Students Receive Personalized Welcomes During White Coat Ceremony, Participate in School Olympics and More

WesternU COMP-Northwest and the Lebanon Community Welcome New Students

Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest (WesternU COMP-Northwest) capped off Welcome Week with a white coat ceremony for 108 new students on August 4, 2023, at Lebanon First Assembly Church in Lebanon, Oregon. The students were given practical advice for thriving in medical school, words of encouragement in making their mark on society and a unique and personal welcome gift from the community they are joining.

WesternU President Robin Farias-Eisner, MD, PhD, MBA, said the white coat is a symbol of integrity and professionalism, and this white coat ceremony offers an induction into this noble calling of medicine and is a privilege to uphold and to behold. “We believe that learning the art of communication and humanism and the art of healing and compassion is just as important as learning the scientific knowledge of the craft,” Dr. Farias-Eisner said. Read more about Welcome Week and how the Lebanon community welcomed the class.

WesternU COMP Students Don ‘Symbol of Trust’ for the First Time

Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (WesternU COMP) celebrated the incoming Class of 2027 with a white coat ceremony held on August 10, 2023, in Ontario, California. Students were told to wear their white coats with pride and humility, and to also remember to take care of themselves amid the rigors of medical school.

WesternU-COMP and COMP-Northwest Acting Dean David Connett, DO ’84, told the students they were carefully chosen to lead and transform the future of healthcare. “Your role as a medical student is not to be taken lightly. It demands dedication, compassion, and a commitment to service,” Dr. Connett said. Read more about the white coat ceremony and get to know some of WesternU COMP’s first-year students.

VCOM-Virginia Holds Annual Frank B. Rocovich Memorial Olympics 

Photo: Second-year students participating in an intense tug-of-war.

Medical school can be stressful and what better way to let off some steam than with a friendly competition between first- and second-year students? Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Virginia Campus (VCOM-Virginia) held their annual VCOM-Virginia Olympics this past week as future physicians competed in different athletic and scholastic events including tug of war, flag football, pickleball, a burlap sack race, trivia and more. Each year, VCOM-Virginia uses the event proceeds to benefit the Frank B. Rocovich Memorial fund. This year’s competition raised more than $1,700 for the fund, which awards scholarships to students who actively participate in the Via Wellness program at VCOM-Virginia. 

The Frank B. Rocovich Wellness Scholarship was set up in memory of Frank B. Rocovich, who served as VCOM-Virginia’s activities coordinator and worked closely to support the Via Wellness program to promote healthy minds, bodies and spirits for everyone at VCOM-Virginia. View more photos from the event on VCOM-Virgina’s Facebook.

Three UNE COM Medical Students Address Health Challenges in Rural Maine

Three University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM) students are addressing healthcare challenges in underserved communities around Maine thanks to a research internship with the Maine Rural Graduate Medical Education, or MERGE, Collaborative.

Class of ’26 student doctors Ryan Hibbs, Tyler Nussinow and Robert Krulee received the inaugural internship through the MERGE Collaborative to complete individual needs-based research in underserved portions of the state.

As part of this statewide initiative to grow the medical workforce in rural Maine, the MERGE Collaborative increases access to high-quality rural graduate medical education training to drive improvements in healthcare outcomes for rural communities in Maine. Read more about the UNE COM students and their research internship.

Suture Clinic: Enhancing Stitching Techniques 

Photo: Dr. Smith assisting a student during the suture clinic.

Kraig Smith, MD, led an OBGYN-sponsored suture clinic on August 10, 2023, where the first- and second-year Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Auburn Campus (VCOM-Auburn) students honed their stitching techniques. Through hands-on practice and expert guidance, students gained practical skills and a deep understanding of suturing nuances. Dr. Smith’s instruction left a lasting impact, boosting students’ confidence and enthusiasm. View more photos on VCOM-Auburn’s Facebook. 

They See Red

Dr. Hanna Wollocko loves working with Touro students because, she says, they are curious, careful, confident and persevering.

“I am teaching them to be patient, very, very patient—the best quality, the highest quality in research is patience,” says Dr. Wollocko, an adjunct clinical associate professor of internal medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM). Turns out, she adds, “they are teaching it to me, as I teach it to them.”

By anyone’s standard, Dr. Wollocko seems to have an abundance of patience beyond her role at Touro; she is president and CEO of OxyVita, Inc., whose mission has been to create a blood substitute that can be used safely and effectively as an alternative to blood transfusions. For 15 years, she has been conducting studies on blood substitutes, with OxyVita product, which is a polymeric hemoglobin. “We are close,” says Dr. Wollocko, who hopes OxyVita will soon enter clinical trials for FDA approval. “Again, patience and careful, precise research are key.” Read more about how students are pushing this research forward.

VCOM-Carolinas’ Tom Lindsey, DO, Wins Best Poster at SC Conference on Innovations in Teaching and Learning

Congratulations to Tom Lindsey, DO, past president of South Carolina Osteopathic Medical Society, and his team on winning the “Best Overall Poster” Gamified Simulation of Gastrointestinal Emergency in Preclinical Medical Student Education, at the South Carolina Conference on Innovations in Teaching and Learning. The conference was held July 20-21, 2023, at Coastal Carolina University. Congratulate Dr. Lindsey and view more stories like this on VCOM-Carolinas’ Facebook.

VCOM-Louisiana Welcomes the United States Military 

The U.S. military was in town last week for medical Innovative Readiness Training in Monroe and West Monroe, Louisiana. Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Louisiana Campus (VCOM-Louisiana) was pleased to welcome the U.S. Military to campus to use its facilities during the training. See more photos from the visit on VCOM-Louisiana’s Instagram.