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January 2009
Founders' Day
The annual observance of Founders' Day commemorates the founders of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine: Oscar J. Snyder, DO and Mason W. Pressly, DO. The O.J. Snyder Memorial Medal is the College's highest award to recognize leadership and service 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."
John W. Becher, DO '70, FACOEP
O.J. Snyder Memorial Medal Recipient
Dr. Becher has dedicated his career to the advancement of emergency medicine. In 1977 he was appointed as the first director of emergency room services at PCOM City Avenue Hospital and was named chairman of PCOM's Department of Emergency Medicine.
In 1985, well respected for his expertise in the field, Dr. Becher was appointed a charter board member of the newly-created Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation, a post he held for 14 years, ultimately serving as chairman.
In 2001, Dr. Becher became the first physician to be named National Emergency Medicine Residency Director of the Year by the National Emergency Medicine Residents Association. That same year he was named chairman of the Emergency Services Department at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
In addition to his position at AtlantiCare, Dr. Becher continues as chairman and professor of the Department of Emergency Medicine at PCOM, running the academic program for medical students as well as an annual continuing medical education program.
After 38 years in emergency medicine, Dr. Becher is still enthusiastic about his work. "Every day when I go to the emergency department, I learn something new," he says. "Just when you think you've seen and heard everything, a patient reminds you that you haven't. I still have to be prepared for anything, just as I have always told my students."
Helen Chang (DO '09)
Mason W. Pressly Memorial Medal Recipient
 Helen Chang (DO '09) is known by her peers and professors for her commitment to PCOM in terms of leadership, community service and campus-based initiatives.
She was the first osteopathic medical student to rotate through several hospitals for core clerkships and electives, an achievement that she used as an opportunity not only to learn, but also to teach and enlighten others in medicine about the osteopathic profession.
One of these rotations was in Santiago, Chile, a four-week clerkship she pursued so that she could become more fluent in Spanish in the medical arena. "It is important to be able to make a connection with your patients, and you can only do that effectively if you speak their language," she observes. Making a connection will be especially important in Ms. Chang's chosen subspecialty, pediatric anesthesiology, where she will interact with very young and often frightened patients as well as their worried parents.
On campus, Ms. Chang has served the Student Government Association (SGA) as a class representative and as parliamentarian on the SGA Executive Board. She organized the 2007 DO Day on the Hill, an event in which several hundred PCOM students travel to the nation's Capitol to lobby for physician and patient progress in policy, while raising awareness of the osteopathic profession. A member of the Sigma Sigma Phi Honor Society, she has also served the PCOMcommunity as chapter president of the American Medical Student Association. "It is not so much what Helen does, but the way she does it," reflects Tina Woodruff, Ed.D., assistant dean for student affairs. "She sets incredibly high standards for herself. She is passionate about everything she does and compassionate about the way she gets there. She is a natural role model because of her strong character." 
December 2008
Lights of Love
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For the ninth consecutive year, the PCOM Activities Group sponsored "Lights of Love" --
a benefit for the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House serves as a home-away-from-home for families of critically ill children who are being treated at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
PCOM students, faculty and staff bought heart-shaped paper ornaments for $1. The ornaments were hung on paper trees on campus, while real lights, representing the hearts, were strung on a live tree outside.
The event raised $900 -- enough to offset the cost of housing for a family for sixty days. |
| Activities Group members (from left) Denise Curran, Lavinia Lafferty, Christine Harmon and Rita Forde present Ronald McDonald House Executive Director Susan Campbell (left of tree) with a check for $900. |
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November 2008
Walk the Talk
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Sponsored by PCOM's student group Physicians for Social Responsibility, 40 PCOM students, including 20 men in high heels, participated in Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. The international men's walk was created to bring awareness to the problem of violence against women. The walk raised over two hundred dollars for Laurel House, a domestic-violence agency in Norristown, PA. |
Alzheimer's Research
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PCOM's Alzheimer's research and faculty/student collaboration was featured on NBC10. To view the broadcast, click here. |
October 2008
First Step
A new DO student is helped into his first
white coat. |
In a traditional rite of passage, first-year DO and Physician Assistant students began their academic year with a White Coat Ceremony.
The Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association donated white coats to the 271 Philadelphia first-year DO students. Georgia Osteopathic Medical Association donated white coats to the 86 first-year DO students, and the 54 new PA students received their white coats courtesy of the late Sara Somers Rupert, RN '33, and her daughter M. Kimberly Ruppert, PhD.
The event emphasizes the importance of both scientific excellence and compassionate care for the patient. |
August 2008
New Woman on Campus
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The Robert Berger, DO, Clinical Learning and Assessment Center in Philadelphia and the GA-PCOM simulation lab have both acquired new simulators, Noel and her baby, Hal. Noelle replicates a wide array of realistic labor and delivery scenarios. She can have a problem-free delivery or experience a variety of complications including breach birth, preeclampsia and a prolapsed cord emergency, to name just a few. She can also deliver by Caesarean section. Hal can also exhibit a range of neonatal complications. Like the other human patient simulators, both Noelle and Hal have heart, lung and breath sounds and pulses, and they respond to a wide range of clinical interventions. |
July 2008
PCOM Signs Agreement with Brenau University
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PCOM and Brenau University have signed an agreement to create a five-year accelerated BS/MS degree in physician assistant studies. Students will complete a three-year specialized pre-professional program at Brenau, located in Gainesville, Georgia, and conclude their education at PCOM's physician assistant program in Philadelphia. The affiliation creates spots for 15 Brenau students.
