students

Auburn Class of 2025 Orientation

ebailey — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 15:10:32 +0000

Auburn Class of 2025 Orientation ebailey Mon, 06/07/2021 - 11:10

Auburn Class of 2025 Orientation

Tags: students

Campus: Auburn

When: July 12, 2021 to July 13, 2021 All day

Carolinas Class of 2025 Orientation

ebailey — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 14:37:36 +0000

Carolinas Class of 2025 Orientation ebailey Mon, 06/07/2021 - 10:37

Carolinas Class of 2025 Orientation

Tags: students

Campus: Carolinas

When: July 19, 2021 to July 20, 2021 All day

Virginia Class of 2025 Orientation

ebailey — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 14:36:25 +0000

Virginia Class of 2025 Orientation ebailey Mon, 06/07/2021 - 10:36

Virginia Class of 2025 Orientation

Tags: students

Campus: Virginia

When: July 19, 2021 All day

VCOM-Louisiana Hosts First Osteopathic White Coat Ceremony in State History

ebailey — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:32:10 +0000

VCOM-Louisiana Hosts First Osteopathic White Coat Ceremony in State History ebailey Tue, 04/27/2021 - 14:32

VCOM-Louisiana Hosts First Osteopathic White Coat Ceremony in State History

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VCOM-Louisiana, the newest branch of The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, located on the campus of the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM), held their inaugural White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2024 on Saturday, April 10, 2021. This celebration was the very first osteopathic white coat ceremony to be held in the state of Louisiana.

A major goal of the Louisiana Osteopathic Medical Association (LOMA) was to solve the long-standing healthcare shortages and disparities in the expansive and underserved rural regions of the state. An obvious prerequisite to achieving that goal was the establishment of a college of osteopathic medicine in Louisiana. Opening the doors of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2020 met that need. The White Coat Ceremony at VCOM-Louisiana for the Inaugural Class of 2024 thus represents a landmark achievement of LOMA to meet the needs of Louisiana’s osteopathic profession and its public.

Ed Williams, PhD , Executive Director of LOMA

The ceremony, which was held at ULM’s Fant-Ewing Coliseum, is a “rite of passage” for beginning medical students that encourages a psychological contract for professionalism and empathy in the practice of medicine. The white coat ceremony is held at more than 100 medical schools nationwide and emphasizes the importance of both scientific excellence and compassionate care for patients.

“The white coat ceremony allows students to identify themselves as crossing the threshold with a significant visual statement of their commitment to medicine. In this ceremony, our students identify this commitment to their peers, to their faculty, to their family and friends, and to all honored guests in attendance,” said Ray L. Morrison, DO, FACOS, Dean of the VCOM-Louisiana campus. “They recite the osteopathic oath, a statement that identifies a professional, personal, ethical and moral commitment to this chosen profession which they are to enter.”

Ray L. Morrison, DO, FACOS , Dean of the VCOM-Louisiana Campus

VCOM-Louisiana’s inaugural class, consisting of 149 medical students, were ceremoniously coated by VCOM-Louisiana faculty and, in some cases, the students’ immediate family members. Those individuals coating the students were required to be licensed physicians with a DO or MD degree. Following the coating, the students, along with all DOs in attendance, recited the Osteopathic Oath.

Speakers at the ceremony included John G. Rocovich Jr., JD, LLM, Chairman of the SWAG��ƵBoard of Directors; Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO, President and Provost of VCOM; Ed Williams, PhD, Executive Director of the Louisiana Osteopathic Medical Association; Ray L. Morrison, Dean of the VCOM-Louisiana campus; Stephanie Lazo, Class President for the VCOM-Louisiana Class of 2024; and Nathan Kinnard, MEd, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Development for the VCOM-Louisiana campus.

students

Louisiana

By Desi Hammett -

VCOM-Louisiana Celebrates its Second-Annual Accepted Students Day

ebailey — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 15:37:54 +0000

VCOM-Louisiana Celebrates its Second-Annual Accepted Students Day ebailey Thu, 04/08/2021 - 11:37

VCOM-Louisiana Celebrates its Second-Annual Accepted Students Day

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VCOM-Louisiana celebrated its second-annual Accepted Students Day on Saturday, March 27, for the incoming class of 2025. A half virtual, half in-person format, this year’s Accepted Students Day marked the first event at the new SWAG��Ƶcampus that was open to outside visitors.

Over the course of the past seven months, VCOM-Louisiana faculty and staff have interviewed hundreds of applicants for the 162 spots in the class of 2025. Of the approximately 140 students who had been accepted into the Louisiana campus’s second class, about 45 joined virtually via Zoom, with another 34 students, along with their vaccinated family members, attending in person. Those who came to the campus were required to follow all social distancing and COVID-19 mitigation practices set in place by VCOM-Louisiana. Attendees must have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or possess antibodies.

