Student Doctors Help Tutor Middle School Math, a $1.6 Million Scholarship Gift, Induction of Humanism Honor Society Members, and More in Campus Roundup

ACOM Opens its Doors for Annual Residency and Hospital Expo

The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) held their annual Residency and Hospital Expo (formerly entitled Hospital Day) on April 4, in which more than 30 residency programs and hospitals from across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and several other states came to network with students from ACOM’s Classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022. Several ACOM alumni from the inaugural Class of 2017 and Class of 2018 returned as residents to exhibit with their residency programs.

Most of the exhibitors for the expo are from Alabama and the surrounding region. ACOM is excited to give first-, second-, and third-year students the chance to meet with leaders from these programs to learn about future opportunities to serve in the area.

ATSU-KCOM Holds First Annual Simulation Competition

A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) Clinical Simulation Club, a new student organization, held its first annual simulation challenge on April 1 and 2 in ATSU’s Drabing Human Patient Simulation Center. The club formed into seven teams to participate in the challenge over the two-day competition. The seven teams competed in the preliminary round by working through four cases each, and ATSU clinicians served as judges during the event. The winning team includes first-year students Taylor Barthels, Christianne Jafari, Jake Lentner, and Jack Miller, and second-year student Justin Stacer.

“These kinds of events are happening all over the country, but this one is special because of our new Clinical Simulation Club, and their efforts to create a new simulation challenge, all in the same year,” said Lisa Archer, RN, BSN, Director of Simulation and Performance Assessment. “I’m always blown away by the creativity and ambition of our students, and I couldn’t be more proud of their effort!” Read more.

$1.6 Million Gift Creates 33 New Scholarships for BCOM Students

Thirty-three medical students attending the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (BCOM) are set to receive scholarships to support their educational journeys. The scholarships are made possible thanks to a $1.6 million anonymous gift to the Southwest Foundation for Osteopathic Education and Research (SWFOER).

“This private foundation strongly supports the mission and vision of BCOM and SWFOER—to bring more doctors to New Mexico and the Southwest region of the U.S.,” said Victoria Pineda, Director of Institutional Advancement at BCOM. “We are so excited to have them support these aspiring physicians. And it’s not just an investment in our students, it’s an investment in the health and future of New Mexico.”

CCOM Inducts Humanism Honor Society Members

Midwestern University’s Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM) welcomed 26 new inductees into the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS), a national organization that honors fourth-year medical students who demonstrate the highest forms of compassion and caring.

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation developed the GHHS in 2001 to recognize rising fourth-year medical students who demonstrate behaviors characteristic of the most humanistic physicians. In addition to their induction, the GHHS members develop a mission statement and work on creating a campus-wide project to highlight the values of humanism.

Photo: The Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine welcomes the new members of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

ICOM Students Organize Sexual Assault Awareness Walk

The Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM)'s American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) and Future Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FOOG) hosted an on-campus Sexual Assault Awareness Walk April 20. A portion of the proceeds benefitted Speak Your Silence, a Boise-based non-profit organization that supports survivors of sexual assault and abuse. The event featured speakers from Speak Your Silence, an interactive activity that shared the experiences of survivors of sexual assault, and the opportunity for participants to race in the opposite gender’s shoes. 

“Our hope was that, by taking participants through a survivor’s story from start to finish, they were able to see the strength and courage it takes for survivors to report their assault, and to see why so many survivors remain silent,” said Bailey Lervick, ICOM Student Doctor and President of AMWA. “We were excited to include Speak Your Silence and share their mission to spread awareness of the local resources available to survivors following assault.” Read more.

LMU-DCOM Student Doctors Help Middle School Students Master Math Skills

Lincoln Memorial University—DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM) students have a full schedule between lectures, labs, and other program commitments throughout the day, yet some are taking an extra hour to help children at Middlesboro (Kentucky) Middle School improve their math skills. Every Tuesday and Thursday after school, 10-15 medical students or students in the Master of Science program are paired one-on-one with a child to work together on their school work. Both math and reading assignments are mixed with games and activities both online and in group settings.

“Our focus is on showing the students that math can be a fun activity and not a chore,” said Evan Crawford, a first-year osteopathic medical student at LMU-DCOM and the student coordinator of MathDOcs. “In the nearly two years that I’ve been involved, I’ve seen great improvement in the children’s academic abilities, but more importantly, those involved with MathDOcs have bonded with the children and have made a meaningful impact on their lives.” Read more.

LUCOM Continues with Annual Partnership During Free Lynchburg Community Clinic

Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) faculty, staff, and student-doctors volunteered their time and service this past weekend during the Community Care Collaborative | Lynchburg (CCCL). The event, coordinated by the LUCOM Office of Clinical Collaboration and Education (OCCE), impacted the lives of 220 patients, helping them connect to local resources to establish continuity of care. The CCCL was held at the Salvation Army on Saturday, April 13.

“These types of events give students firsthand experience with real people and the mentoring of student-to-student is incredibly valuable,” said Sig Seiler, MD, Associate Professor of Family Medicine. “Students also see the sometimes-hurting people of society. This teaches empathy and compassion and I hope the students, especially first- and second-years [students], take home that working hard has its rewards and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. That prayer and spirituality are important parts of people’s lives. That we all work together as a team for the good of Lynchburg.” Read more.

