Region II Trustee
VCOM – Louisiana
Region II is a group of ten chapters from the southeastern United States. We represent a diverse group of students from schools in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Our members are a group of medical student leaders who are passionate about the osteopathic profession. As a region we have chosen to focus our outreach on furthering mental health awareness, preventative care, naloxone training and distribution, as well as advocating for equitable medical care for all. Region II is devoted to promoting osteopathic medicine through advocacy and leadership at each school and its respective local community as well as on the state and national level.
Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM)
The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine is located in the southeast corner of Alabama, in the circle city of Dothan. The ACOM SOMA chapter is the largest organization on campus and takes much pride in the community outreach and involvement over the years. As the state of Alabama begins its slow opening transition, the emerging priorities of SOMA are to establish new and previous partnerships with local groups to increase member engagement and volunteering opportunities within the area. In addition, SOMA will continue providing any assistance with the COVID-19 pandemic that is deemed necessary. The Dothan metropolitan area has been very welcoming of ACOM. We here at SOMA, want to show our gratitude by returning back to our fundamental philosophy of giving back to the community.
EDWARD VIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE – AUBURN CAMPUS (VCOM-AUBURN)
VCOM-Auburn is located in Auburn, AL a.k.a “The Loveliest Village on the Plains”. We are located on Auburn University’s campus and we are the third of four VCOM campus locations. SOMA hosts our annual VCOM Gala, which is a fun time to fellowship and celebrate our campus, students and staff, and osteopathic medicine. Additionally, we have a variety of events that we plan for National Osteopathic Medicine Week including trivia and treasure hunts, guest speakers, a day of service, and DOnuts for DOs. We are fortunate to represent the entire student body and look forward to utilizing this to the betterment of our community.
EDWARD VIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE – CAROLINAS CAMPUS (VCOM-CC)
The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Carolinas Campus is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The mission of VCOM Carolinas is to “prepare globally-minded, community-focused physicians to meet the needs of rural and medically underserved populations and promote research to improve human health”. This year we are taking that to heart with a major emphasis on growing Osteopathic Medicine in South Carolina. We are holding “DO Day at the Dome” at the South Carolina State House to honor the work of osteopathic physicians, along with organizing charity events for our free clinic within our community. We are also expanding the osteopathic philosophy by expanding our reach and working to establish more Pre-SOMA chapters at South Carolina colleges and universities. Feel free to reach out to us on social media and keep up with the work we are doing spreading the Osteopathic message.
EDWARD VIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE – LOUISIANA CAMPUS (VCOM-LA)
VCOM-LA is located in Monroe, LA along Bayou DeSiard. We are the newest of the four campuses under Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. Our first class began in July of 2020 and we are so excited to bring osteopathic medicine to Louisiana! Louisiana was the last state to grant osteopathic physicians full practicing rights, so we have made it our mission to spread osteopathic principles and ideals throughout the state. In addition to advocating for the osteopathic profession we are also passionate about giving back to our community. We are proud to sponsor a Dixie Diehards baseball team for disabled children and young adults, work with MedCamps, our local children’s home, and so much more! We are honored to be the recipients of the 2021-2022 Golden Tibia Young Chapter of the Year Award.
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine – Bradenton Campus (LECOM-Bradenton)
Our main goals this year is to increase membership recruitment and participation. We also plan to do more local community outreach and collaborate with campus clubs to host more events. Despite changes due to COVID-19 we continue to look for new ways to virtually educate, inform and advocate for healthcare and medical education. Our hope is that in the next year we can create a more interactive and engaging community within SOMA at LECOM Bradenton and introduce incoming members to the importance of advocacy and education within their community and profession.
Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM)
NSU-KPCOM SOMA is aiming to go above and beyond this year in involving our members in leadership and advocacy at the national level despite the barriers COVID-19 presents. This year we held events that included numerous Social Medicine talks that opened important dialogues for discussing medically, socially, and professionally relevant information. We hope to initiate Narcan training for our members, get more involved in community service with local non-profit organizations, and offer unique panels featuring an array of residency program directors. We look forward to working closely with our state FOMA chapter and Pre-SOMA chapter at NSU this upcoming year. KPCOM continues to be committed to spreading osteopathic principles and aims to focus even more on the importance of advocacy in creating a more progressive and inclusive medical field for now and the future.
Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine – Tampa Bay Regional Campus (NSU-KPCOM Tampa Bay)
The Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University has two campuses in the Ft. Lauderdale area and Tampa Bay area. It is dedicated to comprehensive osteopathic medical education to produce a new generation of physicians that focus on providing patient-centered, compassionate, and competent care. As the Tampa Bay Chapter of SOMA we are dedicated to fulfilling this mission by focusing on engaging with our local community to promote service, health, and advocacy. Events we’ve held include fundraising events for local youth organizations, volunteering at soup kitchens, and engaging with the local osteopathic professional organization to provide networking events for students. We hope to continue to build strong ties with various service and community organizations. Our vision is to be a well-established organization within the Tampa Bay Community, and we hold service, leadership, and advocacy as our highest priority.
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine – Georgia Campus (PCOM-GA)
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine-Georgia (PCOM Georgia) is located in Suwanee, Georgia just 27 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia. Since 2005, PCOM Georgia has trained Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) students from Georgia and the surrounding states. In the upcoming year, our SOMA chapter’s priorities are to increase membership as well as seek out new partnerships with organizations in our community in order to increase engagement.We hope to continue educating, informing, and advocating for both our community and the osteopathic profession.
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine – Moultrie Campus
The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine – South Georgia campus is located in Moultrie, GA. The South Georgia campus was established in 2019 to help grow medical education in Southwest Georgia and meet the long-term health care needs of the region. Along with various student enrichment activities, our chapter plans to establish many Pre-SOMA affiliations with new undergraduate pipeline institutions that have been established within the last year. We look forward to growing our chapter as this will be the first year our DO Program will have all four classes (OMS I – OMS IV) filled!
William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine (WCUCOM)
William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine is located in Hattiesburg, MS and has a core mission of providing quality care to the local communities along the Gulf South. WCUCOM SOMA is aimed at continuing to grow in numbers whilst becoming directly involved within the Hattiesburg community. We are focused on fundraising for charities and supporting those disproportionately affected during the pandemic. We have held events regarding mental health awareness, advocacy, and local engagement within the community—all which we plan to maintain through the coming year. We are developing relationships with the local free health clinic and food pantry to offer continuous support. Through events and engagement, we hope to uphold, advocate for, and bring awareness to the osteopathic medical philosophy.
