Shelnutt Named Mason Pressly Award Recipient
January 9, 2017
Outreach and inclusion are the foundation for the community work done by Matthew Shelnutt
(DO ’17). It’s his way of connecting, and bettering the lives of those around him.
Shelnutt’s community work has been wide-ranging. He served on GA-PCOM’s Diversity
Council, helping develop on-campus programs for religious minorities, the school’s
LGBT community, and new mothers looking for a private place to pump their breast milk.
His work with the Diversity Council grew out of a College survey of faculty, staff
and students that looked at attitudes on race, religion and sexual orientation on
campus. The council helped set up the campus’s “safe space” program that let students
know that certain faculty and staff were available to discuss incidents involving
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. Council members also helped set up
an interfaith meditation room to accommodate personal religious practices and space
for quiet reflection during working/school hours.
Shelnutt did HIV testing at the Atlanta Pride rally where a few attendees learned
they were carrying the virus. He tended to injured long-distance runners at the Publix
Georgia Marathon, and helped develop a health fair in a community looking to break
the cycle of homelessness, poverty and domestic violence.
As an osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) undergraduate teaching fellow, Shelnutt
helped introduce first- and second-year medical students to the intricacies of hands-on
healing. He was part of a GA-PCOM Fellows Clinic, in which senior medical students,
under supervision, worked on fellow students so they could experience the healing
technique.
One student whom Shelnutt mentored through the fellows program found his outreach
inspiring: “Matt’s patience and sincere instruction during tutoring session after
session was beneficial to instill confidence in my skills, not limited to osteopathic
manipulation or treatment. He has a strong work ethic, a compassionate heart, a level
mind, and a joyful sense of humor to balance.”
Shelnutt, a Georgia native, hopes to bring his attitudes on community connections
and inclusion to his career in medicine, which, if all goes according to plan, will
begin with a residency in obstetrics and gynecology upon graduation.
Read more about Snyder Medal Recipient Vincent G. Lobo, DO '65, and Pressly Medal
Recipient, Anna Elisa Muzio (DO '17).
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About PCOM Georgia
Established in 2005, PCOM Georgia is a private, not-for-profit, accredited institute of higher education dedicated
to the healthcare professions. The Suwanee, Georgia, campus is affiliated with Philadelphia
College of Osteopathic Medicine, a premier osteopathic medical school with a storied
history. PCOM Georgia offers doctoral degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, and
physical therapy and graduate degrees in biomedical sciences, medical laboratory science,
and physician assistant studies. Emphasizing "a whole person approach to care," PCOM
Georgia focuses on educational excellence, interprofessional education and service
to the wider community. For more information, visit pcom.edu/georgia or call 678-225-7500. The campus is also home to the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center,
an osteopathic manipulative medicine clinic, which is open to the public by appointment.
For more information, visit pcomgeorgiahealth.org.
For more information, contact:
Barbara Myers
Senior Public Relations Manager
Email: BarbaraMy@pcom.edu
Office: 678-225-7532 | Cell:
770-309-0613
Connect with PCOM Georgia