"This is a great opportunity that gives our PA program the potential to expand, subject to accreditation approval," says John Cavenagh, PhD, PA-C, chair, physician assistant studies. "A factor limiting the growth of our program is the availability of clinical placements, and Brenau has a commitment from Northeast Georgia Medical Center and The Longstreet Clinic to provide all seven required rotations for the Brenau graduates."
Robert Cuzzolino, EdD, vice president for graduate programs and academic planning, notes that this agreement "is the perfect marriage between our goals of expanding our PA program and of training medical professionals to serve in the south."
Brenau students will begin arriving on campus in 2012. |
Ed Schrader, PhD, (left) president, Brenau University and Matthew Schure, PhD, president and chief executive officer, PCOM shake hands following the signing of an agreement creating an accelerated five-year bachelor of science/master of science degree in physician assistant studies while officials from both institutions look on. (Photo by Tom Askew)
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Graduate Programs Commencement
More than 230 PCOM students in various graduate programs earned master's or doctoral degrees at the College's ninth graduate programs commencement on July 25. Degrees were awarded in clinical psychology, school psychology, counseling and clinical health psychology, organizational development and leadership, forensic medicine, biomedical sciences and physician assistant studies.
Barbara J. Byrne, PhD, senior vice president emeritus for academic affairs, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, presented the commencement address and was awarded an honory doctor of laws degree. Aaron T. Beck, MD, director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research, was also awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree. Dr. Beck created the field of cognitive behavior therapy on which PCOM's psychology programs are based.
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PCOM President Matthew Schure, PhD
hoods Dr. Aaron Beck. |
Dr. Barbara J. Byrne presented the
commencement address. |
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Richard Pascucci, DO, senior associate
dean of clinical education, PCOM, hoods his
daughter, Amy, who earned her master's
degree as an educational specialist
in school psychology. |
Two graduates enjoy their momement |
June 2008
DO Commencement
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PCOM graduated 256 doctors of osteopathic medicine at their 117th commencement ceremony Sunday, June 1 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter provided the commencement address. The mayor shared the story of his thwarted plan to become a physician and encouraged the graduates to return to the city after their training is complete.
Also during the ceremony, Sherman L. Townsend, chairman, Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research was presented with an honorary doctor of laws degree in appreciation of his advocacy for quality medical education
Andrew D. DeMasi, DO '47, retired clinical professor and physician, obstetrics and gynecology, was named professor emeritus. |
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter presented the keynote address at PCOM's DO commencement. | Dr. Rani Bright Named Lindback Award Recipient
 Rani Bright, MBBS, assistant professor, pathology, microbiology/immunology and forensic medicine received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. The Lindback Award recognizes academic excellence and outstanding teaching and is one of the most prestigious awards conferred upon a faculty member.
Dr. Bright is a certified High Complexity Clinical Laboratory Director through the American Board of Bioanalysis (ABB) and a faculty at ABB. She has published several papers on "Emerging Infections" and "Travel Medicine" in the magazine of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association.
Dr. Bright graduated from Rewa Medical College with a British Commonwealth degree (MBBS) and did her one year rotating internship at S.S. Medical College, Rewa, M.P., India and residency in pediatrics at Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Rewa.
Dr. Bright is a member of ABB, ASM, Global Health Council and the American College of Physicians. She also serves as a consultant to NBOME.
May 20
GA-PCOM Graduates First Class
GA-PCOM's first graduating class
from the biomedical sciences program
GA-PCOM's first graduating class of biomedical sciences students received their master's degrees on May 18. True to GA-PCOM's goal of training physicians from the south in the south, seven of the 13 graduates will enter medical school in southern states. Three of those will be members of the class of 2012 at GA-PCOM. One graduate, Rouenne Abasolo, will move north to enroll in PCOM's DO program.
DO Day on the Hill
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More than 100 PCOM DO students from both Pennsylvania and Georgia traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with their congressional representatives and staff to discuss, among other topics, the Save Medicare Act of 2008, which would reverse a projected 10 percent cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments to doctors.
Students also asked their representatives to sign the Gordon Matheson, Dent, Kirk Dear Colleague Letter that calls upon Congress to act immediately to address physician payment cuts.
Also on the day's agenda was childhood obesity. DO Day on Capitol Hill is the preeminent opportunity for DOs and DO students from across the country to lobby members of Congress and their staff. |
PCOM DO students with Congressman Patrick Murphy from Pennsylvania's 8th District.
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April 2008
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Arthur Sesso, DO '81 Receives Galen S. Young, Sr., DO '35 Chair in Surgery
Arthur Sesso, DO '81, professor and chair, department of surgery, and program director, general surgery residency, is the first recipient of the Galen S. Young, Sr., DO '35, Chair in Surgery.
