Throughout the global pandemic, opportunities for hands-on experience learning the
fundamentals of surgery and, by extension, boosting confidence for third-year rotations have been difficult
to come by. First and second-year students from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) had an opportunity to change that recently at the Philadelphia Surgery Conference
hosted by the Wisely Surgical Association and held in-person for the first time in
two years.
“The hands-on experiences [during the pandemic] have been extremely limited,” said Erin Hart, DO ‘24, president of the Wisely Surgical Association and one of the lead organizers of the event. “The real impact is the confidence we have going into rotations. Having these experiences going into clinical rotations can be really helpful so you’re not overwhelmed.”
Featuring workshop sessions on basic surgical topics including “Knot Tying and Suturing,”
“Gowning and Gloving,” and “Running a Code,” among others, students in the Wisely
Surgical Association, Global Surgery Group, PCOM Association of Women's Surgeons,
and Emergency Medicine Club learned from general and orthopedic surgery residents
as well as attending physicians, including many PCOM alumni. The student-led event was supported by faculty advisor Arthur J. Sesso, DO '81, professor, senior associate dean and chair of the Department of Surgery.
“The alumni are fantastic and they want nothing more than to help,” said Lydia Kersh, DO ‘24, president of the Global Surgery Group and co-organizer of the conference. “I’m really thankful for how easy they made this process.”
Though the conference was primarily geared towards students entering surgical specialities, it also featured workshop sessions focused on areas such as orthopedics. “The cool thing about this conference is that it’s not geared strictly to surgery,” said Hart. “We tried to give a variety of experiences to cover a range of specialities, not just general surgery.”
Asked what they hope students gained from the experience, organizers were hopeful programs like this would help reduce anxiety heading into third-year rotations, but also serve as a moment of reflection. “I want [students] to be confident and comfortable with those basic skills they’ll need for rotations,” said Hart. Kersh added, “An event like this can pull students out of their books and remind them why they want to be a doctor.”
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.
For general media inquiries, please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at 215-871-6300 or communications@pcom.edu. Visit our media relations page to view contact information for public relations personnel.
© 2025 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
