Summer 2013 COM Outlook | NSU College of Osteopathic Medicine

11 COM Outlook . Summer 2013 MedScape Physician Compensation Report According to MedScapes’s 2013 Physician Compensation Re- port , most specialties reported income increases ranging from modest to significant. Orthope- dic surgeons showed the highest annual increase, while endocri- nologists and oncologists noted a slight decline. In 2013, ortho- pedic surgeons topped the list at $405,000, followed by cardiologists ($357,000), radiologists ($349,000), and gastroenterologists ($342,000). The bottom- earning specialties in the 2013 survey were family medicine ($175,000), pediatrics ($173,000), and HIV/ID ($170,000). COMmunications - Catching Up with the College of Osteopathic Medicine Tobacco Training and Cessation In regard to state funding for its Tobacco Training and Ces- sation Program, the college’s Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program received $3.3 million for the first year of its new three-year Florida Department of Health contract to continue providing tobacco prevention education and tobacco cessation services to every county within its service region. Since the pro- gram’s inception in 2007, nearly 13,000 Floridians have partici- pated in comprehensive tobacco cessation counseling. In addition, the AHEC Program has continued to work with state and regional health professional organizations to conduct training programs for health providers throughout Florida on effective skills to treat tobacco dependency in the clinical set- ting. During the current contract year, over 1,000 health profes- sions students were trained by the AHEC Program. More than 100 practicing osteopathic physicians—in partnership with the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association—also received training. Tobacco Curriculum The AHEC Program is continuing to work with nearly 200 faculty members and students from the NSU Colleges of Os- teopathic Medicine, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy, Optometry, Nursing, Health Care Sciences, and Medical Sciences in regard to rural training and outreach efforts. Health fairs, which included the participation of the Palm Beach and Hendry County health departments as well as over 80 community organizations, pro- vided a broad range of health services to residents from these medically underserved communities of South Florida. The program also launched an initiative to expose youth to careers in public health and established a partnership with fac- ulty members from the NSU-COM Master of Public Health Pro- gram and the Stranahan High School Medical Magnet Program in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to provide urban and minority students from Stranahan with a series of educational activities designed to motivate their interests in pursuing a career in public health. These have included presentations at the high school as well as a visit by the students to the Health Professions Division. AHEC’s Tobacco Cessation Efforts Result in Additional Funding Tracy Gaudet, M.D. , director of the Veterans Health Admin- istration’s (VHA) newly established Office of Patient-Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, visited NSU-COM on May 14 to introduce the new personalized, proactive, and patient- driven paradigm in medicine at the VHA. Dr. Gaudet’s daylong meeting with administrators, faculty members, and students included discussions on NSU-COM’s holistic practices that in- clude osteopathic principles and practice, preventive medicine, the new Employee Health and Wellness Center, coaching and advocacy programs, and the recently created complementary and alternative medicine department. The VHA is America’s largest integrated health care system and serves 8.3 million veterans each year at 1,700 sites. Pictured below (from left) are: Dr. Tracy Gaudet; George Hanbury II, Ph.D., NSU president and chief executive officer; Elaine Wallace, D.O., M.S., M.S., M.S., executive associate dean; and Lynn Lafferty, Pharm.D., M.B.A., assistant professor of family medicine. Dr. Tracy Gaudet Discusses New VHA Patient-Centered Paradigm