The Chair was established by the PCOM Board of Trustees in 2007 as a tribute to Dr. Young. In recognition of his bequest, the Young Chair will remain at PCOM in perpetuity. Dr. Young was a valued member of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine community for more than eight decades. A distinguished and caring surgeon, educator and administrator, Dr. Young devoted his life to the osteopathic medical profession and to PCOM. |
Dr. Sesso, center with Galen Young, Jr. DO '65 and Mrs. Young.
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Dr. Sesso has served as a member of the PCOM department of surgery since 1981, teaching medical and physician assistant students the art and science of surgery. Among his teaching methods has been the incorporation of case-based learning scenarios into the curriculum using state-of-the-art training simulation technology that develops coordination, technique, and precision. |
March 2008
PCOM Research in the News
Hundreds of young lives are lost each year to Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome (SADS). A leading cause of SADS is Long QT Syndrome (LQTS). While most people have never heard of this condition, it is three-times more common in the U.S. than childhood leukemia.
LQTS is a disorder of the heart's electrical system. The condition leaves the patient vulnerable to fast, chaotic heartbeats that may lead to fainting -- and in some cases, cardiac arrest and possibly suddent death. Most of these deaths can be prevented if LQTS is diagnosed and treated. Unfortunately, because there are often no signs or symptoms of this genetic disorder, LQTS frequently goes undiagnosed.
 Stephanie Felgoise, PhD, associate professor, vice-chair and director of PCOM's clinical PsyD program, discovered her daughter has LQTS soon after she was born two years ago. The family is never far from her automatic external (heart) defibrillator (AED). Discovering there is no literature concerning how this condition impacts the lives of those living with LQTS, their families and caregivers, Dr. Felgoise, working with PCOM graduate students and pediatric cardiologist Victoria Vetter, MD, of Childrens' Hospital of Philadelphia has initiated the first psychosocial study of LQTS. Dr. Felgoise discussed her research on the 10Show. To view the segment, click here.
January 2008
Governor Rendell Promotes Health Coverage Plan at PCOM
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PCOM President and CEO Matthew Schure, PhD, left,
welcomed Governor Rendell to campus.
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Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell held a press conference at PCOM on January 14 to discuss his health care coverage proposal, Cover All Pennsylvanians (CAP). The Program, part of his Prescription for Pennsylvania, offers affordable basic health coverage to small businesses and the uninsured through the private insurance market. Governor Rendell said all uninsured Pennsylvanians, no matter the size of their employer, will be able to purchase affordable health insurance through CAP.
Joining the Governor were representatives from POMA, The Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society, State Senators Vince Fumo and Vincent Hughes and State Representative Kathy Manderino. | Founders' Day
James H. Black, DO '62
O.J. Snyder Memorial Medal
During a distinguished military career that spanned 24 years and two oceans, Dr. Black was one of the first osteopathic physicians to be selected for flag rank by the Navy, retiring as a rear admiral in 1998. Throughout his years of service, Dr. Black remained intensely loyal to his osteopathic roots and to PCOM. A charter member and past president of the Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (AMOPS), he worked tirelessly to raise awareness and respect for osteopathic physicians within the Navy.
Dr. Black first learned about osteopathic medicine from his family physician, the late William Martz, DO '50. "Looking at the patient as a whole person and not a disease seemed like a good philosophy to me," says Dr. Black.
Before joining the Navy, Dr. Black and several of his fellow physicians started what would become the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Now part of the University of North Texas, Dr. Black also served as a member of the school's admissions committee and was appointed a clinical instructor.
Dr. Black emphasizes the importance of giving back to PCOM. "Without the College, none of us would be where we are today," he stresses. As a member of PCOM's Board of Trustees and past president of the Alumni Association, Dr. Black continues to give back in a myriad of ways. "I have great pride in the College and I'm committed to seeing that we continue to maintain our excellent standing among medical schools."
Sallee Ann Eckler, PhD (DO '08)
Mason W. Pressly Memorial Medal
For Sallee Anne Eckler, PhD, (DO '08), the 2004 tsunami in Southwest Asia was a defining moment. Inspired by the desire to provide meaningful assistance to the victims of this disaster, she created the campus-wide "Sacrifice-2-Save Tsunami Campaign." The campaign raised almost $12,000 for the American Red Cross.
But that was only the beginning of Dr. Eckler's efforts to serve others. When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast the following year, she organized another Sacrifice-2-Save campaign, collecting money as well as clothing and food that PCOM students transported to New Orleans. As president of PCOM's Student Government Association (SGA), Dr. Eckler had the opportunity to present her philanthropic idea to the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents. As a result, other osteopathic medical schools initiated similar programs.
Dr. Eckler has also stepped up to serve her fellow students. When the first class of students arrived on the Georgia Campus in 2005, she flew down to help introduce them to life at PCOM. She then went a step further and initiated a very successful "Big Brothers, Big Sisters" program, matching first-year students in Georgia with second-year students in Philadelphia.
Dr. Eckler is a recipient of the Morton E. Terry Memorial Student Leadership Award, the Martha and Michael J. Avallone Memorial Scholarship and the PCOM Alumni Association Scholarship. |
