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December 2004

PCOM Community Makes Holidays Brighter
The PCOM community came together this holiday season, as it does every year to make the season brighter for others. Among the many holiday activities, students from the BioMedical Sciences Program collected gifts for the Huntington Disease Society of America, students, staff and faculty provided gifts for senior citizens who receive care at PCOM Healthcare Center -- Cambria Division and many student groups held coat and blanket drives, food drives and gift drives for people in need throughout the Delaware Valley.

Students from the BioMedical Sciences Program collected
gifts for the Huntington Disease Society of America.




November 2004

Cambria Healthcare Center Aids Police Department Special Programs
Responding to a request from the Philadelphia Police Department, PCOM Healthcare Center -- Cambria Division donated mini first-aide backpacks to the Safe Corridor Program. The Program enlists the help of parents and volunteers to help ensure that students get to and from school safely. In addition, PCOM donated bike helmets to children who seek medical services from the Center and to police officers who patrol the neighborhood on bikes. "When the Healthcare Center and the police department work together, it benefits the entire neighborhood," says Cambria Division Office Manager Suzanne Walker-Garland.
Officer Sherri Bedford accepts mini first-aide
backpacks from Cambria Division Office Manager
Suzanne Walker-Garland.


October 2004

What You Need to Know About Alzheimer's Disease
Sigma Sigma Phi Honor Society and The Center for the Study of Chronic Diseases of Aging at PCOM cordially invite you to attend a discussion on Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Donald Corey and Dr. Brian Balin will talk about the symptoms and treatment options of Alzheimer's, what caregivers need to know and the latest research being done looking for a cause and a cure. The event is free and is open to the public: November 16, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., Evans Hall, PCOM. To reserve a spot, call 215-871-6797, ext. 1 or e-mail: pcomlecture@hotmail.com. Refreshments will be served.

 

pix175_pinklightsPCOM Supports Lights for the Cure
In support of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, PCOM joined the consortium of buildings and landmarks in the city that turned their exteriors pink in a salute to the region´s thousands of breast cancer survivors and in memory of those who lost their battle with the disease. The lighting also served as a reminder to everyone of the need to remain vigilant in the fight for a cure. 

 

Physician Assistant Week
Physician Assistant Week is celebrated annually from October 6 through October 12. October 6 is a special day for the PA profession. On this day in 1967, the first physician assistants graduated from Duke University. Today, more than 50,000 PAs are providing essential medical and surgical services to people from all walks of life. PAs are licensed professionals who practice medicine as delegated by supervising physicians. As part of their comprehensive services, PAs take medical histories, perform physical examinations, order and interpret lab tests, diagnose and treat illnesses, suture lacerations, assist in surgery and write prescriptions.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics currently lists the PA profession as the third-fastest growing profession, projecting that the number of PA jobs will increase by 49 percent between 2002 and 2012. In a survey taken at the American Academy of Physician Assistants annual conference in May 2003, 86 percent of physician assistants surveyed said they would become a PA if they had to choose their career over again, and 95 percent would recommend the PA profession to a promising student. To learn about PCOM's PA program, click here.

 
September 2004

National Osteopathic Medicine Month
PCOM is celebrating National Osteopathic Medicine Month with a full range of activities. The College's Student Osteopathic Medicine Association (SOMA) is sponsoring a variety of activities including speakers, video presentations and a fitness run. In addition to SOMA's activities, PCOM is placing ads in the newspapers that serve the Healthcare Centers. On September 3, 12 and 27th, our message will light up the night as the words "PCOM Celebrates National Osteopathic Medicine Month" scroll across the crown lights of the PECO building in downtown Philadelphia. The American Osteopathic Association is sponsoring a letter-writing campaign to encourage four television shows: "ER," "Everwood," "The Young and the Restless" and "Strong Medicine" to write DOs and osteopathic medicine into their shows. You can pick up a letter-writing kit at the SOMA display outside PCOM's cafeteria.		    

Campus signage announces NOM Month.
 
 
 
 
 August 2004

White Coat Ceremony
In a significant rite of passage, first-year DO students began their academic year with a White Coat Ceremony. The ceremony establishes a psychological contract for beginning medical students that stresses the importance of caring for patients as well as curing patients. A tradition at most medical colleges, the first White Coat Ceremony was initiated by The Arnold P. Gold foundation, a public, not-for-profit charity dedicated to fostering humanism in medicine. "To a physician, understanding the emotional needs of a patient should be as important as knowledge of physical anatomy," says Gold.
First-year medical students read their vision statements

as part of the White Coat Ceremony.

 
 
July 2004

Graduate Degree Commencement

Commencement for the graduate degree programs was held on Friday, July 30 at 11:00 a.m. in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. A total of 177 degrees were awarded in the following programs: Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology, Master of Science in Counseling and Clinical Health Psychology, Master of Science in Organizational Development and Leadership, Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences and Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. This year marks the first class of graduates in the Master of Science in Forensic Medicine program.

Arthur Freeman, EdD., former chairman of the Psychology Department, presented the commencement address.

Proud graduates leave the ceremony.

