UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY OF NEW JERSEY
SCHOOL OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
STUDENT COUNCIL
One Medical Center Drive  Suite 210  Stratford, NJ 08084
Tel: (856) 566-6981  Fax: (856) 566-6714  email: stuco@umdnj.edu
Student Council Minutes
Meeting Date: February 19th 2009
Location: Top Doc’s Cafe
Next Meeting: 7:00 p.m. Thursday, March 19th 2009
Location: Top Doc’s Cafe
I. Call to Order and Attendees:
(A) The meeting was called to order at 7:08 pm
(B) Attendees:
Council
STUCO Board: Matt LaPorta, Kim Young, Kirin Syed, Erin Toller,
Garrett Tomasino, Soumya Bollampally
Class of 2009: Jennifer Stellke, Ken Minnett, Michael McCollum , Hope
Voto, Kristen Fleming, Julianne Wysocki
Class of 2010: Olamide Oladipo, Melissa Suarez, Danielle Mercurio, Rob
Donlan, Bethany Cottingham, EJ Gettings
Class of 2011: Oliver Chang, Elizabeth Jasolosky, Tom Nappe , Kristen
Spencer, Daria Szkwarko, Beth Chisholm, Lauren Moleta
Class of 2012: Michael Z. Caposole, Ingrid Edshteyn, Nidhi Shah, Farhad
Modarai, Sarah Campeas, Aileen Chen, Matthew J. Ingrassia
Guests
None
(C) Excused: Betty Chung, Soumya Bollampally, Bethany Cottingham, Nidhi Shah
(D) Unexcused: Sarah Campeas
II. Approval of Minutes
(A) The minutes from the January meeting were tabled to be approved at the
March meeting.
III. Special Business
(A) None
IV. Executive Committee Reports:
(A) President:
1) I would like to thank everyone who came out for the 15th Annual
UMDNJ- SOM Talent show on January 24th.
2) I would also like to thank everyone who came out for STUCO’s
Career Workshop Series: National Board of Osteopathic Medical
Examiner’s COMLEX event on February 18th with NBOME President
Dr. Frederick Meoli.
3) I look forward to seeing everyone at UMDNJ-SOM’s Medicine Ball
on Saturday, February 21st.
4) In addition to the variety of conferences that SOM students will be
attending in March, the annual DO Day on the Hill will be held
Thursday, March 5th. I know SOM will have a strong presence in
Washington.
5) Please mark your calendars for the annual Accepted Students’ Day
Reception be held on Friday, March 27th. The Accepted Students’
Day Reception is a time the UMDNJ-SOM student body to show the
students that have been accepted to the Class of 2013 all the best that
SOM has offer.
6) I hope the lamp of knowledge is burning strongly within everyone.
Please let me know if you have any comments, questions, suggestions,
or concerns.
(B) First Vice President:
1) No club presidents meeting in February but plan to have a joint
meeting with 2nd year club presidents and 1st year president-elects (or
elect hopefuls) in mid-March since the beginning of March has a lot of
conferences.
2) A new template was emailed out to Karen and club presidents to use to
record contact info for next year’s Eboard officers (phone #s and email
addresses) as well as that for their advisor so all this information will
be on file for Karen. In the past, Karen did not have the names of all
club advisors and some clubs are still missing advisors right now and
have been asked to find one by the end of March when Year End
Reports are due. This Eboard contact directory template is to be
emailed to 1st VP, Karen Miklosey, and the new president-elect right
after elections take place. So far, ACOFP and UAAO have already had
their elections. Club presidents have been informed that only
“members” can run for positions and vote in elections. And 90% of the
clubs complied by revising their constitutions stating the process to
become a member of their organization as well as a deadline for
membership in order to be eligible to participate in elections.
