Welcome to Region IV

ARKANSAS COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (ARCOM)

We are Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, and we are located in Fort Smith, Arkansas. With things slowly returning to normal, we have seen great success and growth in our chapter within this past year. We have worked hard to get our faculty, students, and community members involved with events, such as: Diversity Week, Narcan Training Certification Classes, Walk with the Docs, St. Baldricks, volunteering at HOPE Campus Kitchen, presenting to high school students about Professional Development and so much more! Our 2022-2023 executive board is working diligently to plan another successful year in which we continue to grow within SOMA and as future DOs.

Walk with a Doc: Monthly walk in a nearby park with community members, faculty and students. Different health topics are addressed at each walk too!

Volunteering at HOPE Campus: Our SOMA Chapter has continued to partner with the HOPE Campus Kitchen in Downtown Fort Smith where we help to prepare and serve meals to those in need.

St. Baldrick’s Carnival Event: This year, ARCOM’s SOMA chapter put on a Carnival in which all Campus organizations participated to help raise money for St. Baldrick’s. Each organization hosted their own carnival booth with prizes to win. Faculty, students, and community members purchased tickets to use at the carnival, and all proceeds went to raising money for our St. Baldrick’s Campaign. Our campus goal was to raise $2000, and we over doubled that goal with an end total of $4116!

A.T. STILL UNIV. KIRKSVILLE COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (ATSU-KCOM)

A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine was the first Osteopathic Medical School. Every year our SOMA chapter participates in trunk or treat for Halloween, hosts many DO for a day events, and raises money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation. While in the past we helped plan a local St. Baldrick’s event, we were proud to have held our own St. Baldrick’s on campus for the first time ever this year.

Valentine’s Day Packages & Bake Sale for St. Baldrick’s Event: We hosted a Valentine’s Day Bake Sale at our school to raise money for St. Baldrick’s event. Many students volunteered their time and baking skills to donate baked goods and help us raise money for St. Baldrick’s. All proceeds from that also went towards St. Baldrick’s.

Be The Match: We were able to hold a Be The Match registry for a week, which allowed students, faculty, and community members to register for the national bone marrow registry. As this was the first year doing this, we were unsure of the outcome, but were pleasantly surprised that we ran out of kits and had more than 60 people sign up.

BURRELL COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (BCOM)

BCOM is located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and is one of the newest osteopathic medical schools in the country. The campus sits on the New Mexico State University campus, giving BCOM students great opportunities for mentorship with pre-med students. BCOM currently has over 140 SOMA members with 4 students serving on National SOMA. They stay active in mentorship with their DO for a Day program and Pre-SOMA chapter at NMSU. BCOM remains active in health policy at the local and national level, recently developing a relationship with the Alliance of Health Councils in Albuquerque with a focus in public health. Most recently, BCOM worked with other on-campus organizations to host a community health fair that reached over 400 community members. This fair offered health screenings, nasal Narcan training, various health-related presentations, and more.

KANSAS CITY UNIV. COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (KCU-COM)

This past year we held two Naloxone Trainings on campus through the MO-Hope Project, volunteered with KC Harvesters, hosted ShaDO week, raised money with Charity Miles and more! We look forward to returning to campus in the fall and start planning more service and on-campus events!

SOMA Club Fundraising: We used the Charity Miles app from July to October to raise money for Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

SOMA Club Volunteering: We partnered with KC Harvesters to help sort and organize food and supplies that were then given out to the underserved communities in our city.

ShaDO Week: We held an informational session for pre-SOMA students where we talked about the benefits of KCU, hosted a virtual tour of the campus and had an open question forum.

SOMA Spring Conference: Members attended the Spring conference where they listened to advocacy speakers, heard from the NBOME and the AOA and voted on resolutions.

KANSAS CITY UNIV. COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE—JOPLIN (KCU-JOPLIN)

Opened in 2017, the Joplin campus of Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences founded its SOMA chapter in the fall of 2018. KCU-Joplin’s SOMA chapter volunteered at the Big Red Shoe Run hosted by the Ronald McDonald House and hosted fundraising events for Watered Gardens, Soul Harbor, and St. Baldricks. Our Chapter President, Kenedy and our National Liaison, Mariah attended the SOMA Spring Conference on behalf of KCU-Joplin as delegates. We look forward to creating more mentorship opportunities at KCU and sponsoring exciting events!

KANSAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER KANSAS COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (KANSASCOM)

We are KansasCOM SOMA, and we are located in Wichita – Kansas’ largest city. Wichita, Kansas is a thriving, diverse center of culture and industry. KansasCOM was built in the heart of Kansas to help meet the growing medical needs of rural locations across the United States. Newly added as an official SOMA Chapter in April 2023, we are excited to offer various SOMA activities to our members!

OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV. COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (OSU-COM)

Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s SOMA chapter is located in Tulsa, OK. On-campus, our yearly events are the Rural Health Fair and the mentor/mentee dinners with the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association (OOA). Last year we held collaborations with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse for Naloxone Training and with the OOA on legislative activism. Also, we participate in volunteer work with our local community and St. Baldrick’s on the national level. As a dynamic and engaged chapter, we always strive to become better physician leaders through political activism and community service.

Rural Health Fair: Organize 60 volunteers, 8 student organizations, and external donations for one of our largest events of the year. Services provided include hypertension screenings, education via breast models, mental health resources, osteopathic manipulation, as well as education on PrEP and anatomy.

