On Friday, December 9, PCOM’s Student Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians
and Surgeons (SAMOPS) hosted its annual Military Symposium on the Philadelphia campus. Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine students from across the country attended the event,
as well as military recruiters and military physicians. The day included breakout
sessions for students with their respective branches, combat simulations for student
participation, and military dignitaries who spoke at the event. Most notably, Captain
Sean Conley, DO ’06, who served as the physician to the White House from 2016-2020,
addressed the crowd.
Captain Conley gave insight into the history behind being a physician to the President of the United States dating back to the late 1800s. He provided a timeline from graduating PCOM in 2006 and multiple active duty tours in various countries to finally landing his position at the White House. CAPT Conley has held various academic and operational assignments including deployments to South Korea, Australia, Haiti and Afghanistan. CAPT Conley has an extensive background in pre-hospital and combat casualty care research, leading the Navy's Combat Trauma Research Group (CTRG) out of Portsmouth Naval Hospital from 2010-2016. He was the recipient of several grants with numerous peer-reviewed publications. CAPT Conley is currently faculty in the Department of Military and Emergency Medicine at Uniform Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
Other speakers included Lieutenant Commander Matthew Speicher DO ‘14, who presented “Military Medicine and Prolonged Field Care”. Prior to attending PCOM, LTCR Speicher served as a Naval Flight Officer, flying as a Radar Intercept Officer in the F-14 Tomcat and a Weapon Systems Officer in the F/A-18 Super Hornet. LCDR Speicher remains on active duty in Washington, DC, as a staff emergency medicine physician. He holds an academic appointment to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences as an Assistant Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine.
Additionally, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bassett, DO ’06, presented “Deployment Medicine”. LTC Bassett currently serves as a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at PCOM and Thomas Jefferson University-Sidney Kimmel Medical College. LTC Bassett is also the associate medical director for the Philadelphia Poison Control Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He serves as faculty in Einstein Medical Center’s Emergency Medicine Residency and actively works in addiction medicine at Prevention Point Philadelphia and is the Medical Director of the Philadelphia Opioid Assistance Resource Line.
In addition to these notable speakers, students were invited to participate in breakout
sessions specific to their military branch and simulation small groups that included
topics such as cricothyrotomy and battlefield acupuncture. Following the day's events,
students were invited to enjoy dinner and drinks nearby. The symposium perfectly coincided
with the annual Army versus Navy college football game which was hosted in Philadelphia
this year.
Ensign Patrick Fitzgerald (DO ’25), current president of SAMOPS class of 2025, stated, “I am extremely proud and honored to have learned valuable, combat-ready skills and advice from physicians in various branches of the military. PCOM has a very reputable osteopathic program within the military, as we continue to consistently graduate military physicians. Learning about the careers of our three speakers, who all graduated from PCOM, gives me a lot of insight into how much opportunity there is within the military. We have some big shoes to fill.”
SAMOPS is the student division of the Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons. Established in 1977, AMOPS represents osteopathic physicians in uniformed services. AMOPS works to focus the attention of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) on the unique aspects of practice in the Uniformed Services by the more than 2,200 Doctors of Osteopathy meeting the United State’s military and federal medical needs throughout the world.
For the past 125 years, 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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