Geisinger College of Health Sciences

The future just got a lot brighter and healthier for the communities that Geisinger serves. Through the innovative Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) has announced that 10 doctors-in-training have committed to staying in the region to practice medicine with the unique blend of personal caring and scientific sophistication that has become synonymous with Geisinger.

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, 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. 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.

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.

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.

Students from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) were well represented at the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) annual House of Delegates meeting in Hershey on Oct. 26. During the meeting, PAMED's Medical Student Section held elections for statewide offices. Several GCSOM students were elected to leadership positions.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) medical students hosted their ninth annual Turkey Trot 5K/10K run in downtown Scranton on Sunday, Nov. 4. The event also featured a Tiny Trot, including crafts, games, face painting and relay races, for children ages 13 and younger. Proceeds benefitted Friends of the Poor's holiday food giveaways. Student organizers reported that 261 runners and walkers participated. Also, a series of fundraisers at local restaurants, a penny war and a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders event preceding the run helped augment monies raised from race registrations to make the 2018 Turley Trot the most successful to date, with close to $17,000 raised.

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.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students have planned and organized the school's ninth annual Turkey Trot, which will take place on Nov. 4. All proceeds benefit Friends of the Poor.

The American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) held its Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) on Sept. 15. The theme was, "Be the First Domino." The purpose of the AMWA conference was to provide networking opportunities for future medical professionals and to provide career strategies and negotiation skills to advance careers.

Christian Bohan of Danville, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's MD Class of 2019, publisheda case presentation in a recentedition of the medical journal, Cureus. The case presentation highlightscase of an elderly woman with weakness in her left upper extremity.

Jee Moon of North Wales, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2019, was invited to present at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions' (SCAI) Annual Scientific Sessions in San Diego in April.

Kristina Borham of Oxford, a third-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM), first became interested in the subject of human trafficking when she worked on a donation drive to support Free the Girls, an organization that encourages and empowers women freed from sex trafficking. Following that experience, Kristina attending two trainings on sex trafficking with the American Medical Women's Association's (AMWA) Physicians Against the Trafficking of Humans. Kristina said that the more she learned about human trafficking, the more strongly she felt that other medical students needed education on the topic. To that end, she recently implemented and delivered a curriculum on human trafficking to second-year medical students at GCSOM.

Antonio Adiletta of Lancaster, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's MD Class of 2019, published a case report in the August 2018 edition of the Journal of Surgical Case Reports published by Oxford University Press. His coauthors are Timothy J. Farrell, M.D., chief of surgery at Geisinger-CMC and Matthew T. Fisher, D.O., a Geisinger surgical resident.

Preserving health and having fun are the twin goals of the seventh annual Steamtown Health Fair. The health fair, hosted by second-year medical students from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) in partnership with Scranton Primary Health Care Center, is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school's Medical Sciences Building, 525 Pine St., Scranton. The event is free and family friendly.

Anis Adnani of Pittsburgh, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2021, to serve as panelist during an "Interdependence Day 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.

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.

Five members of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2021 were recognized for their research. The five recognized were among the GCSOM students who participated in the Summer Research Immersion Program (SRIP), an eight-week program for medical students between their first and second years of the MD program at GCSOM.

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.

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.

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.

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.