU students, faculty, and staff also provided their expertise both at the site of the simulated emergency and in the emergency rooms and operating rooms at nearby hospitals. Training included the use of the Cut Suit ®—a human-worn body suit that simulates realistic and severe trauma injuries—and a Perimortem Cesarean Delivery (PMCD) procedure on a pregnant “victim” with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Photo: Thomas Told, DO, FACOFP, Dean and CAO of RVUCOM (left), Mayor Mike Waid (center), and Clinton Adams, DO, FACHE, President and CEO of RVUCOM (right).

TouroCOM-NY “Graduates” Local Med-Achieve Scholars

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine—New York (TouroCOM-NY) graduated 71 high school students from its unique two-year after-school program, “Med-Achieve,” last week. The students received accolades and certificates from TouroCOM-NY and their DO mentors, along with stethoscopes and lab coats.

Afterwards they retired to a “specialties fair” in the cafeteria where they mingled with school officials and their classmates and mentors, while learning about medical specialties from TouroCOM’s student clubs. The high school students are mostly from underrepresented minority backgrounds, with interests in career pathways spanning science and medicine. They attend a variety of schools in New York City, most of which are located in Harlem.

During their after-school sessions, each student is paired with a DO student mentor who works alongside them as they learn the foundations of medicine through lectures and labs and how the body responds to stress, injury and disease. If the students meet certain criteria after college graduation, they are guaranteed a medical school interview at TouroCOM. Shaila Cuellar, a junior at Saint Jean Baptiste High School, said she attended Med-Achieve to gain insight into the medical field and that the program was “an amazing experience because I was able to work with a mentor who was on the medical track. Because of her I feel like I want to pursue a medical career and in the future I would like to be a biomedical engineer.”

TouroCOM-NY in Middletown Hosts Medical Leaders from Hebei Medical University

A delegation of 12 medical leaders from China, mostly from the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, visited the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine—New York (TouroCOM-NY)’s Middletown campus to learn about the flipped classroom methodology, osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), medical simulation, and other exciting programs offered at the medical school.

The Hebei Medical University, the second oldest medical school in China, has an enrollment of 3,000 students per year, staffs 3,500 hospital beds, and provides 2.5 million outpatient visits per year. The team visited TouroCOM-NY’s Middletown campus as well as the Orange Regional Medical Center, one of our primary teaching affiliates.

VCOM-Auburn Partners to Provide Supplies and Medical Care to Lee County Tornado Victims

Disaster struck residents of rural Lee County, Alabama on Sunday, March 3, as an EF-4 tornado dropped from the clouds at 2:20 PM CT and swept away vehicles, homes—and 23 lives. Immediately following the devastating tornado outbreak, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine–Auburn (VCOM-Auburn) administrators worked quickly with community partners to devise a plan to try to assist storm victims, many of whom were left with only the clothes on their backs.

A campus supply drive was held, which saw donations of bottled water, sports drinks, personal care items, baby care supplies, non-perishable food, first-aid supplies, and more. In conjunction with Beauregard Drugs and Dr. Martin Roach’s Beauregard Clinic, VCOM-Auburn faculty and students erected a relief tent in neighboring Beauregard, Alabama the morning after the storm devastated the area. The tent was staffed by medical students and faculty physicians throughout each day to provide free medical care and supplies to area tornado victims. Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital joined the effort by arriving on scene with a mobile triage unit and medical professionals.

VCOM–Carolinas Presents History of Opioid Epidemic Lecture

With the Appalachian region particularly hard-hit by an opioid epidemic that continues to afflict the United States, knowledge of its origins and history are crucial for the next generation of physicians to combat the crisis. To that end, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine–Carolinas (VCOM–Carolinas) Associate Dean for OMS-4 and Graduate Medical Education Jeff Cashman, MS, DO offered an early lecture on March 5 to impart such knowledge to interested students.

VCOM-Virginia Hosts Hospital Day 2019

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine—Virginia (VCOM-Virginia) welcomed home the Class of 2020 for the 2019 Residency Fair & Hospital Day festivities. Students were able to meet with various clinical sites and residency programs to learn more about their different options. This important networking opportunity allows hospital sites to provide information and answer questions, while getting to know VCOM-Virginia students in person.

WVSOM’s Pediatrics Club Offers Interactive Kids Science Carnival

The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM)’s student chapter of the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOPEDS) prepared to host its fourth annual Kids Science Carnival. The event, which took place from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM ET on Saturday, March 16, at WVSOM’s Roland P. Sharp Alumni Conference Center in Lewisburg, provided hands-on learning for children of all ages. There was no cost to attend.

Kids enjoyed the opportunity to view a model of a blood vessel constructed from water beads, ping-pong balls, and paper, and discovered how to make their own slime. Children also learned about cells using cookies, frosting, and decorations to demonstrate organelles, which are structures within cells that serve particular functions. A station was set up that included X-rays, an anatomy puzzle, and stethoscopes through which kids were able to listen to a teddy bear’s simulated heartbeat.