KPCOM Students Sweep Top Two Awards at AAO Poster Competition

Third-year Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM) students Nicholas Wawrzyniak and Gabrielle McDermott, both predoctoral osteopathic principles and practice fellows, swept the top two awards at the poster competition held in conjunction with the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO) Convocation, held March 13-17 in Orlando, FL.

Wawrzyniak captured first-place honors for his poster “Regional Dependence of Myofascial Meridians in Chronic Low Back Pain,” while McDermott won second place for her poster, “Orbital OMT for Grave Situations: Treating Exophthalmos.” NSU-KPCOM students have won first place in this national competition for three consecutive years.

$200 Million Used to Establish Endowment for OSU Center for Wellness and Recovery

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter and Oklahoma State University leaders announced a historic settlement with Purdue Pharma that will establish a nearly $200 million endowment at the Oklahoma State University’s Center for Wellness and Recovery, which will go toward treating the ongoing addiction epidemic nationwide. The trial against Johnson & Johnson, Teva, and the other defendants named in the state’s lawsuit remains on track for May 28.

The endowment provides funding for an entity that will receive the initial $102.5 million that will go to the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Center for Wellness and Recovery, Oklahoma’s most comprehensive treatment and research center for treating pain and addiction. Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, the entity will receive an annual $15 million payment over a five year period. During the same five year timeframe, it will receive ongoing contributions of addiction treatment medicine, valued at $20 million. Read more.

Bayhealth Partnership Expands Clinical Education in Delaware

Beginning July 1, a cohort of 11 doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) students from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM)—eight from the Philadelphia campus and three from the Suwanee, GA campus—will spend their third year of medical school developing their clinical skills either at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus in Dover, DE, or Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus, in Milford, DE. With this new cohort, Bayhealth becomes PCOM’s latest Core Clinical Campus (CCC). The Philadelphia campus partners with 13 hospitals and health systems in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware on its CCC initiative, which ensures third-year medical students can perform all of their clerkship rotations at one site.

Upon graduating medical school, PCOM students may later apply for one of Bayhealth’s new residency programs, which the health system announced in March. PCOM is also partnering with Bayhealth on this endeavor. The residency programs for family medicine and internal medicine have a proposed start date of July 2021, with general surgery and emergency medicine to follow in the coming years. Read more.

Real-Life Cases Help to Build Students’ Skills, Confidence During PCOM Georgia’s Trauma Day

During the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine—Georgia Campus (PCOM Georgia)’s Trauma Day, student paramedics from Lanier Technical College in Gainesville, student nurses in their fourth year at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) in Lawrenceville, and student doctors in their second year at PCOM-Georgia experienced what it was like to depend on each other as they worked to save the lives of their patients.

“We all need to listen, to hear the same story to give the patient the best care possible,” Sharon Grason, PhD, RN, the Director of the nursing program at GGC, said. PCOM Georgia Director of Simulation Jeffery Adams, NREMT-P, MS, urged the students: “When you’re in the emergency department, take two minutes to listen to what the paramedics say.”  Read more.

RVUCOM’s OBGYN Club Hosts C-Section Simulation for Students

RVU’s OBGYN Club hosted a C-section Simulation for students in the COM, MSBS, and PA programs that kicked off with an in-depth presentation on fetal distress, a prolapsed umbilical cord, placenta previa, the difference between emergency versus planned C-sections, and much more. Dr. Susan Carter, Director of the ACS-AEI Comprehensive Simulation Center, was also on hand to answer questions and share her experiences in clinical practice.

For the second part of the event, Dr. Carter performed a much anticipated simulated C-section, during which she was assisted by members of the OBGYN Club. The event was a highly educational experience for the students, promoting teamwork and teaching them the importance of communication in the delivery of quality health care.

UNE COM Shares in Tradition & Culture

In April, the Jewish Medical Student Association (JMSA) organized a Passover Seder for the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM) Community to celebrate and learn about the Seder and its traditions. Along with the meal, students shared a retelling of Passover (in English) by reading the Haggadah, a traditional Jewish text. Rituals of the feast were explained within the text, along with the significance of the Seder plate, and blessings to be recited.

To symbolize the ten plagues unleashed to emancipate the Jewish people from slavery, students adorned themselves with colorful masks, one for each plaque, adding a layer of understanding to the story behind Passover. Approximately 30 students of various faiths came together in celebration of the Seder. Of the holiday, first-year COM student Hillary Landsman writes, “Passover is one of the most important Jewish holidays and the story speaks to many important themes of social justice, personal freedom, and gratitude that are still extremely relevant today.”

Photo: First-year COM students Rohan Rau and Jesse Peery celebrate Passover at UNE COM.

Middle-Schoolers Showcase Projects at WVSOM Science Fair

The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) hosted the seventh annual Southern West Virginia Regional Middle School Science Fair on April 9. WVSOM partnered with the Greenbrier Valley Chapter of the scientific research society Sigma Xi to host the fair, in which 69 sixth- through eighth-graders registered 43 projects. The schools represented were Eastern Greenbrier Middle School, Peterstown Middle School, Mountain View Elementary and Middle School, Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, and Marlinton Middle School.

A panel of WVSOM students judged the science projects based on creativity, scientific thought, understanding, clarity, dramatic value and technical skill. Middle-schoolers could enter projects in the experimental or non-experimental category. Braeden Hayhurst and Robert Pritt won first place in the eighth-grade experimental category for their project (“What’s the Point?”) which examined the different effects hollow-point bullets and solid bullets had when fired into a piece of wood. Both students said they’ve always been interested in science.