3) Club presidents have been informed of important deadlines for both
funding (eg - SOMAFF deadline from Feb 15-Mar 15 which includes
funding for summer travel) as well as end of the year paperwork
before they transition to their new leadership. Sign-up for tables at
Accepted Students Day and Open House will go out as soon as the
Office of Admissions requests so from the 1st VP.
4) Grant Recipient Reception will be on next Tuesday, February 24, 2009
at 6:30pm. We have about 25 presentations of new club grants, alumni
community service grants, national board officer travel grants, and
conference and COSGP travel grants from spring 2008 to winter 2009.
The deans, representatives from alumni association, NJAOPS, NJOEF,
SOMAFF, and club advisors have been invited. An email will go out
to the class listservs to invite students as well. Light refreshments will
be served. Since VIPs will be in attendance, those presenting have
been asked to keep their dress attire and the nature of their
presentations both professional and appropriate. This is our way to
thank all those who have supported us throughout the year so that the
clubs can do all the great work that they do!
5) Student D.O. of the Year selection is progressing and hopefully, our
2009 Student DO of the Year will be announced in early March 2009.
In the end we had 8 of 11 nominees turn in application materials: 6
from class of 2009 and 2 from class of 2010.
(C) Second Vice President:
1) The Medicine Ball was held on Saturday, February 21, 2009 from
7:00pm until midnight at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill. The
evening started off with butler passed Hors D’Oeuvres for cocktail
hour, followed by a Buffet dinner. Our fantastic DJ kept the dance
floor filled with student for hours after dinner was finished. Student
enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere in the Riverside Ballroom, a recent
addition to the Crowne Plaza featuring a gorgeous tented ceiling and
multiple large chandeliers. The décor was simply enhanced with red,
pink, and fuchsia square glass centerpieces holding white spider mums
and baby’s breath, as well as blue and white “Winter” balloons
adorning the dance floor. The Medicine Ball is one of the most
popular events of the year with over 275 guests, including the Dean of
UMDNJ-SOM, Thomas A. Cavalieri, D.O., the Dean of Academic
Affairs, Paul M. Krueger, D.O., the Dean of Student Affairs, Kathryn
C. Lambert, D.O., and the Chair of Internal Medicine, H. Timothy
Dombrowski, D.O.
(D) Treasurer:
1) I am in the process of finalizing details for the reimbursements for
D.O. Day on the Hill travel. Those who are traveling will be contacted
very soon. There is no other activity to report.
(E) Secretary:
1) STUCO minutes delayed due to difficulty with STUCO listserve.
Minutes will be re-sent tonight.
2) As always all reports, funding and agenda requests are due at 3pm the
Sunday before the meeting
V. Class Reports:
(A) 2009
1) The Class of '09 is happy to announce that we had a very successful
Match Day on Feb. 9th! According to NMS match statistics, 43% of
our class ranked programs for the osteopathic match and then
successfully matched! 49% of our class did not participate in the
osteopathic match, which means they are either waiting for the
allopathic match results, signed contracts with institutions and
therefore "pre-matched", or have other plans after graduation--like
dual degree programs, etc.
2) On Match day, our class celebrated at Taylor's in Cherry Hill with lots
of food and drinks! There was a great turnout and it was so exciting
to see that people's hard work definitely paid off! We look forward to
our next match party which will take place on March 19th (the day of
the allopathic match)! Right now "Lucky Strike" in Philly is where we
would like to go, but location and times TBA.
3) Stay tuned for final results after we are done with both matches. We
will also publish the "Places we are going" spreadsheet for all of you
to see! To keep with tradition our class will set up an informal
dinner with the 3rd year students in Top Docs and will break out in
groups according to specialty/type of match! It is a great way to learn
about what to do/not to do when pursuing your field of interest ... all
from someone who just did it before you! Pizza and refreshments will
be served!
4) In addition, we have a really cool database that can be accessed which
was designed and completed by Aislinn Black, OMS-IV. It is set up
as a google document so that classes can add to it in the future! This
database includes fun and exciting electives that students in our class
have completed (organized by specialty) to help you out when you are
planning your 4th year schedules! The link to the database will be
sent out to your UMDNJ email addresses.
