The Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP) was established in 1972 as an official council of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medi-cine (AACOM) to serve as the official national representative voting voice of osteopathic

medical students.

To assemble student leaders from each college of osteopathic medicine (COM)

To collaborate on issues affecting all osteopathic medical students.

To foster the exchange of ideas, information, and problem-solving affecting individual

colleges of osteopathic medicine.

To effectively communicate and represent the osteopathic medical student perspective to

professional and educational organizations including, AACOM, AOA, and other

relevant organizations.

To encourage professional development and leadership among osteopathic medical

students.

To support and promote the principles and pride of osteopathic medicine among

osteopathic medical students and the American public.

Our Purpose

DOCARE’s Continuity of Care Clinic in San Andres, Itzapa, Guatemala is now ready to accept student volunteers, and we would like to give our DOCARE Chapters first preference to select a time to sign up. Initially, we are accepting requests from DOCARE Chapter members with the following criteria:

4th year students functional in Spanish to complete a 4 week rotational block for credit (three students per 4-week block)

Students will be responsible for their own expenses, (air fare, shots, passport, transportation, lodg-ing), in addition to a one-time fee to purchase medication for the clinic. Students will stay at a nearby convent for a cost of $15 per day, which includes two meals. DOCARE will provide con-tact information for reliable transportation upon arriving at the Guatemala City Airport to the Convent in San Andres, Itzapa. The clinic hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, and half-day on Saturday. Students will also participate in an outreach activity scheduled by the onsite physician, Dr. Erik. Students interested in volunteering should email their request to DO-CAREOMC@osteopathic.org. If you have any questions, contact Verna Bronersky, Clinic Rota-tions Coordinator at: vbronersky@osteopathic.org or 312/202-8191. Check the DOCARE web-site for more information at: www.DOCAREIntl.org

THE PULSE

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4

OCTOBER 2011

The Pulse

Inside this issue:

Our Purpose 1

DOCARES 1

Club Highlights

Touro-CA FAMS

2

Club Highlights

CCOM PAMSA

3

National Osteopathic

Student Seminar

4

Society of Osteopathic

Medical Educators

5

Legislative Informant 6-7

Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP)

Newsletter

Guatemala International Rotations Opportunity

Alan Schalscha, DO

All photos courtesy of Carisa Lippmann, OMS-II, NSU-COM

Michael Debo, MS, OMS-IV, AZCOM

Tyler Cymet, DO , AACOM

Club Highlights Filipino American Medical Society

Rachel Ilagan, Touro University California OMSII

Page 2 THE PULSE

FAMS (Filipino American Medical Society) held their annual

health fair in Seafood City Supermarket in Vallejo, California.

Kaiser Vallejo Asian Pacific Islander Association was a local

partner in the health fair. The goal of the event was to perform

health screenings in the Filipino community. Students from

Touro University performed blood pressure screenings, Tdap

vaccinations, Pharmacy consultations, and Osteopathic Manipu-

lative Medicine.

In addition to health screenings, there were several cultural

dances performed by the local Filipino dancers. Guest organiza-

tions from the community were also there to provide information

about smoking cessation, gambling addiction, and bone marrow

donation. Kaiser Vallejo health educators provided information

about healthy eating and healthier version of Filipino recipes.

Supervising DO faculty included Dr. Janet Burns from the OMM

Department and Dr. Philip Malouf from the Primary Care Depart-

ment. Pharmacy preceptors included Dr. Linda Banares, Dr. Ste-

ven Banares, and Dr. Al Wylie. Student leaders involved in orga-

nizing the event included Rachel Ilagan- FAMS President, Rizza

Alcaria- FAMS Vice President, Anthony Gan- FAMS Community

Outreach Director, Theresa Joiner- FAMS Treasurer, Nina Diez-

FAMS Secretary, and Christopher Laparan- FAMS Historian.

The 22 Touro students who volunteered for the event were able

to learn about the health issues prevalent in the Filipino commu-

nity such as diabetes and hypertension and improve their cul-

tural competency.

