Geisinger College of Health Sciences

First-year doctor of medicine (MD) students received the first symbol of their new profession as Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) held its 10th annual White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2022 on Friday, Aug. 3 in Scranton.

Dr. Margrit Shoemaker, assistant chair of internal medicine and councilor, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Theta Chapter of Pennsylvania, announced that 17 members of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2019 have earned induction into the highly respected national medical honor society.

Jared Reynolds of Laguna Hills, a current student and Bo Jung of Horsham, a recent graduate of the master of biomedical sciences (MBS) program at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) Doylestown campus, are working with the transdermal company, K&H Pharm, at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center.

The Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG), a group organized and led by GCSOM medical students, has been recognized with an award from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The GCSOM students received a Program of Excellence Award for "promoting the scope and value of family medicine."

Master of biomedical sciences (MBS) students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) Doylestown campus recently took part in an eight-hour "Mental Health First Aid" training. The training program taught the students how to respond to mental health or substance abuse-related crises, as well as how to recognize warning signs or risk factors for certain illnesses like anxiety, depression and substance use. Course instructors Tory Bright and Tricia Malott also provided a list of community healthcare providers and national resources, support groups and online tools for mental health and addiction treatment and support.

Master of biomedical sciences (MBS) students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) Doylestown campus recently completed a Stop the Bleed, a bleeding control basic course, at Bryn Athyn Fire Company. The course provided hands-on training of several life-saving techniques, including how to identify a life-threatening bleed and how to stop severe bleeding. The Stop the Bleed event was organized by emergency medical technician (EMT), Brian Therien, NRP, CCP, with a presentation by emergency medicine physician, Ryan Overberger, DO and demonstrations by EMTs Matthew Sadoon, Ashley Therein, Erin Tuffy, and Cathy Markey.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) chapter of the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS) joined with a group of GCSOM medical students to create a new organization dedicated to creating opportunities and networking for the school's under-represented in medicine (URM) students.

Maureen Pesavento presented the John R. & Maureen J. Pesavento Community Service Award to fourth-year Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) medical student, Rachel Polinski. Mrs. Pesavento created the award through the Scranton Area Foundation to recognize a graduating medical student with a deep commitment to community service. GCSOM requires students to perform 100 hours of community service. Dr. Polinski logged more than 347 hours of service, working as a camp counselor and teaching sign language. Dr. Polinski will now pursue a residency in emergency medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) conferred master of biomedical sciences (MBS) degrees upon members of its Class of 2018 at commencement ceremonies held May 6.

Leah Rudolph, past president of the Lackawanna County Medical Society Alliance (LCMSA) presented LCMSA's Excellence in Women's Health Field award to fourth-year Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine medical student, Jeanne Sullivan. LCMSA presents the award to a student who has demonstrated a passion for women's health through research, quality improvement projects or community service.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty on May 5. Among the medical students receiving an award was Mark Dunleavy of Scranton. Dr. Dunleavy won the Excellence in Surgeryaward, presented to a fourth-year GCSOM medical student who exemplifies academic and clinical excellence in and commitment to the field of surgery or its subspecialties. Dr. Dunleavy will now pursue a residency in orthopedic surgery at Penn State Hershey Medical Center.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty on May 5. Among the medical students receiving an award was Zaina Inam of Boston. Dr. Inam won theExcellence in Pediatrics award, bestowed upon a fourth-year GCSOM medical student who exemplifies academic and clinical excellence in and commitment to the field of pediatrics. Dr. Inam also won the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Student Award. The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine awards recognize graduating students who demonstrate both clinical excellence and outstanding compassion in the delivery of care and who show respect for patients, their families, and healthcare colleagues. Dr. Inam will now pursue a residency in pediatrics at Childrens National Medilca Center in Washington, D.C.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty on May 5. Among the medical students receiving an award was Mary Meadowcroft of Lincoln University. Dr. Meadowcroft won the Excellence in Family Medicine award. This award is presented to a fourth-year GCSOM medical student who exemplifies academic and clinical excellence in and commitment to the field of family medicine. Dr. Meadowcroft received her doctor of medicine degree from GCSOM on May 6. She will now pursue a residency in family medicine at New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty on May 5. Brittany Austin and Abbigail Woll both won Excellence in Obstetrics and Gynecology awards. The awards are presented to fourth-year GCSOM medical students who exemplify academic and clinical excellence in and commitment to the field of obstetrics and gynecology.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty on May 5. At the ceremony, Brianna Jones won the Clinical Scholar Award, presented to the fourth-year GCSOM medical student with the highest achievement in the clinical years (years three and four).