5) As always feel free to send an email to us if you need any guidance
with electives, residency plans, or just a quick pep talk to get you
motivated to study for COMLEX Level 1 or 2! We are here for you!
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, we swear! :) Keep up all the
hard work!
(B) 2010
1) So far there is no major concern with the class, apart from trying to
figure out what to do with the competence check list. Last Friday our
preliminary track schedule for forth year was placed in our mail box
and we can now begin to make arrangements for electives at different
sites.
2) In addition, the process of getting a Board Prep Program is still in
progress and we will be finding out which program it's going to be
very soon, probably next month. Also we are hoping to work with
academic affairs to move up our PE prep to sometime between June
and July compared to when the present IV years had theirs. This way
those that plan to take their COMLEX PE early will benefit from it.
3) Lastly, Class Council will also be hosting a Class Party on Feb 27th at
Garrett's house, friends and acquaintances are welcome to attend
(C) 2011
1) The SOM Class of 2011 finished the OB/GYN module, and is now
working towards stomaching Gastroenterology for Monday, March
2nd.
2) Kaplan Medical COMLEX/USMLE preparation has begun for SOM
2011. The first class, Biochemistry with Dr. Seastone (Ph.D./D.O.) on
Thursday February 5, 2009, was a memorable, if not daunting, first
prep step.
3) Track selection for SOM 2011 was on Thursday, January 29, 2009.
Mostly everyone was able to select the track they desired. There was a
big turnout for the North Jersey track. Laura Hesselink won the class
pool of $95 for being last selected in the lottery.
4) SOM 2011 was invited to a party in Philadelphia hosted by Temple
Dental School, on Friday, February 20th
(D) 2012
1) This week marked the end of the first block of exams for our class this
semester. In anatomy, we will be focusing on the head and neck, in
neuroscience, we will be focusing on the brain stem and cranial nerves
and in microbiology we will be focusing on infections of the skin, eyes
and central nervous system. Both the PBL students as well as the
traditional students will continue with professionalism and OMM. Our
course director for OMM has been changed to Dr. Mason, and we will
begin working with him on the pelvis.
2) As far as our class council goes, we have begun planning on the
anatomy memorial for this year; Nidhi Shah has volunteered to be the
chairperson for the memorial committee which is currently being
assembled. We are also looking forward to our first social directors
meeting, in which our probationary social directors will plan upcoming
social and fundraising events with members of our class council as
well as students from our class. Other than that, we are looking
forward to the upcoming medicine ball
VI. Committee Reports:
(A) Curriculum:
1) The curriculum committee made the following actions this month:
a) Approved a change in the new curriculum Year 1 schedule
and requirements, including:
i.
A new schedule spreading some blocks in semester
one to semester two in order to balance student
load.
ii. Elimination of the requirement to pass all semester
one work before entering semester 2.
b) Approval of a new exam administration and proctoring
policy that provides for:
i.
Proctor training in regards to exam policy
ii. Restricted materials in the exam room: no items will
be allowed into the testing room except beverages
(water, coffee as previously allowed),
medications/medical devices that are essential
(inhalers, insulin) that must be pre-approved by
Academic Affairs and calculators if approved by the
given exam administrator. All items brought into
the testing room are subject to inspection
c) Considered a bylaws revision that codifies 5 student votes in
the curriculum committee. The noted discussion was tabled
and returned for further consideration by the general faculty.
(B) Student Affairs:
1) The SA Committee met at 7am this morning. Dr. Jermyn will be
heading the committee now and Dr. Kruger will be attending as well.
2) The committee is currently addressing the (unusually long) time that it
takes for students to receive test grades, evaluations etc.
3) The new updated "Academic Progress Handbook" is in its final drafts
and we will update STUCO when it passes and what changes were
made.