Page 3 THE PULSE

Club Highlights Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association

Patrick Chen, Midwestern, CCOM OMSII

APAMSA (Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association) was brought to the CCOM in the Autumn Quarter of 2005 by Rose Reyes, CCOM '08. Along with Rose Reyes, Rose Robel, Rachna Garg, and Hazel Galicia were the founding executive board mem-bers. They recruited 5 first year members to be on their board as well, including Linda Nguyen, Jerell Chua, Jenni Tran, Payal Patel and Kim Setlak. During this year APAMSA found its niche at CCOM.During APAMSA's second year at CCOM the organiza-tion blossomed into an active organization and tackled tasks that seemed impossible at the time, such as hosting the regional con-ference. It was in that year that APAMSA's activities and vision were established and the structure, that helped lead the succeed-ing years of APAMSA, were created.

Currently, APAMSA is a well-rounded club that works to be well balanced, and bring that energy to the other students at CCOM. Some of our events include: hosting a bone marrow registry drive, volunteering at on-campus events, and fundraising by selling flow-ers at graduation. In addition, our club makes a point to have fun by creating social ties among the 1st and 2nd year medical class - something we find very important. APAMSA has many social events and dinners that bring us together. These events allow us to take a break from the stresses that surround us, so we can pre-pare to be successful physicians.

APAMSA is proud to say that they have never collect dues from members, and encourage students of all races and departments of Midwestern to join. The current board members are Patrick Chen (president), Phillip Le (vp), Ashok Venugopal (treasurer), Dorothy Tran (secretary), Cherian Plamoottil, Jessica Chan, Maggie Huynh, Monica Huynh, Mimi Van and Tony Wang (all from class of 2014). We look forward to seeing our organization grow as well as new leaders develop from the 2015 class.

THE PULSE Page 4

National Osteopathic Student Seminar

All osteopathic students and residents are cordially invited to join the

Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP) at the 2011 National Osteopathic Student Seminar (NOSS)

in conjunction with the AOA Osteopathic Medical Conference & Exposition in Orlando, FL

National Osteopathic Student Seminar (NOSS) The Future of Osteopathic Medicine: Education, Leadership, and

Initiative

Esteemed Guest Speaker: Dr. William G. Anderson, D.O. Graduate of DMU-COM, President of the Albany Civil Rights Move-

ment, First African-America to serve as the AOA President, col-league and friend to Dr. Ralph Abernathy and Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr., and former Associate Dean, Professor and mentor to count-less students at KCOM, MSU-COM, and NYCOM.

Saturday, October 29th

Peabody Orlando Florida Ballroom

Registration 5:30 – 6:00pm Guest Speaker 6:00 – 8:00pm

Business attire is requested Light snacks and refreshments will be served

We look forward to seeing you there!

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRZWmk-4l1oCe_jp_moslRv30soFhbHAT6S6xATyiJe5dT8ZHBMeg

Dr. William G. Anderson D.O.

Greetings from the air! I am currently on my way back from

Chevy Chase, MD, home of the AACOM headquarters. Today I

attended the annual meeting for the Society of Osteopathic

Medical Educators Steering Committee. SOME is a council of

AACOM that is open for membership to both educators and stu-

dents interested in medical education. The general council meet-

ing is held in conjunction with the AACOM annual meeting in

which the next meeting will be held in March 28-31, 2012. As

your national Medical Education Representative of the

COSGP, I currently hold a seat on the SOME Steering Commit-

tee. The steering committee discusses a wide array of topics

pertaining to both undergraduate and graduate medical educa-

tion. The steering committee is a selected few individual with

different representation within medical education offering vary-

ing perspectives. A formal report from the SOME steering com-

mittee’s meeting and how it particularly applies to students will be released in the near future

and will be discussed at the upcoming COSGP meeting later this month.

COSGP will be involved in a presentation at the annual SOME meeting this March! We will

be researching medical licensure exam preparation resources along with the Council of Osteo-

pathic Librarians (COOL) and SOME. This conjoined session is intended to show what re-

sources are available for both students and educators and what resources are currently being

utilized.

Look forward to the release of the first ever

Outcomes of the Osteopathic Match Report!

The Medical Education Committee of COSGP

has asked for an osteopathic specific report

and with the collaboration of AACOM, AOA,

and NBOME, we should see the document re-

lease within the next couple weeks.

COSGP & The Society of Osteopathic Medical Educators (SOME)

Chelsea Nickolson, OMS III, National Medical Education Represntative

30 Days of Policy in 3 Minutes Greetings colleagues, hopefully your fall semester is well under way and you are enjoying

your classes and rotations. A lot has happened in the way of policy news over the past month.

