Touro-COM Wins Inspiring Programs in STEM Award for Second Year
Published August 18, 2020
You’ll also read about WVSOM’s initiatives to advance health equity, the PCOM Georgia students appointed to the SNMA Board, and more.
TouroCOM Receives STEM Award
The Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine—New York (TouroCOM)'s after-school science enrichment program for high school students, MedAchieve, is the recipient of the 2020 “Inspiring Programs in STEM Award” from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. It marks the second subsequent year that TouroCOM has received the STEM award, which celebrates colleges and universities that inspire and encourage students from underrepresented groups to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
WVSOM and Partners Awarded $100K Grant to Advance Health Equity
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM)’s Center for Rural and Community Health partnered with the Greenbrier County Health Alliance (GCHA) and a team of local and state organizations to participate in a national learning collaborative to advance health equity. As part of the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge, the GCHA was one of 20 teams selected to receive a $100,000 grant to help reduce disparities in chronic disease outcomes in communities with populations of less than 600,000. Learn more about this initiative online.
KPCOM Students Dominate at FMA Poster Symposium
Three students from Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM)—class of 2020 alumna (pictured from left) Gabriela Lins, DO, OMS-III Collin Tacy, and OMS-IV Jason D. Vadhan—earned awards at the David A. Paulus, MD, Poster Symposium held during the virtual Florida Medical Association (FMA) 2020 Annual Meeting on July 31–August 2. Read more about the KPCOM winners and their respective categories.
ICOM Welcomes Third Class of Student Doctors
The Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) welcomed its third cohort of student doctors to campus on Monday, August 3, for the start of the 2020-21 academic year. The Class of 2024 comprises 162 students from across the United States—33 of whom hail from Idaho and 45 from across ICOM’s five-state target region that includes Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota. Welcome, students!
RVUCOM Students Train in Virtual Reality and Other Hands-On Workshops During Clinical Medicine Course
Every year, rising third-year students at Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM) participate in Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine, a hands-on course that trains them in BLS/ACLS, proper donning and duffing, critical thinking skills, virtual reality and augmented reality simulations, surgical knot tying/suturing, and disposing of personal protective equipment (PPE). During the course, students are organized into small groups of six to eight to maximize learning and adhere to social distancing guidelines. Read more about the course activities online.
PNWU Medical Students Volunteer Over 900 Hours on COVID-19-Related Efforts in Yakima County
Since April, medical students from Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) have volunteered over 900 hours with the Yakima Health Department (YHD) on COVID-19 related efforts. From working at needle exchange sites to offloading PPE for local medical workers, PNWU student doctors have consistently committed to doing all they can to improve the health and wellness of the Yakima community. Read about a pair who recently volunteered to work at a local COVID-19 mobile testing site.
Pandemic Spurs TCOM Faculty and Students to Create Pediatric Mental Health Calls Program
Priya Bui, DO, one of the creators of the Pediatric Mental Health Calls Program, examines a young patient.
It was mid-March when University of North Texas Health Science Center-Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNTHSC-TCOM)’s Dr. Priya Bui, an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics, started seeing an even more disturbing trend: local cases of child abuse were rising, and fast. Dr. Bui then partnered with Dr. Michael Petrus-Jones, who at the time was nearing his own graduation as a fourth-year medical student, and Research Coordinator Joanna Garcia to create the Pediatric Mental Health Calls. Read more about this important program.
NYITCOM at Arkansas State Welcomes Class of 2024
Dr. Speights speaking to a classroom of socially distanced students.
With masks in place, temperatures checked and a quarter-full auditorium, the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State (NYITCOM-Arkansas) class of 2024 began their medical school journey with a COVID-19-themed lecture from Shane Speights, DO, the campus’ Dean. While NYITCOM usually welcomes its entire class for one orientation session, the Class of 2024 was broken into four groups to limit the number of individuals in the auditorium at one time, and four sessions were held over the course of two days. Read more about the events online.
Two PCOM Georgia Students Named to SNMA Board
Two Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia (PCOM Georgia) students, Kala Hurst (far left) and Aldwin Soumare, have recently been appointed to the Student National Medical Association Board of Directors.
Hurst was appointed to the position of SNMA Region IV Director, and Soumare was appointed to the position of National Osteopathic Affairs Committee Co-Chairperson. Read more about their appointments.