COM Outlook - Summer 2015

22 Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine 23 NSU’S FOURTH ANNUAL Big Thank You Scholarship Luncheon, which was held on March 23 in the Arena at the Don Taft University Center, provided NSU administrators and students with an opportunity to honor scholarship donors who continually make a difference in the students’ lives. Donor honorees represent many generous people who have created endowment funds at NSU over the past several decades—endowments that provide scholarships for deserving students throughout the university and enable them to pursue their dreams of undergraduate and graduate degrees. NSU-COM Donors, Students Feted at Big Thank You Luncheon Pictured (from left) are Angie Alegria, Dr. Elaine Wallace, Marie Morris, and Samantha Berr. OMS-II Michael Carranza and OMS-IV Laura Peck received the East Florida Physicians Alliance Medical Education Endowed Scholarship, which was established to support third- and fourth-year osteopathic medical students who want to attend and/or make presentations at medical conferences by providing funding for registration fees and travel expenses. OMS-II Angie Alegria received the Morton Morris Public Health Endowed Scholarship, while OMS-IV Samantha Deming-Berr received the Judy Morris Endowed Memorial Scholarship. Both public health scholarships are provided due to the generosity of Marie Morris—the widow of Morton Morris, D.O., J.D., FAOAO, who served as executive dean for professional affairs at the Health Professions Division prior to his death in May 2008. To be eligible for the scholarships, nominees must be NSU-COM students or have already achieved their D.O. degree, showcase high academic achieve- ment, be currently enrolled in the college’s Master of Public Health Program, and demonstrate financial need. ON APRIL 15, OMS-I Michael Rosenberg passed away after waging a courageous battle with brain cancer. According to a message posted on the Michael Rosenberg Remem- brance Fund website, “Mike Rosenberg was an angel living on earth. He graced us with his presence for 26 years and filled our hearts with so much love and joy. Mike found happiness in the simplest of things and didn’t take life too seriously. He knew that life was meant to be lived and took advantage of every oppor- tunity to spend time with family and friends and have fun. He found so much joy in seeing others happy, and he always had the biggest, brightest smile on his face. But even though he physically has left us, his spirit will live on forever in the hearts of those who knew him.” According to good friend and fellow OMS-I Rykiel Levine, “Mike was one of the most thoughtful people I knew. Even when I would check up on him, the only thing he would reply with was ways he could help me in school,” he said. “He always greeted me with a smile and a hug no matter how stressful things seemed to be. I’m going to miss Mike so much, but I’m grateful for the time I got to spend with him.” OMS-I Michael Rosenberg Loses Battle with Brain Cancer Students Provide CPR Training at Cooper City High Schoo l By Scott Colton, B.A., APR COM/HPD Director of Medical Communications and Public Relations “ARE YOU PREPARED TO SAVE A LIFE?” That was the question posed to more than 500 freshmen after they participated in the College of Osteopathic Medicine’s community service initiative at Cooper City High School. The trainings lasted eight days and were spread over two four-day sessions in February and March. Ten NSU-COM students, along with local paramedics, including the college’s Department of Emergency Medical Services Education and Training lead instructor Jim Gargiulo, educated the high school students on the principles of basic life support by teaching the American Heart Association Heartsaver Course. In late 2014, when the idea evolved regarding the provision of CPR training to local high school students, the college’s dean, Dr. Elaine Wallace, suggested that NSU-COM students assist with the training sessions to further enhance their own skills. “To accomplish this, we reached out to the college’s American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians’ chapter mem- bers to see if they were interested,” said Phyllis Filker, D.M.D., M.P.H., assistant dean of graduate and community education. “We limited it to 10 students initially because they had to become certified instructors, which happened shortly before the Christmas break in 2014 and took a significant amount of time.” According to Dr. Filker, the student volunteers had to spend “an appreciable amount of hours to become certified instruc- tors, which included completing a lengthy online component, followed by a full day of training at NSU. They also had to teach a class while being monitored by experienced instruc- tors before they could participate in the training of the high school students.” “Most public places currently have an AED,” Dr. Filker explained. “In fact, NSU proudly advertises that it is known for having AEDs in every building. Unfortunately, there is a major disconnect because not enough people know how to use them.” Due to the success of the Cooper City training sessions, which were featured on an evening broadcast of WPLG Local 10 News, the school has requested that NSU-COM make it an annual event for its ninth-grade health class. Depending on logistics, Dr. Filker hopes to reach out to other high schools in the future if additional NSU-COM students show an interest in participating in this mutually rewarding, community service training endeavor. “There are actually two objectives with this type of com- munity service.” Dr. Filker stated. “From the perspective of medical education, there is no better way to learn how to do something than to teach it, so the 10 students that provided the training will never forget the experience because it offered them a new viewpoint on basic life support. On another level, if we train 500 ninth-graders and just 1 of them ends up sav- ing a life, our efforts will have all been worth it.” In addition to receiving CPR training using both adult and pediatric simulators, the Cooper City High School students received instruction on how to operate an automated external defibrillator (AED), which is a vital lifesaving device. Student COMmunications