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty on May 5. Rahul Goel and David N. Kugelman received the Excellence in Research award. The research awards are presented to two fourth-year GCSOM medical students with the most significant contributions to research as demonstrated by their scholarly work.

Tripti Soni, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2019, won the Excellence in Public Health Award, presented by the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee, for her contributions to community health. The award was presented during GCSOM's annual awards ceremony May 5. Soni received her ward from Lt. Commander Dr. Kathryn Butler Hodge, chief pharmacist for the federal Bureau of Prisons. Soni was instrumental in a number of GCSOM initiatives, including the school's annual Transgender Health Conference.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) conferred 99 doctor of medicine (MD) degrees upon members of its Class of 2018 at commencement ceremonies held May 6.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty on May 5. Among the medical students receiving an award was Max Vogel of Aliquippa. Dr. Vogel won the Service to Class Award for Pre-Clinical Years. This award is presented to a fourth-year GCSOM medical student who has contributed most to the class during the preclinical years (years one and two).

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.

Dominque McKeever of Somerdale won the Service to Class Award for Clinical Years. Presented to a fourth-year GCSOM medical student, this award recognizes the person who has contributed most to the class during the clinical years of medical school (years three and four). Dr. McKeever also won the Service to College Award, which is presented to a fourth-year GCSOM medical student who devoted a significant amount of her time and energy to the development of GCSOM as a new and innovative medical institution. Her ideas and dedication have helped build a better institution through school involvement, Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) committees and community development.

Dr. Emily Amendola received the Dr. Lester Saidman Award for Excellence in Emergency Medicine at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) May 5 awards ceremony honoring students and faculty. Dr. Jakob Saidman, also a member of GCSOM'S MD Class of 2018 and the third generation of physicians in his family, presented the award, which the Saidman family established to honor Dr. Lester Saidman's service to the medical profession and the community.

Four master of biomedical sciences students were honored when Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine held its annual end-of-year awards ceremony for students and faculty on May 5.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty on May 5. Four students received military commissions.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) chapter of the Minority Association of Premedical Students (MAPS) won the 2017-2018 Student National Medical Association (SNMA) national MAPS Chapter of the Year award. The group also won Chapter of the Year for MAPS Region 8, which includes Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia.

Adit Singhal of Ashburn, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's MD class of 2020, received an Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Carolyn L. Kuckein Research Fellowship. After a highly competitive application process, about 50 awards are made annually "to foster the development of the next generation of medical researchers." AOA is the national medical honor society.

Nick Maffetone of New Hope, a master of biomedical sciences (MBS) student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's Doylestown campus, recently completed a Community Health Research project and presented a poster of his findings, entitled "Source Perception, Socioeconomic Factors, and HPV Literacy," at Geisinger Commonwealth's Research Day. Community Health Research projects require students to identify unique population health needs in their own communities and conduct research aimed at finding solutions. Maffetone's project involved performing a literature review and then identifying gaps in current research regarding public attitudes and understanding of thehuman papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is implicated in nearly every case of cervical cancer.He also developed methods to analyze the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) database to answer research questions.

Nicholas Maffetone of New Hope, a master of biomedical sciences (MBS) student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's Doylestown campus, recently served as a "medicine and health" judge at the Lehigh Valley Science and Engineering Research Fair (LVSF) held on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem. The mission of LVSF is to increase awareness in the areas of mathematics, science, technology and engineering, while motivating students in grades 6 through 12 to pursue careers in these field. More than 100 middle school and high school students from various school districts in the Lehigh Valley region participated. Judges evaluated projects, provided guidance and feedback, and encouraged the students in their pursuit of scientific exploration.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) will host the sixth annual NEPA Trans Health Conference on Tuesday, April 17. Student organizers include Alexa Bolock of Waverly; Brandon Bombar of Scranton; Angie Chang of Thousand Oaks, California; Sarah Heisey of Arlington, Virginia; Kailee Kerr of Tracy, California; Steven Lam of San Jose, California; and Tripti Soni of Boyds, Maryland.

A Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine faculty member and three fourth-year medical students recently completed a medical mission trip to Mandeville, Jamaica. The students examined patients, assisted with patient triage, recorded patient complaints, took vital signs, distributed medicines and helped with clinic logistics. Each student who accompanied Dr. Dawgert is a recipient of The Jennifer A. Sidari, M.D. '13 Global Health Award.