Those who traveled to the campus in Monroe were greeted by colorful signage welcoming them to VCOM-Louisiana and then invited into one of the two-story lecture halls found on the second floor of the building. Faculty and staff members provided helpful information for students about what to expect once classes began as well as information about financial aid, student organizations, local housing, international missions, curriculum and campus facilities.

Panel discussion sessions allowed both in-person and online attendees to ask questions of the presenters. Small-group breakout sessions allowed accepted students to visit with current students about their experiences at VCOM-Louisiana, while parents and other family members were able to ask questions of Dean Morrison and other faculty and staff members. The day concluded with tours of the facility for students and their families.

Classes will begin on July 12 for members of the class of 2025.

events students

Louisiana

By Desi Hammett -

Practicing Gratitude Has A Powerful Impact On Mental Health and Well-Being

ebailey — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 19:40:13 +0000

Practicing Gratitude Has A Powerful Impact On Mental Health and Well-Being ebailey Mon, 11/02/2020 - 14:40

Practicing Gratitude Has A Powerful Impact On Mental Health and Well-Being

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In today’s environment, it is easy to get lost in the noise and lose sight of your true blessings. With Thanksgiving Day quickly approaching, are you easily able to identify your blessings and all the things for which you are thankful?

A second-year medical student at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) -Carolinas) is not letting the anxiety-producing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the election, and the economy cloud his ability to remain grateful and optimistic. Instead, he discovered a proactive way to practice gratitude after the passing of his grandfather and it is having a powerful impact on his mental health and well-being.

Merwan Faraj, a native of Dearborn, Michigan, sets his phone for a daily reminder to practice gratitude. At 8:30 p.m., he devotes 10 to 15 minutes to escape the worries of school or any other issues. During this time, he meditates and reflects on three things that he is grateful for that day and three people he wants to wish well.

“These few minutes out of my day bring appreciation, gratitude, and kindness to my life and the lives of those around me,” Faraj explains. “This process will create more positive thoughts in you and when you go out in public, you have a more positive energy about yourself. If you have negative thoughts about a person, sitting and wishing him or her well will help you see the human in them and increase empathy. This practice will promote a positive approach the next time you see them and strengthen your relationship.”

Eager to help spread his sense of appreciation and thankfulness, Faraj shared his practice with the VCOM-Carolinas Via Wellness Committee, which focuses on how best to provide emotional support and encouragement to the students while offering tools and resources for students to maintain good grades and address mental health needs.

Faraj received such positive feedback that he soon shared his personal approach to remaining positive and supportive with his fellow medical students -- many of whom have compounded stress of attending medical school during the COVID-19 pandemic. Safety precautions have eliminated the large study group sessions where students bond and offer to support to one another and remote learning can be a challenge in more ways than one.

Our new environment can leave students feeling isolated from their peers while they try to maintain a healthy morale in times of great uncertainty. Discussion at a recent wellness committee meeting centered on ways to maintain presence throughout the day and perspective, as these can alter a person’s mental health on a daily basis.

Merwan Faraj , SWAG��ƵCarolinas

Vikas Sehdev, PhD, VCOM-Carolinas Associate Professor of Pharmacology, adds, “The COVID-19 pandemic has really limited one-on-one personalized human interaction for VCOM-Carolinas students. In addition, our students (due to rigors of their training) are spending a lot more time than usual in front of screens learning and communicating with their peers and faculty. Such a scenario can easily affect one’s morale and zeal to learn, especially if you are a student who is from out of town/state. The VCOM-Carolinas Via Wellness Committee wanted to come up with something very simple, that students could do on their own, that will help them stay positive and in good spirits. Merwan’s daily practice of gratitude was one of the best ideas that we had for students to achieve the aforementioned goal. This practice allows one to be thankful and mindful of all the good things that an individual has going for them.”

Working with Dr. Sehdev; Natalie M. Fadel, PhD, Associate Professor for Psychiatry and Neuro-behavioral Sciences; and Kevin Price, Director for Institutional Technology Resources and Solutions; Faraj is creating daily reminders that students and faculty can subscribe to as a way to promote these ideals.

There are three options as of now, and Faraj would love to see everyone subscribe to them all, but any of them can prove to be positively impactful. The reminders are practice gratitude, wish three people well, and breathe.