In early September, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released their

fiscal year 2012 funding protocol for Teaching Health Centers and Graduate Medical Educa-

tion (GME). This financing draws upon authorized appropriations for GME that were in-

creased specifically for primary care programs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It

should help increase funding for primary care residency programs and may assist with the es-

tablishment of new programs in primary care.

The individual mandate (a requirement that individuals purchase health insurance) under the

ACA has come under increased scrutiny. Last month, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

ruled that it was unconstitutional. Earlier rulings in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals up-

held the mandate as within constitutional limits. The debate has continued, and courts across

the country are considering the issue. It is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court by No-

vember and the court proceedings may indeed spill over into an election year.

Following the summer’s debt and financial crisis discussions, a bipartisan Dept Panel was es-

tablished within Congress. Panelists have been hearing testimony this past month regarding

issues ranging from GME to Entitlement Programs (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid), and what the

associated costs of such programs mean for the national deficit. President Obama has advo-

cated for certain cuts (just over $300 Billion to Medicare and Medicaid) to help reduce long-

term spending and cut the deficit within the next 10 years, yet Democrats have resisted this

proposal. The Debt Panel is expected to continue its analyses and report out to Congress by

November or December of this year.

A recently introduced Congressional bill (S.1627) has the potential to increase the number of

Medicare GME slots for residencies to over 15,000 within the next 5 years. Senator Bill Nel-

son (D-FL) submitted the bill through the Senate co-sponsored by Senators Charles Schumer

(D-NY) and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). If passed, it will require at least 1,500 of

the new slots to be reserved for health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) to respond to un-

derserved populations.

Page 6 THE PULSE

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Osteopathic Influence September 13th marked the launch of a campaign by the American Osteopathic As-

sociation (AOA) called “Every Patient Counts”. This campaign seeks to encourage

Congress to make lasting reforms to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula

used in calculating physician reimbursement rates by the Centers for Medicare and

Medicaid (CMS). The SGR overhaul has been estimated to cost over $300 Billion

within the next 10 years according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). It

has been recognized as an issue long overdue for reform, and this month the Medi-

care Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) announced that it will vote on sig-

nificant changes to the SGR during their October meeting. MedPAC has released

their proposals for replacing the outdated formula, and have estimated a lower cost

of $200 Billion to assist with the overhaul.

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3QTDAagAGUPGBIfEun95-2pppPKvmaLUJQ46w5vCmOf3940tyEg

The Legislative Informant Roberto J. Fernandez, MPH, OMS-III National Legislative Affairs Representative,

THE PULSE

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4

Page 7

.

Monthly Dose of Jargon As if you have not already encountered your fill of jargon in this issue of The Legislative Infor-

mant, here is another serving. Have you heard the phrase “Patient-Centered Medical Home” or

seen the acronym PCMH? It is more than simply a buzz phrase in medical circles, but its definition

often varies depending on the source. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) uses the phrase throughout

the legislation, but it fails to adequately define what a patient-centered medical home is and isn’t.

The concept has been around since the 1970s, yet it has only recently received real traction within

the health care system in the U.S. According to the American College of Physicians (ACP), the

PCMH is a “team-based model of care led by a personal physician who provides continuous and

coordinated care throughout a patient’s lifetime to maximize health outcomes” (ACP, 2011).

While this certainly captures the essence of the concept, there is much more to a patient-centered

medical home than care coordination. As the U.S. Health care System evolves and begins to fully

implement new changes under the ACA, physicians will increasingly need to be comfortable with

the medical home model and understand its benefits. To learn more about the PCMH, please visit:

www.acponline.org/running_practice/pcmh .

Incrementalism The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

(CMS) has initiated an incentive pro-

gram for primary care physicians called

the Comprehensive Primary Care Initia-

tive. This program will provide addi-

tional reimbursement payments to pro-

viders who demonstrate excellence in

patient care coordination. This includes

areas such as providing preventive ser-

vices, 24-hour availability, care man-

agement and communication between

multiple physicians, and promotion of

personalized care plans with patients.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid

Innovation was created under the health

reforms within the ACA, and it will be

charged with implementing this new

incentive program. Approximately 75

medical practices across the U.S. will

be selected initially to participate in the

program assuming they meet eligibility

criteria.

