John Becher, DO '70 (left), chair, emergency medicine, and AOA president, was honored
with the Santucci Award, presented by NBOME Board Chair, Wayne R. Carlsen, DO.
The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) recently honored two PCOM faculty members for their commitment to the organization and to osteopathic medical education.
John W. Becher, DO ’70, chair of emergency medicine and current president of the American Osteopathic Association, on Dec. 11 received the Santucci Award, the NBOME’s highest honor. As chair of the NBOME Clinical Skills Testing Advisory Committee, Dr. Becher was instrumental in developing policy and procedures for the clinical skills examination. Working with the NBOME, he was able to develop and implement a new emergency medicine certification examination, and in 2009, introduced a recertifying examination in that specialty in the same format. Dr. Becher was a regular visitor to both the Chicago and Philadelphia offices for countless NBOME meetings, interviews and other assignments to assist the executive staff.
Exiting NBOME Board Chair Wayne R. Carlsen, DO, said, “The Santucci Award is awarded
to an individual for his or her sustained outstanding contributions to the mission
of the NBOME…protecting the public by providing the means to assess competencies for
osteopathic medicine and related health care professions. Certainly John Becher’s
contributions to the NBOME mission have been exemplary.”
The NBOME also welcomed to its board David Kuo, DO ’96 (pictured at right), assistant dean for graduate medical education, and program director for the Family Medicine Residency.
The NBOME is the leading assessment organization for the osteopathic medical profession. NBOME’s COMLEX-USA examination series is a requirement for graduation from colleges of osteopathic medicine and provides the pathway to licensure for osteopathic physicians in the United States and numerous international jurisdictions.
Established in 1899, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a “whole person” approach to care—treating people, not just symptoms. PCOM, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. PCOM students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, PCOM provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
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