For the gratitude practice, please take your time with this to truly reflect and allow the feeling of gratitude to set in. I like to stop everything I am doing and think about three things for which I am grateful.
When wishing people well, this is done internally, you are not contacting the people you choose on that day.
When taking moments to breathe, allow yourself to be in a comfortable position, and practice mindful breathing. This can also be paired with progressive muscle relaxation. https://youtu.be/utGa6rqzs3g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nZEdqcGVzo
In all of these, give yourself permission to take the time to be fully present and enjoy the moment. Doing these rituals for a secondary gain in the future negates the mindfulness aspect, as it takes you to a future reward and removes you from the present moment. When meditating, a couple of sayings to keep in mind that take the pressure off "doing it right" are: "Meditating, if you're doing it, you're doing it right." "Trying to get your brain not to think is like trying to get your heart not to beat." Your brain will naturally think and wander, do not pass judgment on yourself for this. Accept your humanness and use it as a tool to bring you back to the present moment.

“Merwan has been an integral part of VCOM-Carolina’s student wellness initiative over the past year,” says Dr. Fadel. “His idea to set up daily reminders for gratitude and mindfulness stem from a clear concern for and interest in the mental health of his classmates. Research suggests there are many positive effects of incorporating gratitude into daily life, so I believe this is a great step towards prioritizing the self-care of both students and faculty. It is also easily accessible and can be done in a short amount of time, which makes it a sustainable tool for future classes.”

Before enrolling at VCOM-Carolinas, Faraj worked as a nurse for more than five years. During his time in the cardiovascular ICU he saw much suffering that he believes was preventable or could be mitigated.

“Heart disease is so largely preventable,” says Faraj. “I wanted to jump on the other side of medicine and prevent suffering from happening in the first place. The only way for me to do that to the best of my ability is to become a doctor.”

Transitioning from an ICU nurse to an osteopathic medical student was conceptually constant for Faraj who particularly embodies a holistic approach to his patient care, similar to the philosophy used by Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs).

“Practicing osteopathic medicine is how I will always take care of people,” says Faraj, who is the VCOM-Carolinas Chapter President of American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. “The mind body connection is so strong and your mental health can have powerful effects on your physical health.”

community students

Carolinas

By Tammy Whaley -

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and SWAG��ƵAnnounce $3.2 Million Scholarship Program

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 04:00:00 +0000

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and SWAG��ƵAnnounce $3.2 Million Scholarship Program Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/26/2019 - 00:00

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and SWAG��ƵAnnounce $3.2 Million Scholarship Program

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AUBURN, AL September 25, 2019 – Today, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) announced an important initiative to further expand access to primary care physicians. This scholarship initiative will have a profound impact on health care availability for Alabama citizens that reside in rural and underserved areas of the state.

According to the Alabama Rural Health Association, 54 of Alabama’s 56 rural counties are entirely or partially classified as primary care shortage areas. Statistics show that there are 4.1 primary care physicians per 10,000 individuals in Alabama’s rural counties compared with 7.9 for urban residents. Thousands of Alabamians lack access to primary care doctors. Additionally, these 54 rural counties are also classified as mental healthcare shortage areas.

To help alleviate this need of primary care physicians within the state, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is making available $3.2 million in scholarships, over a six-year period, to students at the VCOM-Auburn campus. The scholarship opportunity is for medical students agreeing to practice as primary care or behavioral health physicians in an underserved area of Alabama.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Scholars program will pay student tuition for the final two years of their enrollment. In return, scholarship recipients will commit to primary care in a rural or medically underserved region in Alabama for a period of three years. Students are selected through an application and committee review process. Eight students have been selected for this year’s scholarship award. During the next four years of the program, 16 students will be awarded the scholarship grant. Eight students will be selected for the scholarship during the final year.

“Providing Alabamians access to high-quality healthcare continues to be one of our top priorities,” said Tim Vines, President and CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. “Having access to primary healthcare results in lower healthcare spending and improved health outcomes,” said Vines. “Partnering with SWAG��Ƶfurther validates our long-term commitment to providing Alabamians access to the healthcare they need and deserve,” added Vines.

“We are so excited about the investment that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama has made in future physicians to care for rural and medically underserved populations in the state,” said Elizabeth Palmarozzi, DO, FACOFP, VCOM-Auburn Campus Dean. “The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Scholars Program will produce 42 new physicians to serve in Alabama over the next six years,” said Palmarozzi. “These future physicians will serve to improve the quality of life and improve health outcomes in so many families across Alabama,” Palmarozzi added.

“This scholarship will make it easier for me to start a practice in a rural area,” said Harvey Browning, a third-year student from Center Point, Alabama. “My goal is to provide care to the people in my community, even if they might not have insurance or be able to afford medical care,” Browning added.