PCOM Receives Reaffirmation of Accreditation
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education has acted to reaffirm the accreditation of PCOM. A recent visit by the team representing the Commission noted significant accomplishments relating to virtually every aspect of the accreditation standards. The College was found to be in compliance with all accreditation standards. Team members expressed great appreciation for the hospitality, collegiality and extensive documentation provided by the Board, administration, faculty, students and staff of the College. Team members stated that they experienced renewal and were energized to return to their home campuses by virtue of the PCOM visit. One member indicated that the PCOM learning outcomes assessment process was the best he had encountered in his entire academic career. This wonderful assessment is due in large part to the more than two years of hard work by the self-study team led by Robert Cuzzolino, PhD, Vice Dean of Graduate Programs and Academic Planning


June 2004

 

Paul Ballas, DO `04 was one of 238 graduating DO students.

DO Commencement
PCOM´s 113th DO commencement was held at 10:30 a.m., Sunday, June 6 in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Commencement speaker was world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Benjamin Solomon Carson, Sr., M.D.  Despite growing up in a single parent home with dire poverty, horrible grades, a terrible temper and low self-esteem, Dr. Carson achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. Director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Institution, he is also a professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics. Dr. Carson has written three books, which provide inspiration and insight for leading a successful life.

The College bestowed the title professor emeritus on two alumni: Simon M. Lubin, DO `38, FACOOG, MD and Marvin Rosner, DO `57, FACOI, FACC.

Information Sessions
Information sessions for PCOM´s graduate degree programs will be held  from 6 - 8 pm in Evans Hall on June 9, July 14 and August 25. Information sessions for the doctor of osteopathic medicine program will be held from 1 - 3 pm in Evans Hall on June 16 and 23; July 7, 14, 21 and 28 and August 4. For more information, contact the Office of Admissions at 800-999-6998.


April 2004

Organizational Development and Leadership Open House
PCOM´s Master of Science Degree in Organizational Development and Leadership prepares leaders in the art and science of managing strategic change and leadership. ODL skills enhance personal marketability and competitiveness in the quality of one´s own job or the organization in which one works. Come and learn more about this program at the open house Friday, May 7, 6-8 pm, Evans Hall, Room 237 A&B, PCOM campus, 4170 City Ave. For more information, contact Diana Carrero at 800-999-6998. Learn more about the Master of Science Degree in Organizational Development and Leadership.


January 2004

Founders´ Day
The annual observance of Founders´ Day honors the founders of PCOM: Oscar John Snyder, DO and Mason Wiley Pressly, DO. Dr. Snyder, who "put the cause of osteopathic medicine above personal considerations," was the College´s first president and remained with the school for 42 years as an advisor and member of the board of trustees. Dr. Pressly, a Presbyterian minister and well-known orator, was PCOM´s first teacher, and he remained on the faculty until 1904. The O.J. Snyder Memorial Medal is the College´s highest award, presented to reward and recognize leadership to the osteopathic profession and to the College. The Mason W. Pressly Memorial Medal is presented to the student who is recognized by students, faculty and the administration as "Student DO of the Year." The recipient is honored for outstanding achievement and service to the College, the community and the osteopathic profession.

The recipient of this year´s O.J. Snyder Memorial Medal is Herb Lotman, LLD (Hon.), chairman, PCOM Board of Trustees. Lotman joined the board in 1990, and in 1992 he was unanimously elected chairman. Lotman used his business and corporate experience and skill to take the College to a new level. He turned PCOM into a financially stable institution. Under his leadership, the College rose from the brink of bankruptcy to financial stability. The campus flourished with renovations and PCOM now has the distinction of being one of the largest medical schools in the country. Lotman backed the difficult, but wise, decision to sell the hospital, and he helped the PCOM Foundation grow to almost $90 million. PCOM President and CEO, Matthew Schure attests that "Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine owes its very existence to Herb Lotman."

The recipient of this year´s Mason W. Pressly Memorial Medal is fourth-year medical student Stacey Franz. As a physical therapist with a master´s degree, Franz was anxious to do more for her patients.  "I wanted to treat the whole patient and incorporate preventative, curative and rehabilitation medicine," she says. "When I was in college, I learned about the Humanistic concept, which incorporates the spirit, mind and body. When I started looking at medical schools, I learned about PCOM and the osteopathic philosophy and it was clear I would be able to care for my patients in a more complete way."  As the 2004 Mason Pressly winner, Franz is well on her way to becoming the outstanding physician she aspired to be. Along the way, she has found time for a variety community volunteer activities, she has been published and has given back to the college as managing editor, PCOM Synapsis yearbook, class representative and recording secretary for the PCOM student government association. president of PCOM sports medicine club and co-chair, PCOM financial aid committee.

In the News
Dr. John Becher, Chairman, Emergency Medicine Department, was among those personally thanked by New Jersey Governor McGreevey for responding to the tragic collapse of the Tropicana Garage in Atlantic City in November. On a happier note, Dr. Becher attended the signing of the "Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act"  by President Bush at the White House last month.

 
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