Geisinger College of Health Sciences

Mira Patel, a second-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, last month was elected by her peers to serve as Medical Student Representative on the Women Physician Section for the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED). She will serve in the role for one year.

Students in the Master of Biomedical Sciences Class of 2022 at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine have elected officers to represent them on the Graduate Student Council (GSC).

Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Olulana, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's MD Class of 2024, was elected Student National Medical Association (SNMA) chapter president to the regional executive committee for Northeast Region 8, a region that includes all medical schools in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware.

On Saturday, Jan. 2, Student Engagement Leaders (SEL) held a Holiday Game Night. The event was geared to GCSOM students who were spending holidays alone or away from family, as well as those looking for a fun night to spend with friends. SEL gave students the option to sign up in teams or to be placed individually and randomly into a team.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) Class of 2021 held elections for Graduate Student Council. Eight MBS students were elected to leadership positions.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) held its annual National First-Generation College Celebration on Nov. 8. The event included a first-generation meet and greet reception where student leaders shared their experiences with attendees, including faculty, staff and fellow students.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) recently held elections for Medical Student Council (MSC). MSC was established to advance the interests and well-being of the medical school and its current and future students. MSC represents the united voice of medical students and provides programs and activities, which support the school's mission and core values. The elected officers of MSC work to strengthen existing bonds between students, faculty, staff and administration and to enrich the school's educational excellence and student affairs programs. MSC is composed of an executive board, senate and general assembly.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) Doylestown campus recently held an election for Graduate Student Council (GSC). GSC represents the united voice of Doylestown graduate students and provides programs and activities which support the college's mission and core values. The elected officers of GSC will work to strengthen existing bonds between students, faculty, staff and administration and to enrich the college's educational excellence and student affairs programs.

On Oct. 19, several members of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) master of biomedical sciences (MBS) Class of 2020 traveled to Wilkes-Barre to participate in Wilkes University's third annual diversity & inclusion conference, entitled, "Understanding & Addressing Social Inequalities." The purpose was to raise awareness of and develop competency in diversity and social justice topics. Wilkes University awarded certificates of completion at the end of the conference.

Kristina Borham of Oxford, a fourth-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM), has been invited to share her experiences building awareness of human trafficking among medical students at the 2020 Medical Symposium on Human Trafficking to be held in February in Richmond, Virginia.

Amelia Mackarey and Victoria O'Brien, both members of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2020 have been selected to present a poster at the 2019 Gold Humanism Summit describing their work creating, developing and publishing the newsletter, Grateful at Geisinger.

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 received Excellence in Leadership awards.

The Association of American Medical Colleges(AAMC) has accepted Alfred Hamilton III, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2022, to its leadership development program, RISE: Developing Future Leaders in Academic Medicine & Science. AAMC selected just 50 medical students nationwide to attend the inaugural conference in Washington, DC. It will be held June 21-23.

Two medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) were elected by their statewide peers to be student representatives to the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP).

On April 1 a group of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) students traveled with Dr. Vicki Sapp, GCSOM's director for student engagement, diversity and inclusion to attend Strengthening Latino Health: The 2019 Latino Health and Health Disparities Conference held at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistryin Rochester, N.Y.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) students Sarah Dwyer and John Piserchio, both members of the MD Class of 2022, were selected to participate in the STARS Leadership Summit in Austin, Texas from Jan. 11 through Jan. 13. At this summit, the GCSOM students, along with other medical-student leaders, will share ideas and resources related to Choosing Wisely, an initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation. Choosing Wiselyseeks to advance a national dialogue on avoiding unnecessary medical tests, treatments and procedures. They will also learn about creating local and regional change in the areas of medical waste and overuse and drive change at their medical schools to improve the value of patient care.

On Nov. 17, Ashanti Littlejohn, a first-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM), traveled with 22 other GCSOM students to Drexel University's College of Medicine participate in the 2018 Racism in Medicine Conference. At the conclusion of the event, Ms. Littlejohn was appointed to represent GCSOM on the annual conference's Inter School Planning Committee.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) chapter of the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) recently participated in LMSA's Policy Summit held in October in Washington, D.C. Second-year medical students Jasmine Santos and Andres Rodriguez are co-presidents of GCSOM's chapter. Third-year student, Yoseph Aldras, who served as president in his second year, is now external liaison for LMSA's national Policy Committee. In that position, he helped plan the summit, developed promotional materials, worked with invited speakers and reviewed policy resolutions drafted by attendees at the three-day event.

Alexa Bolock of Waverly, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2021, was elected a national delegate to the American Association of Medical Colleges' (AAMC) Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) for the Northeast Region. Her election gives GCSOM students a powerful voice within academic medicine at a national level.

Sotonye Douglas of Brooklyn, New York, president of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) chapter of the Minority Association of Premedical Students (MAPS) won the 2017-2018 SNMA National MAPS Member of the Year award. This award recognizes one individual out of thousands of MAPS members across the nation and Caribbean who is involved in MAPS on the local, regional and national levels. The winner implements new and unique activities that enhance the chapter's community service involvement and is involved as a role model to others through mentoring and outreach.

Four medical students recently represented Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine at the Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC) annual meeting in Boston. The meeting, Learn Serve Lead 2017, welcomed thousands of attendees-including medical school deans, hospital CEOs, clinicians, faculty, researchers, scientists, educators, hospital and university administrators, residents and medical students-to discuss the issues affecting the academic medicine community.

Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine have inaugurated a series of talks called "Share@Geisinger." The talks focus on health, science and medicine, as well as inspirational personal experiences, struggles and achievements, and current and past health-related issues.

Jessica Morales of West Jordan, a third-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, recently attended Primary Care Progress's (PCP) annual Gregg Stracks Leadership Summit, an invitation-only, three-day training bringing together faculty, student and professional leaders from across PCP's national network.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (Geisinger Commonwealth) MD Class of 2021 recently elected its class officers. Class officers join the school's Medical Student Council (MSC), which was established to advance the interests and well-being of the medical school and its current and future students.

On Saturday, April 8, students in the master of biomedical sciences program at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's Doylestown campus (MBS-D) participated in a Cultural Awareness Day at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute.

On Saturday, May 6, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine master of biomedical sciences (MBS) students attended an awards ceremony held to recognize the significant achievements of the MBS Class of 2017. Receiving the Excellence in Leadership award was DivineMercy Bakare of Brooklyn Park.

Ashley Labdick of Allentown and Nicole Klein of Emmaus, both second-year medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton, are leading an effort to bring information and peace of mind to local patients coping with metastatic breast cancer.

Students enrolled in The Commonwealth Medical College's (TCMC) master of biomedical science program at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (BSBI) in Doylestown conducted a holiday food drive benefitting the Bucks County Opportunity Council.

Geetika Gupta, of Newtown, was elected medical student representative to the Lackawanna County Medical Society (LCMS). Ms. Gupta, a member of The Commonwealth Medical College's (TCMC) Class of 2019, is serving on the board of LCMS for a one-year term.

Geetika Gupta, of Newtown, was re-elected president of The Commonwealth Medical College's (TCMC) chapter of the Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association (APAMSA). APAMSA is a national organization that provides an important forum for Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) medical students to meet, exchange information and experiences and develop personally and professionally.