acomadmin

Cassandra Abrams and Lauren Feaster, second year students (OMS II) recently attended the monthly meeting for Grow Southeast Alabama to discuss their research on rural healthcare.

The ACOM students presented their research project during the meeting on access to healthcare in rural areas of Alabama and how a mobile clinic could benefit an area. Establishing medical care for underserved rural communities is a topic that is familiar to ACOM with a recent groundbreaking of a new clinic in Taylor, Alabama, which will join our existing ACOM Ashford Clinic in Ashford, Alabama. This passion is reflected in ACOM students like Cassandra and Lauren. Their passion and hard work on this research project is admirable, and their acknowledgment by Grow Southeast Alabama is a tremendous accomplishment.

Grow Southeast Alabama is an organization representing 11 Alabama counties working together to market the region, also known as the “Wiregrass”, towards opportunities for cultural and economic growth and development. In addition to target industries such as aerospace, agriculture, fabrication, manufacturing, automotive, and logistics, Grow Southeast Alabama is also working towards promoting and advancing healthcare-related industries in southeast Alabama.

Preparing for a Comprehensive Site Visit with COCA

We’re pleased to announce that ACOM is in the midst of preparing for our upcoming Comprehensive Site Visit, an important evaluation by our accrediting body: the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). This event is scheduled to take place from December 4th to 7th, 2023.

The Comprehensive Site Visit holds importance as it serves as a comprehensive review aimed at addressing all COCA standards. This evaluation process involves an in-depth, on-site assessment, where COCA examines ACOM’s adherence to accreditation standards in detail.

Central to this visit is our dedicated Self-Study, an introspective report compiled by ACOM. This comprehensive self-assessment is submitted to COCA, showcasing our commitment to complying with all COCA standards. You may connect with COCA to share your thoughts on ACOM’s Comprehensive Site Visit and Self-Study:

Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation

Address: 142 E. Ontario St., Chicago, IL 60611-2864

Phone: (312) 202-8124

Email:

Thank you for your support as we work diligently to achieve our accreditation goals and enhance the quality of education at ACOM.

The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) continued its dominance last week of the national simulation competition by claiming its fifth national championship in the last seven years.

Since 2017, ACOM has also won three international championships.

The most recent national championship came June 15-17 in Phoenix, Arizona as ACOM bested seven other teams vying for the crown, which included two teams from ACOM. The other schools represented were: Armed Forces College of Medicine/Egypt, University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), Universidad Autonoma de Gaudalajara School of Medicine (UAG Owls), Yale School of Medicine and Instituto Technologico de Santo Dimingo.

The “Biohazards,” which was comprised of all first-year female students, included, Hannah Rose Mixon (Captain), Sireen Salin Hilo, Sandra Fanous, Sanjana Rasamsetti and Sonia Patel.

“I’m proud of this team of first-year students,” John T. Giannini Jr, MD, associate professor of Internal Medicine/director of Simulation said. “This championship speaks to the simulation program and the integral component it plays in ACOM’s curriculum and training. They are seeing the same cases in the simulation lab that they are learning about in the classroom.”

In addition to Dr. Giannini, the simulation program faculty includes Jim Nolin, FNP-C, instructor of Primary Clinical Skills, Dianne Walker, simulation curriculum coordinator, Justin Bonds, simulation technology specialist and four sim fellows.

“We are proud that this success represents the solid and strong foundation of medical education that all of our students receive,” said James C. Jones, DO, FACEP, ACOM Dean. “This is reinforced through their training in the simulation center.”

Dr. Giannini, Mr. Nolin and Ms. Walker, who head ACOM’s program, are well respected in the simulation world.

The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) was the most represented osteopathic medical school at this year’s DO Day event, with personnel featured in three different informational sessions.

Dr. Richard Thacker, ACOM’s Associate Dean of Clinical Resources, presented on the bill-making process, as it pertains to healthcare and education-related bills. Meanwhile, ACOM Alumni Dr. Aerial Petty and Dr. Shawn Hamm presented during the Strengthening the Physician Workforce, and The Current State of Congressional Committee Work sessions, respectively.

