THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC PEDIATRICIANS
SPECIAL STUDENT LED & FOCUSED ISSUE
Fall-Winter 2019 Issue
to Home Page
Student Club News
Student Club Activities
VCOM-Auburn
VCOM-Auburn's ACOP Student Chapter is continuing to become more involved in its community. The ACOP Chapter hosted Pumpkin Painting for Esperanza House in Auburn, Alabama. Esperanza House is a non-profit organization with the mission to serve underserved, Hispanic families in the Auburn community. Twenty-two VCOM students assisted twenty-five children in the third, fourth, and fifth grades paint and decorate pumpkins. The event was great for both sets of students, as VCOM students were glad to take a break from their study schedules and the kids were also grateful to be doing something fun outside.
MSUCOM
As the year 2019 is coming to an end, we begin to look back at all the wonderful opportunities that the MSUCOM Pediatric Interest Group has graciously taken part of. Our group prides itself on the diverse range of initiatives implemented each year. As tradition has it, MSUCOM PIGs started off the new school year with our annual volleyball fundraiser. However, the fundraiser’s great success inspired us to start a new tradition of our own: donating our raised funds! As a result, our group graciously donated $409 to St. Vincent Charity in the hopes that the children can receive new toys and necessary supplies. St. Vincent is a foster group home located in Lansing, MI.
Over the years, we have established a strong connection with St. Vincent Charity as we volunteer on a monthly basis to play games, make crafts, and engage in team sports! Through these activities, our volunteers have gone far beyond simply serving as mentors to the children: they have developed strong friendships filled with trust, empathy, and laughter.
Another initiative that we take part in regularly is our Teddy Bear Clinics where we visit elementary schools in the greater Lansing area and host “Free Clinics” for the children’s stuffed friends! Allowing kids to use real doctors’ equipment on their teddy bears helps ease their worries about visiting the doctor’s office as it shows that doctors aren’t so scary after all!
Earlier this year, our Detroit PIG members partnered with MSUCOM’s Community Integrated Medicine club to provide sports physicals for the youth at the Detroit Youth Boxing Gym. PIGs members were able to spend time with the youth and practice their physical examination skills.
Lastly, in addition to the myriad of events geared towards the community, the MSUCOM PIG also held various didactic sessions for our own students, including a Pediatric OMM Didactic and a panel on the various fields and specialties in Pediatrics. As you can see, 2019 was a very busy year for our group! In fact, MSUCOM PIGs is one of the most active MSU clubs, with a total of 95 current 1st and 2nd year registered members. We are so proud of our accomplishments in 2019, but we are even more excited for the PIG events to come in 2020!
MSUCOM PIG hosts one of their Teddy Bear Clinics at an elementary school in the Greater Lansing area.
LUCOM
We held our annual Teddy Bear Clinic on October 26. This event invites children from the Lynchburg community to come and learn about health and that the doctor’s office isn't a scary place to be! We had over 50 kids attend this year. Stations included cardiology and pulmonology, dental hygiene, nutrition, exercise, radiology, and hand-washing and germs that was planned and run by the LU Nursing students. At the end, every participant got to “graduate”!
On November 19, our ACOP Student Chapter welcomed Dr. Tony Moody from Duke University to speak on Vaccine Education. Dr. Moody is a pediatric infectious disease physician and does a lot of research in the field of immunology, specifically B cell responses. We had over 100 students and faculty attend this presentation that covered vaccine history and science, herd immunity, approaches to handling parents and patients against vaccinations, debunking vaccine myths, and overall strategies to help us as future physicians continue to promote the importance of vaccinations to our future patients.
Finally, our ACOP Student Chapter participated in LUCOM's annual A Very Merry Gift-mas event. This event provides toys and gifts for underprivileged families in the Lynchburg community, as well as a meal, time for fellowship and Christmas carols. ACOP members ran an ornament making station for kids who waited while their parents shopped. It was a blast!
Left: Michael Anthony Moody, MD, Duke University School of Medicine, addressed students and faculty on vaccination education during a time when the integrity and validity of vaccines are being questioned.
Right:
The LUCOM student chapter of the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) hosts annual community Teddy Bear Clinic at the Jubilee Family Development Center.
The LUCOM student chapter of the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) hosts annual community Teddy Bear Clinic at the Jubilee Family Development Center.
Here are a few quotes from some amazing students at LUCOM about the recent events:
Here's what Jinjoo Lee, OMS-II ACOP member, had to say: "I love volunteering at the Teddy Bear Clinic! It's one of the events I truly look forward to throughout the year. It's an amazing experience to be able to work alongside not only my fellow classmates but the nursing students from LUSON (LU Nursing students) to interact and teach kids about nutrition, health, and good hygiene practices. It's so fun and interactive and I can see the kids really love it which makes this event so great! "
Here's what OMS-I ACOP member and first year class representative Tori Scheffler had to say: "One of the things I was most looking forward to hearing Dr. Moody speak about was how to approach a conversation with a family about vaccinations, when it is known that they may not necessarily agree. It is easy to immediately share data and facts confirming the efficacy of vaccines that we as future physicians completely see as validating points. However, patients and their families many times just want to know that their opinions and concerns are not overlooked and ignored, such as the case with any conversation, let alone just vaccinations. Then, once they have felt heard, the physician can likewise share their opinions and thoughts on the subject in a way that stimulates conversation and education rather than condemnation and belittlement for not agreeing with what we feel is clearly a necessity."
PULSE IS AVAILABLE ON YOUR SMARTPHONE AND TABLET!
JOIN ACOP TODAY!
 |
ACOP 2020 Spring Conference |
April 30-May 3, 2020 |
Abbott Nutrition
provided an educational
grant to support the
ACOP 2019 Spring
and Fall Conferences
We appreciate their
continued support!