Geisinger College of Health Sciences

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty at a ceremony in May. Six students were recognized with a Service to Community Award for Clinical Years.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty during ceremonies in May.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty at a ceremony in May. Akindele Olagunju, MD received numerous awards.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty at ceremonies in May. Two GCSOM master of biomedical sciences (MBS) students were recognized with Professional Performance awards

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty at ceremonies in May. Two master of biomedical sciences (MBS) students were recognized with Service to Class awards.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty at a ceremony in May.

Avisha Shah and Douglas Wells, both members of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's MD Class of 2020, and Emily Herman, a member of the MD Class of 2021 recently received scholarships from American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) to attend and present their research on "Caring for Patients with Differing Abilities: Enhancing Medical School Curriculum" at the 17th Annual AADMD Conference in Rochester, New York.

Four Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students accompanied Vicki T. Sapp, Ph.D., director of student engagement, diversity and inclusion and a faculty member to the Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) in Philadelphia, April 17-21.

At a ceremony in May, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Geisinger Commonwealth) conferred 96 master of biomedical sciences (MBS) degrees upon students who compose Geisinger Commonwealth's graduating Class of 2019.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) students in the master of biomedical sciences (MBS) Class of 2019 on April 12 attended and presented research at the Pennsylvania Pain & Addiction Summit 2019: Putting People First. During this full-day conference, medical, legal and law enforcement professionals discussed the current state of the opioid crisis and shared methodology and interprofessional approaches to the treatment of pain and substance abuse.

Student leaders at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) planned and organized an "Asians in the Diaspora" bazaar in which all members of the GCSOM community were invited to partake in and celebrate the cultural customs, music and food of Asia.

Two third-year medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) were selected to be featured presenters at the 2019 Technology Education Research Symposium held on April 13at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Speakers' presentations are published in Volume 3, Issue 1 of the Pennsylvania Association of Educational Communication and Technology's (PAECT) Technology Education Research Journal.

Two members of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) master of biomedical sciences (MBS) Class of 2019 presented a poster of their research in collaboration with several Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's medical students entitled, "Trends in the Acquisition and Distribution of Opioid Drugs Among 10 Contiguous States," at an event held March 21. Kristin Feickert of Purcellville, first author and Ceilia Severini of Clarks Summit, together with faculty member Dr. Brian Piper, co-authored the research that examined the pattern of acquisition/distribution between 2007 and 2017 for 19 different opioid medications across 10 contiguous states (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky), with particular emphasis on Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Over the studied period, the students' research showed there has been a general downward trend in legal acquisition/ distribution of common opiates such as hydrocodone, morphine and oxycodone. With a better understanding of patterns of use and how that may affect adjacent states, public policy may be shaped to best mitigate the worst outcomes of the opioid epidemic locally and nationwide. The research was presented at GCSOM's Spring Research Symposium for faculty, staff, physicians, students and researchers.

On March 15, 96 students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Geisinger Commonwealth) learned their residency placements during the National Resident Matching Program's "Match Day," an event at which all fourth-year M.D. students around the country simultaneously open their envelopes to learn where they will spend the next three to seven years training in specialties. Residencies typically begin July 1.

On March 15, 96 students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) learned their residency placements during the National Resident Matching Program's "Match Day," an event at which all fourth-year M.D. students around the country simultaneously open their envelopes to learn where they will spend the next three to seven years training in specialties. Residencies typically begin July 1.

Katsiaryna Malykhina, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2020 has been selected to receive a 2019 Excellence in Public Health Award from the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS). Kimberly Smith, MD, commander, USPHS and Region 3 coordinator of the USPHS Excellence in Public Health Award Program, made the announcement.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) has received a $25,000 grant from the National Curriculum Initiative in Developmental Medicine (NCIDM) to increase inclusion of patients with intellectual disabilities and developmental disorders (IDD) into GCSOM's MD curriculum and to diversify elective choices for medical students. The grant was obtained thanks to the combined efforts of GCSOM faculty and student leaders.