4) The next "Academic Progress Committee" also known as the "Student
Affairs Committee" meeting will be at 7am on February 24th (the last
Tuesday of the month).
(C) Honor Code:
1) The Honor Code draft was discussed and reviewed today, with
modifications being made under many of the headings to cover any
relevant subjects not previously mentioned. Updated version will be
sent out to honor council for another review, and brought before the
honor council at the next meeting in a finalized draft. From there, we
hope to have a finalized version to present to STUCO.
(D) Alumni Affairs:
1) No report
(E) Public Relations:
1) No report
VII. Club Affairs:
(A) None.
VIII. Old Business:
(A) None.
IX. New Business
(A)
Funding request from SOSA for spring conference
SOSA submitted a request to fund 20 students to travel to the SOSA
annual national spring conference at the Philadelphia College of
Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia, PA where 2 members are expected
to run for national positions. The SOM SOSA club is granting $30/
member and SOSA was able to raise some funds from their supply sale
fundraiser. They plan to carpool and hence did not request any money for
transportation. They have also applied to SOMAFF for $15/person but
because the SOMAFF submission deadline is after the conference, this
money is not guaranteed. SOSA requested 20/student from STUCO for a
total of $400.
Ultimately SOSA was awarded $10/ student for a total of $200 with the
stipulation that SOSA will be present at the 2010 Grant Recipient Dinner.
The decision was approved by a vote of 9 with 4 abstentions
(B)
Funding request from SPMA for the Joint ACOP/AAP Future of
Pediatrics conference.
SPMA submitted a request to fund six students to attend the Future of
Pediatric conference in Anaheim, CA from February 26th to March 1st.
The request was presented by Carolyn Botros, Chris Garcia and Danielle
Mercurio. They explained to the council that this is a great opportunity to
expose students interested in pursuing a career in Pediatrics to very critical
issues and practices within the field. It will also give them an opportunity
to interact with and get the advice of practicing Pediatricians as well as to
interact with the Allopathic side of medicine as it is a joint conference.
They explained that SPMA was the runner up for Club of the Year and
stressed that it is important to have a good number of Osteopathic medical
students present in order to have a good representation of our school and
the pediatric profession at the conference. They further stated that they
will be presenting a PowerPoint, scrapbook, and poster of all of their club
events from the past year in an attempt to be awarded the “Club of the
Year” for the UMDNJ-SOM Student Pediatric Medical Association
Chapter. They stated that along with the Rita’s Water ice Wednesday’s
fundraiser, they had requested funds from both SOMAFF and the pediatric
department and that the SPMA club at SOM was contributing $50/
student. They requested $323.25/student from STUCO for a total of
$1939.50.
Ultimately they were awarded $131/student for a total of $786 with the
stipulation that SPMA will be present at the 2010 Grant Recipient Dinner.
The decision was unanimously approved.
(C)
Funding request from ACOFP
ACOFP submitted a request to fund 25 students to attend the American
College of Osteopathic Family Physicians 46th Annual Convention and
Exhibition at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in
Washington D.C from March 3rd - 8th. The request was presented by
Kristiana Bekhit and Carolyn Botros. They explained to the council that
students will participate in DO Day on the Hill as well as attend the
ACOFP convention house of delegates and student program including
awards, speeches, elections, OMT workshops, talks about medical
marriages and moonlighting, a UMDNJ-SOM alumni reception and a
breakfast with Dean Cavalieri. They stated that ACOFP at SOM was
contributing $1000 for the event and that they had organized two
fundraisers (the Lollipop sale and White Coat embroidery). Furthermore
they had requested funding from ACOFP state and the UMDNJ-SOM
Family Medicine Department. They requested funding for 25 students
from STUCO however only 11 students had confirmed attendance and this
was taken into consideration by the council. They requested $200/student
for a total of $5000.
Ultimately they were awarded $45/student for 11 students for a total of
$495 with the stipulation that ACOFP will be present at the 2010 Grant
Recipient Dinner. The decision was approved unanimously.
