News

A Message from the Dean of ACOM:

I believe that I speak for the entire ACOM community in expressing the pain and sadness we all share in the death of George Floyd.  We recoil from the images of his death because they are directly contrary to our core values as humans – the core values proclaimed in ACOM’s mission statement.

At ACOM, we strive for a life of integrity, compassion, and positive action. Our core values include Respect and Diversity. ACOM stands strong in support of all people who face discrimination because of the color of their skin, or on any other basis.

I stand with the entire ACOM community now in reaffirming our core values. Thanks to all ACOM students, faculty, and staff for your ongoing and unwavering commitment.

James C. Jones, DO, FACEP

Dean, Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine 

A team of ACOM students competed recently competed in and won the 2020 national Virtual Patient Challenge hosted by the American Medical Student Association (AMSA). The team, Cotard’s Delusionals, won the ACOM simulation competition in the Fall and was selected to move forward to represent the college at the AMSA event.  SIM competition was transitioned to a Virtual Patient Challenge. The national event transitioned to a virtual format, requiring a restructuring of teams, which two teams of three students each. The teams were Cotard’s Delusionals, with Kyle Cohen, Jessica McLean and Alyssa Pace-Patterson, and Still Cotard’s Delusionals with Sophia Jaffri, Alexandra Sappington and Joseph Bernhard. The two teams competed on Friday, April 17th against 14 other teams from around the country. The first round consisted of completing two 20-minute cases, with scoring based on the accuracy of examination, diagnosis and management of a virtual patient. Cotard’s Delusionals qualified for the final round, competing against three other teams, again with two 20-minute cases.  Following the case completion and a debrief, AMSA announced the winners, with Cotard’s Delusionals taking top honors.

At the virtual conference for the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) in March, the ACOM student chapter, Student Association of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (SAACOFP), was awarded the Humanitarian Award for participating in more volunteer hours than any other student chapter across the nation.

ACOM’s SAACOFP chapter offers volunteer opportunities to its members at the Samaritan Clinic on Thursdays, the Spanish-speaking Samaritan Clinic once a month, and the Samaritan Pantry the first 3 Saturdays of the month. The Samaritan Clinic is a free health, eye and dental clinic for the medically underserved in Dothan and Houston County, while Samaritan Pantry works to provide clothes, hygienic supplies, food and toiletries to the homeless community of Dothan.

We are extremely proud of our SAACOFP chapter here at ACOM by taking the time to positively impact the greater Dothan community. As future family physicians, it is important that we emphasize our role as community leaders and volunteers, as it will only further our mission of community outreach and improving the overall health and wellness of the communities we serve.

ACOM OMS-II student Amir Khiabani was elected as Region II Trustee and appointed into his role onto the National Board of Trustees for the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA): the student branch of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).

As Region II Trustee, Khiabani will oversee one of the largest SOMA regions nationally, comprised of 11 medical schools from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi. He will help newly-chartered Osteopathic medical schools have a presence at their respective campuses while also serving as a resource to provide pre-existing chapters with anything they need to improve their presence on campus. The Region Trustee also acts to guide chapter leaders in implementing national and regional initiatives on their campuses, as well as be involved in voting regarding the policies and the operations of the organization on a National level.

OMS-III student Kasey Chelemedos and OMS-II student Audrey Gunn received second place in the research competition at the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) Regional Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 8. Their research focused on maternal adverse childhood experiences and their effect on her offspring. It concluded that adverse childhood experiences affect not only those who directly experience them, but also future generations. Their goal is to advocate for improved screening for these experiences in all fields of medicine and earliest possible intervention and support to combat the associated negative physical and mental health outcomes.