DO Day is an advocacy event held annually by the American Osteopathic Association. It is the profession’s largest public policy and advocacy event and is hosted in conjunction with National Osteopathic Medicine Week (NOM Week). This year’s event took place from April 15-20, and included a virtual conference as well as in-person congressional meetings.

The state funded Alabama Medical Education Consortium (AMEC) was incorporated in 2004 as a 501C3 to increase the number of physicians in rural and underserved areas of Alabama. The AMEC Pipeline successfully brought third- and fourth-year medical students to Alabama for their last two years of medical school developing statewide core sites for clinical training to provide community-based education.  The core teaching sites were later committed to the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) for placement of its third- and fourth-year medical students for clinical clerkships.

A second mission began in 2017 to assist hospitals with startup state funding and consultation to develop residency programs. Recognizing that many physicians tend to practice near where they train, AMEC began conversations with Alabama hospitals about developing residency programs.  AMEC and ACOM have successfully worked to develop and enrich the growing number of teaching hospitals in Alabama. In 2023, 13 Alabama hospitals had established Graduate Medical Education programs.

We are pleased to share the data below about the programs and the resident/physician population generated by AMEC/ACOM efforts.

Medical student graduates from AMEC’s Pipeline – 328; 121 licensed in Alabama

Residents in AMEC-affiliated programs have grown from 21 in 2017 to 231 in 2023

Number of residency graduates in 2021 – 21; 97 projected for 2023

Residency graduates licensed in Alabama – 33

The ACOM chapter of the Student Association of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (SAACOFP) was recently chosen to receive the Humanitarian Award at the ACOFP 60th Annual Convention & Scientific Seminars.  The convention took place from March 29 – April 2 in Orlando, Florida. The award is given in recognition to the chapter that has excelled in organizing and participating in humanitarian events within their school, community, and beyond while acting as an advocate for osteopathic physicians.

The ACOM chapter of SAACOFP was chosen because of the volunteer work their members perform with the Samaritan Clinic and Samaritan Pantry. Both resources are managed by Love in Action Ministries and offer valuable resources to people in need throughout Dothan. The Samaritan Clinic offers free health and eye care to the homeless, people living in group homes, and inmates on the Houston County Corrections Work Release program, while Samaritan Pantry is a resource that provides food, toiletries hygiene products, and clothing to those in need.

This Humanitarian Award is an honor that recognizes SAACOFP as a group of future physicians who are positively impacting the Dothan area with empathy, compassion, and dedication.

The local chapter of the Student Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (SAMOPS) was chosen earlier this year, as the national chapter of the year. The award was presented in March at the AMOPS Annual Meeting & Medical Conference. This is the second year in a row that the ACOM chapter has received this distinction. They were selected above all other applicants due to the extensive community outreach and support that they provide throughout the year at various events.

The ACOM chapter of SAMOPS is an organization for ACOM’s military community, including those currently serving, interested in commissioning, or arriving as a student veteran.

The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) had a strong presence recently in Nashville at the first in-person Southern Group on Education Affairs (SGEA) conference since 2019! The theme was “Building the Future of Medical Education Together.” ACOM faculty participated in the conference planning committee, served as Medical Education Scholarship awards reviewers, and/or facilitated sessions throughout the conference as moderators. ACOM students participated in meaningful conversations during the engaging sessions and workshops by asking thought-provoking questions while raising the dialogue on major themes impacting medical education today. Whether it was in a poster session or an oral presentation, our students presented their research in medical education from the summer research program at ACOM. In addition, ACOM was the only osteopathic school represented among many allopathic medical schools from the Southeast region. ACOM also had the strongest medical school representation from Alabama. Funds available through the division of Anatomy and Molecular Medicine helped support the student research and travel. More information on the conference is available at  https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/sgea2023/

SGEA fosters excellence along the continuum of medical education—undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, and continuing medical education—by providing a forum for discussing the concerns of the medical education profession, serving as a resource, and acting in an advisory capacity to the Group on Educational Affairs (GEA) and the AAMC.