“This scholarship is a huge blessing to me,” said third-year VCOM-Auburn student Farrah Gaston. “When I begin to practice, I will be able to help people much sooner as this scholarship relieves so much of the stress of student loans,” added Gaston, who is from Camden, Alabama.

“Access to high-quality health care is very important,” said Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO, FACOFP, SWAG��ƵPresident and Provost. “Partnering with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama will help the College to provide primary care services to more people living in medically underserved areas of the state,” said Tooke-Rawlins. This generous commitment by Blue Cross will greatly enrich VCOM’s scholarship program, decrease student debt and enable many of our students to fulfill the college’s mission of returning our graduates to rural and medically underserved areas in Alabama,” added Tooke-Rawlins.

students

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Auburn

By Elijah Bailey, Cindy Shepard Rawlins -

DO Day on the Hill

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 05:00:00 +0000

DO Day on the Hill Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/08/2019 - 00:00 1552046400

Osteopathic physicians and medical students from across the nation gathered in Washington DC in early March to meet with their congressmen and congresswomen to discuss issues affecting healthcare and the osteopathic profession.

Nine VCOM-Carolinas students and two faculty members attended the annual “DO Day on the Hill” event. They met with representatives to advocate for a five year reauthorization of the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THC GME) program that provides funding to residencies focused on primary care services. Additionally, they asked congress to allow Health Savings Account (HSA) dollars to be used for medical services provided by Direct Primary Care practices.

Class of 2021 student Alison Markley was among those representing VCOM-Carolinas. Markley serves as president of the campus chapter of the Student Osteopathic Medical Association and as an Admissions Ambassador.

“It was a great opportunity to voice how those two policies would affect the state of South Carolina specifically,” she reflected.

In addition to meeting a variety of osteopathic physicians in a broad range of fields, networking, and making valuable professional connections, students learned about the importance of representatives hearing the opinions of their constituents. They also learned the value of participating in medical policy beyond campus.

“As medical students, we can get so wrapped up in studying and what is only happening at school,” said Markley, “but so much more of medicine is happening outside of that and there are so many opportunities that exist for a student to get involved on state and national levels. You just have to take advantage of them!”

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Amin Syed -- 2018 Cooke Graduate Scholarship winner!

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 05:00:00 +0000

Amin Syed -- 2018 Cooke Graduate Scholarship winner! Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/11/2019 - 00:00 1547208000

Amin Syed, VCOM-Virginia Class of 2022, is a 2018 winner of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s (JKCF) Cooke Graduate Scholarship. This highly selective award provides support to students with financial need to pursue graduate-level education. Eighty-two students will collectively receive approximately $7 million to attend some of the most competitive graduate institutions in the U.S. and the U.K.

VCOM’s own Amin Syed was awarded the Jack Cooke Scholarship before his admittance to the University of Virginia, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. As a recipient of the undergraduate scholarship, he qualified to be in the running for and ultimately received, the JKCF’s Cooke Graduate Scholarship. “It is an incredible honor to be selected, and I owe so much to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. The continued support makes my dream of practicing medicine a reality. There are many deserving students in similar financial situations. It is my goal as a future doctor to pay it forward and inspire other students, like me who come from impoverished backgrounds,” said Amin.

He was one of 85 finalists from 3,705 applicants in the spring of 2014. Amin plans to be an internal or family medicine physician, focusing on underserved and rural populations.

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12448

Virginia

Mental Health: Breaking the Stigma and Increasing Resources

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 04:00:00 +0000

Mental Health: Breaking the Stigma and Increasing Resources Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/26/2018 - 00:00 1537963200

Mental Health: Breaking the Stigma and Increasing Resources

Spartanburg, South Carolina- Established by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) in July 2017, the purpose of the Mental Health Awareness Task Force (MHATF) on each SWAG��Ƶcampus is to raise awareness and decrease the stigma associated with mental health issues of medical trainees.

MHATF aims to improve mental health resources on campus by educating students regarding the importance of self-care. Each MHATF maintains relationships nationally with other MHATFs at osteopathic medical schools to exchange ideas to help combat the epidemic of medical student and physician burnout and suicide.

MHATF hosts events related to boosting student morale, alleviating stress and educating about mental health issues in medicine.

Goals:

Improve student morale and relieve stress
Educate students about symptoms of common mental health issues
Improve the relationship between
VCOM’s students and administration
Consolidate concerns and input from each SWAG��Ƶclass
Normalize conversations regarding mental health and self-care
Create a conduit of fluid communication between students and administration

To learn more about the state of mental health in medical education, check out the latest issue of the SWAG��ƵView.

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