Just 3: Take Action Today! Each month we will present three ideas for how you can get involved in health policy either

directly (e.g., reaching out to legislators) or indirectly (e.g., discussing issues with col-

leagues). Medical students are extremely busy, and sometimes health policy seems too

broad to tackle given our other demands. And the issues are indeed complex. Rest assured,

however, that there are ways for you to contribute. Even something as simple as a discus-

sion with a colleague or attending physician can help to increase awareness and share your

knowledge of pertinent policy issues affecting the medical profession. Take action today, it’s

easy!

Visit the ACP website (above) to learn more about the PCMH. Follow-up by having a

discussion with an attending physician or resident (if on rotations) OR hold an

event on your campus or with a student club that features discussions about the

PCMH.

Visit www.aacom.org/advocacy and click links on the right-hand column to support the

Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2011. Read up on the physician

shortage and how GME ties into the mix.

Visit www.everypatientcounts.org to learn more about the AOA’s campaign to inform Con-

gress on the need to overhaul the SGR formula and sign the petition.

Upcoming Events Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP) National Quarterly

Meeting (October 28th-31st) Orlando, FL

AOA’s Osteopathic Medical Education (OMED) Conference (October 30th-November

3rd) Orlando, FL

Stay Tuned Next Month… As mentioned last month, upcoming issues will include additional rotating sections that will

feature original opinion/editorial articles from medical students, interviews with policy ex-

perts and physicians, updates on policy news related to research and technology, policy from

a global health perspective, and other interesting topics. If you have an idea for a topic or

would like to have a piece submitted for possible inclusion in future issues, please feel free

to contact us.

We hope you enjoyed this month’s issue of The Legislative Informant. In case you

missed last month’s issue or any previous issue from the 2011-2012 year, they can

be found in PDF format on the COSGP website at: www.cosgp.aacom.org

CHECK US OUT ON

American Association of Colleges of

Osteopathic Medicine

5550 Friendship Boulevard, Suite 310,

Chevy Chase, MD 20815

CREATE A CAPTION

Submit your captions to COSGPVC2@aacom

We’ll feature the best caption and the author in the

next edition.

Pictured above left to right: Back Row Michael Debo, Programs Rep, S. Tyler O'Sullivan, Public Relations/Web Rep, Joe Borup,

1st Vice Chair, Dr. Tyler Cymet, DO, AACOM VP for Medical Education, Maxwell Braverman, Parliamentarian, Rob Fernandez, Legislative Affairs Rep, Cris Mathew, 2nd Vice Chair, Front Row Darion Showell, Treasurer, Chelsea Nickolson, Medical Education

Rep, Beth Varadian, Chair, - Student Delegate, Stephanie Tang, Secretary, Kevin Ku, Medical Research Rep

National Chair : Beth Varadian, OMS IV, NYCOM COSGPChair@aacom.org

AOA Board of Trustees Student Delegate : Mansoor Jatoi, OMS IV, AZCOM COSGPBOT@aacom.org

National 1st Vice Chair : Joe Borup, OMS III, ATSU-KCOM COSGPVC1@aacom.org

National 2nd Vice Chair : Cristin John Mathew, OMS IV, VCOM COSGPVC2@aacom.org

National Secretary : Stephanie Tang, OMS III, TUNCOM COSGPSec@aacom.org

National Treasurer -- Darion Showell OMS III, VCOM COSGPTres@aacom.org

National Parliamentarian -- Maxwell Braverman, OMS III, AZCOM COSGPPar@aacom.org

National Legislative Affairs Representative -- Rob Fernandez, OMS III, DMU-COM COSGPLegRep@aacom.org

National Medical Education Representative -- Chelsea Nickolson, OMS III, LMU-DCOM COSGPMedEdRep@aacom.org

National Medical Research Representative -- Kevin Ku, OMS IV,TUNCOM COSGPResRep@aacom.org

National Programs Representative -- Mike Debo, OMS IV, AZCOM COSGPProgRep@aacom.org

National Public Relations & Website Representative– Tyler O’Sullivan, OMS III, UNECOM COSGPPrWeb@aacom.org All photos courtesy of Carisa Lippmann, OMS-II, NSU-COM

Michael Debo, MS, OMS-IV, AZCOM

Tyler Cymet, DO , AACOM

http://cosgp.aacom.org/