Meredith Hanrahan of Orland Park, Illinois, a first-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) has been accepted through a competitive process to participate in the Medical Student Research Program in Diabetes, sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Four third-year medical students are the first Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) cohort to be accepted to the Jefferson College of Population Health (JCPH) Master of Public Health (MPH) program in Philadelphia.

Student leaders at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine planned and organized an "Africans in the Diaspora" bazaar in which all members of the GCSOM community were invited to partake in and celebrate the cultural customs, music and food of Africa. In addition to crafts, such as making beaded jewelry and learning the art of creating a traditional African head wrap, the event included Wilkes University's African Cultural Association performing dance and offering tutorials to the gathering.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) faculty member, Dr. F. Dennis Dawgert, and three fourth-year GCSOM medical students recently completed a mission trip to Mandeville, Jamaica. Dr. Dawgert provided primary medical care services and supervised the patient care provided by GCSOM students Nichole Ogojiaku, Kate Larrabee, and Tina Roy. Each student who accompanied Dr. Dawgert is a recipient of The Jennifer A. Sidari, M.D. '13 Global Health Award.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Pediatric Trainees (SOPT) announced Amelia Mackarey, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2020, was elected to the position of District III medical student assistant district representative for 2019. Medical student assistant district representative is a two-year position, wherein Mackarey will become the medical student district representative for 2020.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine student leaders announced they have created an Interfaith Prayer Room, which all members of the GCSOM community are welcome to enjoy. GCSOM Medical Student Council (MSC), acting on student requests, researched methods to accommodate the requests and worked with school facilities personnel to create a quiet, private space for prayer and reflection. The Interfaith Prayer Room is open 24 hours a day. Student leaders who led the project include: Somiah Almeky, a member of the MD Class of 2020. Shradha Chhabria, a member of the MD Class of 2021 and MSC Executive Board Diversity and Inclusion Chair. Carolena Trocchia, a member of the MD Class of 2021 and MSC Executive Board Health and Wellness Chair. Navindra Tajeshwar, a member of the MD Class of 2021 and its Diversity and Inclusion Chair.

Nine Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) students and a faculty member participated in GCSOM's annual "cultural explosion" fashion show, an event that caps off the school's Diversity Week celebration. During the event, the students shared their cultural dress while the audience learned about the garments' origins and were entertained with regional music as the models walked the red carpet.

Alyssa Muchisky of Eynon, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's MD Class of 2021, is co-author of an abstract published in a supplement to the January 2019 edition of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Abstracts in the supplement were published in advance of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) 39th annual Pregnancy Meeting in Las Vegas, which will be held Feb. 11-16. Muchisky's co-authors will present the poster at the meeting.

Four medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) were named to the Geisinger Diversity and Inclusion Council. The council includes a cross section of representatives drawn from Geisinger's more than 33,000 employees. The GCSOM students will provide a voice for Geisinger's 400 medical students.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) announced that six fourth-year medical students at GCSOM have successfully matched into residency programs. While most of the MD Class of 2019 will learn the locations of their residency programs at noon on Friday, March 15, several "matches" occur prior to the national residency event, including for military matches and matches for specialties like ophthalmology and urology.

On Nov. 17, 23 students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) traveled to Drexel University's College of Medicine to attend the 2018 Racism in Medicine Conference. Since 2015, medical students from Pennsylvania and New Jersey have collaborated to host the conference, whose purpose is to provide an opportunityfor people in healthcare or related fields to examinethe ways that racism affects the health of marginalized peopleand to develop strategies to oppose it. It is the second year GCSOM has participated.

On Nov. 16, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) master of biomedical sciences (MBS) students, Amalie (Molly) Kropp of Westminster and Mary Taglieri of Spring Grove, participated in the Fall 2018 Keystone Symposium.

Based on a national initiative started at the University of Washington, the Death Over Dinner project was created to explore aspects of death and dying that we tend to avoid in our everyday lives but that might make all the difference for ourselves and our loved ones when the time does come.Given that 80 percent of people would like to have end-of life conversations with their doctor when seriously ill, yet only 7 percent report having this talk, event organizers hope to help future care providers be open to frank discussions with their patients.