The Montana campus of Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine held a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by over 700 people, including the inaugural class of 109 medical students. The Great Falls campus is TouroCom's third location and will help meet Montana's need for practicing physicians.

Fort Hays State University and Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine have partnered to allow qualifying students to begin their first year of medical school during their senior year of undergraduate studies, obtaining a medical degree in seven years. "In more rural and underserved areas of our state, like Hays, we know that recruiting highly-qualified, Kansas-based students from the communities facing the greatest need for physicians is one of the best ways to train physicians who understand the unique perspective and value of rural communities," said Tiffany Masson, president of KHSC-KansasCOM.

Research students from the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine are working to determine if bats local to states in the Southwest U.S. are long-term reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2-related viruses. The researchers are using genetic testing and immunohistochemistry, a lab-based diagnostic technique, to look at samples to obtain a baseline on the extent of coronaviruses in local bat populations.

Two medical students from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine are conducting research to improve and enhance the File of Life Program, an initiative to make medical information available to first responders. Tess Williams and Kaye Dandrea have developed a prototype incorporating changes to the File of Life document after conducting user interviews, such as increasing font size, adjusting the language for clarity, and adding certain common medical conditions to the checklist.

Melissa Mariano, DO, a 2021 University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine graduate, has been appointed to the board of directors for the National Residency Match Program. Mariano says that sitting on the NRMP's board will allow her to advocate for students and applicants and provide oversight and strategic planning for the NRMP's mission.

People with diabetes are more vulnerable to emergencies during heat waves, says Ashley Peterson, D.O., and are more susceptible to heat stroke, infection, or heart disease. Drinking lots of water on hot days, storing insulin in cool temperatures, and maintaining a relationship with your primary care doctor or endocrinologist are tips Peterson gives to help those with diabetes cope during the heat.

Health officials estimate that EG.5, a COVID-19 variant related to Omicron, currently makes up 11.4% of U.S. COVID-19 cases. EG.5 is a top variant circulating in New York, according to a sequencing dashboard run by Raj Rajnarayanan at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University.

Researchers used machine learning to create a computational model that predicts where in the body a cancerous tumor originates based on an analysis of the sequence of about 400 genes. The OncoNPC model enabled classification of at least 40% of tumors of unknown origin with high confidence, and identified patients who would have been eligible for targeted treatment based on their cancer's origin, researchers reported in Nature Medicine.

This forum series serves as a comprehensive and innovative approach to provide resources and connections to students and educators at each critical point of transition in medical education. Join us for the first two forums in the series: A Strengths-Based Approach to Physician Well-Being During a Mental Health Pandemic with Miko Rose, DO, on August 17, 2023, at 6:00 PM ET, and How to Choose a Specialty—Balancing Hospital and Home with May Lin, DO, on August 18, 2023, at 1:00 PM ET.

AACOM is hosting a free virtual recruitment fair for prospective medical students on August 23, 2023, from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM ET. Attendees will be able to ask questions, view various presentations and meet with representatives from more than 30 colleges of osteopathic medicine to discover why they should choose DO.

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is excited to share with the AACOM community two opportunities to be part of the 2024 Gold Humanism Summit: The Person In Front of You in Atlanta, Georgia, from February 29-March 2, 2024. This interprofessional, international event will be focused on igniting humanism to create the tangible changes necessary to heal the heart of healthcare. Consider either submitting an abstract of a lecture, panel session, workshop and/or poster for the conference by September 12, 2023, or submit artwork for the art gallery and optional silent auction by October 1, 2023.

You’ll also read about UNTHSC/TCOM’s Careers in Medicine advisory member, VCOM-Carolinas’ campus tour for local elementary and high school students and PCOM South Georgia’s Cambodia mission trip.