New
students learn about
professionalism,
receive white coats

The
symbolic donning of
the short white coat
by the 120 members
of the Ohio
University College
of Osteopathic
Medicine’s Class of
2014 means more than
just learning to
take care of
patients: the coat
transforms the
aspiring physicians
and surgeons.
During the 35th
annual Convocation
Ceremony held
Saturday, Aug. 14,
2010, the president
of the OU-COM
student government
recalled receiving
his own coat a year
ago.
“Everything
changed,” said
Mark Postel, OMS II,
as he addressed
an audience of
students, their
families and friends
who filled
Templeton-Blackburn
Alumni Memorial
Auditorium for the
ceremony.
“The
significance of that
moment was
immediately
apparent,” Postel
said. “I felt
different, I looked
different, and
through the eyes of
my family, I
realized I was,
indeed, a different
person. The coat
itself wasn’t
anything special …
What the white coat
represents, however,
is special. It
simply alters
perception.”
Wearing the short
white coat
identifies the
student doctors as
someone to be
respected—and
expected to know the
answer to impossible
questions, Postel
said. “As such, it
is imperative that
we, as student
doctors, acknowledge
that respect and
live a life
deserving of it: a
life of
professionalism.”
Postel reminded the
new medical students
that being a true
professional
involves more than
just good behavior;
it also means
embracing the core
values of
osteopathic
medicine. “These
values include
altruism,
compassion,
scholarship,
service, honor,
integrity and
respect,” he said.
Postel told the
students, “At some
point in your
career, you will be
the first person in
this world to touch
someone’s hand, and
also the last. Such
a profession demands
those values.
“Remember, embrace
and exude these core
values during your
clinical
experiences, and you
will be viewed as a
professional, as
someone who is
deserving of this
awesome coat and
responsibility,”
Postel said.
Keith
Watson, D.O.,
F.A.C.O.S., senior
associate dean for
academic affairs at
OU-COM,
discussed some of
the history behind
the use of white
coats in medicine,
which first began to
appear more than 100
years ago.
White
is often used to
promote the concept
of trustworthiness
and purity, Watson
said. “When medicine
became a scientific
enterprise in the
early 1900s, the
‘whiteness’ or
‘pureness’ of
medicine portrayed
this concept in the
garb of medical
personnel,” he
explained
“Most
of us would agree
that the white coat
has come to
represent the trust
people put in us and
the responsibility
that trust entails,”
Watson said. “While
learning the
scientific method
and applying it to
medical decision is
critical preparation
for all physicians,
the development of a
standard of
professionalism,
compassion and
respect for the
public trust is
equally important.”
After
remarks by members
of the platform
party, students
mounted the stage to
be coated by
Nicole Wadsworth,
D.O. (’97),
assistant dean of
preclinical
education and
assistant professor
of emergency
medicine
at
OU-COM; Timothy
Barreiro, D.O.,
F.C.C.P. (’97),
CORE clinical
associate professor
of critical care
medicine,
practicing
pulmonology at the
St. Joseph Health
Center in Warren,
Ohio; and
Geraldine Urse, D.O.
(’93), assistant
professor of family
medicine for
OU-COM and trustee
of the Ohio
Osteopathic
Association,
practicing at
Doctors Hospital
Family Practice
Center in Grove
City.
Keynote address and
Phillips Award
recipients
Keynote Speaker
John Kopchick,
Ph.D., Goll Ohio
Eminent Scholar and
OU-COM professor of
biomedical sciences,
noted the many
advancements in
medical care during
the past few
decades, including
innovations in
surgical procedures,
diagnostics,
therapeutics and
drug treatments.
These advancements
have led to the
discovery of drugs
which lower
cholesterol, treat
HIV and other
diseases and are now
commonly used to
treat millions of
people.
“Medical options are
not static, but are
rapidly changing and
evolving,” Kopchick
said. New
discoveries such as
the sequencing of
the human genome and
use of stem cells is
leading to novel and
dynamic strategies
such as
“personalized
medicine,’ in which
a patient’s own body
determines
treatment.
“You,
as young doctors,
will see remarkable
changes in
medicine,” Kopchick
said. “I encourage
you to embrace these
changes that expand
the boundaries of
medical practice. In
this context, your
past education
doesn’t determine
where you can go; it
merely determines
where you start, and
that start is
today.”
Also
receiving Phillips
Medals of Public
Service were David
Scholl, Ph.D., a
graduate of Ohio
University and now
president and chief
executive officer of
Diagnostic Hybrids
of Athens and senior
vice president for
operations for
Quidel Corporation
of San Diego,
Calif.; and John
Haseley, J.D.,
former chief of
staff for Ohio Gov.
Ted. Strickland,
Ph.D.
Scholl received the
award for helping
transform Diagnostic
Hybrids, which
develops and
distributes cellular
and molecular
diagnostic kits for
detecting a wide
range of medical
conditions, into a
market and world
leader in the field
and for his
commitment to job
development in
Southeastern Ohio.
Haseley, who grew up
in Athens, was
recognized for his
work on behalf of
the citizens of Ohio
as a staff member
and former chief of
staff for several
state government
officials, including
Gov. Ted Strickland.
Comments from the
platform party,
which consisted of
several leaders at
the university and
in the osteopathic
medical community,
included:
OU-COM Dean John
Brose, D.O.,
F.A.A.F.P.:
“We
know that you are
all extremely bright
and capable students
about to take on an
awesome
responsibility …
This class has the
highest average
science G.P.A.,
non-science G.P.A.,
and total G.P.A. of
any incoming class …
Each and every one
of you was selected
because you have the
potential to be an
outstanding
osteopathic
physician.”
Ohio
University President
Roderick McDavis,
Ph.D.:
“As a student, know
that you will have
many, many
opportunities to
share your gifts,
and it is our intent
to have you fulfill
your
promise through
engaging and
transformative
experiences. As you
begin your journey
as a student doctor,
I encourage you to
stay focused on
making the most of
this learning
experience. On this
quest, you have the
opportunity to
affect and save
lives and to make
our world a better
place.”
Ohio
University Executive
Vice President and
Provost Pamela
Benoit, Ph.D.:“I
can tell you that
the communication
that takes place
between physician
and patient matters
as much as the
treatment that
follows. The best
physicians listen
well, ask good
questions and sense
meaning in gestures
and silences.”
Robert S. Juhasz,
D.O., F.A.C.O.I.,
member of the
American Osteopathic
Association Board of
Trustees:
“Share what you
learn about
osteopathic medicine
with the students
and faculty, here,
on the campus of
Ohio
University. Help
educate the future
leaders in business,
engineering,
journalism, and law
amongst others, who
will shape policy
and become your
future patients,
about what it means
to be an osteopathic
physician.”
Schield M. Wikas,
D.O., A.O.C.D.,
president of the
Ohio Osteopathic
Association:
“When you graduate,
the letters “D.O.”
will become a
permanent part of
your signature. You
will inherit high
standards that set
you apart. These
standards are
professionalism and
ethics. As
physicians, you will
be dealing with real
people with real
problems. These
individuals—your
patients—will depend
on you to be their
advocate, confidante
and healer.”
Jeffrey A. Stanley,
D.O., F.A.C.O.S.
(’82),
president of the
OU-COM Society of
Alumni and Friends:
“You will learn more
of the art and
science of medicine
daily. But a word of
advice: you must
always remember to
listen to your
patients. They will
become your greatest
advocates—or
critics—throughout
your career”
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