Students in the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine are dedicated to learning. Focusing on goals and proud to represent the medical school.
Their commitment was awarded recently with the Murphy Cup, given as part of Family Medicine Day, sponsored by the N.C. Academy of Family Physicans. The cup, awarded for the first time this year, goes to the medical school that boasted the highest attendance for the day. Many Campbell faculty members are involved, as well.
Campbell attendance numbers at the event were better than medical schools such as UNC, Duke and Wake Forest. Andrew Gasperson is a first-year med school student and new president of the school’s Family Medicine Club, though outgoing president Ryan Taylor, in his second year at the school, did much of the “heavy lifting” in preparing the for event, Gasperson says.
The event, in large part, is designed to promote family medicine, attracting both new students and residents. Driving residents toward careers in family practice and, pointing to Campbell’s mission, a focus on serving rural communities.
Gasperson, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said he chose to attend Campbell because, in part, “he loved the DO curriculum and the emphasis on primary care and family medicine.”
Conway Medical Center in Conway, South Carolina, is a Campbell residency partner.
“I love the relationships that family medicine physicians get to have with their patients,” he says, “and I feel like Campbell has created a great culture of giving us the tools we need to be successful in that.”
The Family Day event was held Feb. 16-17, at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham.
“It was a wonderful two days,” Dr. Kathryn Atkinson, NCAFP director of Continuing Medical Education and events said in a statement.
In all, 87 medical students attended workshops hosted by N.C. Family Medicine Residency faculty, and residents got to experience the entire scope of medicine family physicians provide each day, a news release says.
“The workshops included joint injections, suturing, triaging in the field, clinical de-escalation techniques and many more hands-on skills to help interested medical students understand what they can do for their patients as family physicians.”
Students preparing for residency applications met directly with residents and faculty through the workshops during a residency fair.
“It’s my third year, so being here really matters,” said Aryanna Thuraisingham, a third-year student at Campbell. “And I want to stay in North Carolina.”
Residents and faculty from 16 North Carolina residencies brought their daily experiences and clinical skills to the students during the four workshop tracks at Family Medicine Day, the release says.
“The students here are really good,” said Dr. Matthew Ammons, a resident at the Sampson Regional Family Medicine Residency Program. “They really got into our session.”