Work closely alongside the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association: Hosted the OOA to speak on current legislation, Osteopathic Medicine Day in Oklahoma City as well as DO Day on the Hill in Washington DC.

MAT Discussion: In alignment with Words Matter, collaborated with ACOFP to host a speaker who addressed topics related to experiences while on the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and efforts to pioneer medication-assisted therapy in Oklahoma primary care.

ROCKY VISTA UNIV. COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (RVU-COM)

RVU-COM is located in Parker, CO, just south of Denver. We are the first school in the country to utilize a cut suit, which allows for realistic surgical simulations. RVU-SOMA’s big yearly event is the National Outreach for Diversity, but we also host NOD events and charity fundraisers for the St.Baldrick’s Foundation for Childhood Cancer. Most recently, in March-April of 2020, we raised over $500 for Help Colorado Now, an emergency aid relief organization for Denver citizens affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Outreach for Diversity: Visited an inner-city middle school with 11 volunteers and brought ultrasound machines, games, and pig organs to introduce the students to medicine.

Club Fair at RVU: Set up a booth at the Club Fair at RVU for our membership drive.

Hosted Guest Speaker: Hosted guest speaker Dr. Vince Markovchick from the Healthcare for All Colorado Foundation at RVU. Dr. Markovchick gave an excellent presentation about the “Health of our Healthcare System” and the importance of establishing a Medicare For All program in this country.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY DEBUSK COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE – HARROGATE (LMU-DCOM)

LMU-DCOM Harrogate campus is located in Harrogate, TN which is an hour and a half from the Knoxville, TN campus. Our SOMA Chapter strives to make an impact and increase the knowledge of osteopathic medicine on our campus, in the community, and beyond. This previous year, our chapter held monthly Social Medicine Program meetings which were discussion based meetings about general controversial topics or ethical issues. The chapter wrote a resolution to advocate to COCA to make the provision of health insurance to medical schools be a requirement for accreditation and was passed in the House of Delegates. We collected 120 items for homeless children and were donated to an organization called Family Promise of Greater Kingsport in Kingsport, TN. Our campus has a donor memorial garden honoring those who have donated their bodies for our education and we as a club were able to purchase flowers and assist another club on campus with cleaning up the garden. In celebration of National Osteopathic Medicine week, we had an Instagram takeover each day of the week and bought 30 dozen donuts to hand out to our first and second year classes. We have a strong relationship with our undergrad Pre-SOMA chapter at LMU and held a ShaDO Day event with a virtual tour, presentation, and student panel. In addition to the ShaDO Day event, we held an osteopathic medicine application cycle meeting. We are planning to be a very active chapter and have many goals for this upcoming year, so check out our Instagram and be on the lookout for our events! 

SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (SHSU-COM)

Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine is located in Conroe, Texas. We are excited to be the most recent addition to Region IV and to represent our inaugural class. We look forward to serving our student body and our community through several upcoming events including Stop the Bleed classes, Blood Drives, career development workshops, and CPR classes. We are excited about what the future holds for our school and our SOMA chapter.

UNIV. OF THE INCARNATE WORD SCHOOL OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (UIWSOM)

In 2017, UIW opened its School of Medicine in Brooks City-Base, located in south San Antonio, Texas. Our medical campus buildings formerly housed the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine and was one of the WWI Army air installations. Additionally, it was where JFK gave his final speech before his assassination.

During 2021-22, UIW’s SOMA hosted the following events: ShaDO day to increase UIWSOM’s exposure to pre-med students, opportunities for pre-SOMA UIW students to observe osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), and a non-perishable food drive for Haven for Hope.

Looking towards 2022-23, SOMA plans to host the following events: a “Thriving in Medical School” presentation for current OMS-I students, a guest speaker engagement from Mary Beth, the mother of a childhood cancer survivor, multiple OMM observation opportunities for pre-SOMA UIW students, and a Haven for Hope blanket drive for members of our community facing homelessness.

ShaDO Day: The virtual event began with a slide-show presentation covering multiple topics, including UIWSOM admissions, the osteopathic profession, and life in San Antonio. Next, the SOMA President and another OMS-I shared their journeys regarding medical school and why they chose to attend UIWSOM. Attendees then asked questions about medical school applications, the qualities of an attractive applicant, and financial aid.

Pre-SOMA OMM Observation: Pre-SOMA UIW students attended a UIWSOM DOCS (Developing Osteopathic Clinical Skills) class and then paired with two current OMS-I students. During this time, pre-SOMA students observed their OMS-I students perform OMM and were able to ask questions. Additionally, pre-SOMA students had the opportunity to interact with the DOCS faculty, consisting of predominantly osteopathic physicians.

Haven for Hope Non-Perishable Food Drive: Haven for Hope is an organization within San Antonio that provides aid to community members facing homelessness. To aid in their efforts, SOMA invited UIWSOM students and faculty to participate in a food drive that donated non-perishable items to Haven for Hope.

UNIV. OF NORTH TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER, TEXAS COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (UNTHSC-TCOM)

Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine is located in Fort Worth, Texas. This year is a huge one for us because we are working on re-launching our SOMA chapter on our campus. We have worked to engage our faculty, administration, and student body in the importance of support for education, advocacy, and leadership within our osteopathic medical community. This spring we are hosting a virtual ShaDO Week in coordination with our SGA, National Osteopathic Medicine Week, and a resolution writing workshop. We cannot wait to come back next year and share memories of our events!