(D)
Funding request from SNMA for National Conference
SNMA submitted a request to fund 9 students to attend the SNMA Annual
Medical Education Conference in New Orleans, LA from April 8th – 12th.
The request was presented by Bobbie Daniels and Kimberly Young. They
explained to the council that attending the conference allow them to
expand on their medical education through the many workshops and
presentations that are planned. They will also be participating in a
community service project at the host site. This event is a time to network
and learn from various physicians in all different specialties and it presents
a unique opportunity for them to represent osteopathic medicine to the
entire medical community. They stated that SNMA at SOM was
contributing $100/student and the Dean’s department was going to
contribute $1000. They are also planning on requesting funds from
SOMAFF.
Ultimately SNMA was awarded $163.35/ student for a total of $1470.15
with the stipulation that SNMA will be present at the 2010 Grant
Recipient Dinner. The decision was unanimously approved.
(E)
Funding request from UAAO for American Academy of Osteopathy
Convocation 2009.
UAAO submitted a request to fund 10 students to attend the
Undergraduate/ American Academy of Osteopathy Annual Convocation
at The Peabody in Little Rock, Arkansas from March 25th- 29th. The
request was presented by Lori Hener and Chris Leo Dionaldo. They
explained to the council that the conference will provide educational
opportunities through seminars and workshops by leaders in the field as
well as interactions with leaders, educators, and other students. They
further stated that the AAO Education Committee has designed a format
for the 2008 AAO Convocation to accommodate both physicians and
students who desire increased accessibility to hands-on workshops. During
days one and two, hands-on workshops are scheduled in the morning for
students while the faculty is delivering lectures to physician attendees.
Students lecture topics will focus on information valuable to the needs of
medical students. They also informed that council tat of the 10 students
wishing to attend, one student is the on the national IT committee board.
The SOM UAAO club is contributing $2000 for the event and they have
held two fundraisers (Panera Bread Baked Goods Fundraiser and T-shirt
sales). They have also requested $150/person from SOMAFF as well as
funds from the OMM department but no monies have been guaranteed.
They requested $175/student from STUCO for a total of $1750.
Ultimately they were awarded $157.50/student for a total of $1575. The
decision was unanimously approved
(F)
Funding request from Bobbie Daniels for SNMA Annual Medical
Education Convention
Bobbie Daniels OMS III submitted a request for funding for herself to
travel to the SNMA Annual Medical Education Conference in New
Orleans, LA from April 8th- 12th . She stated to the council that she holds
the National Academic Affairs chair and as a national board member she
is required to attend conference for the entire 5 day duration. She further
explained that SNMA AMEC is the annual convention of the organization.
It is an event in which students and professionals gather to attend a host of
networking and educational events. AMEC attracts students from all levels
of medical education and is the largest gathering of underrepresented
minority medical students in the country. She also confirmed that she
would be getting $100 from the SOM SNMA club and requested a total of
$425 from STUCO.
Ultimately she was awarded $225 with the stipulation that she will be
present at the 2010 Grant Recipient Dinner. The decision was approved by
a vote of 10 with 2 vetos and 2 abstentions.
(G)
Funding request from Michael Desiderio and Russell Mordecai for poster
presentation
Michael C Desiderio OMS II and Russell Mordecai OMS II submitted a
joint request to fund themselves to attend the American Heart Association
Atherosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Conference in
Washington D.C from April 29th- May 1st. They stated that they wish to
attend the conference to present their poster titled “Spectral
characterization of the aortic flow waveform: Identifying factors relating
to hypertension”. They further stated that the acceptance of their abstract
is still pending. They have also applied for the Merit grant which will give
them $1000 in which case they would not need STUCO funding.
However, the decision of the grant will not be know until early March.
They requested $363/student for a total of $727 from STUCO.
Ultimately they were awarded $150/student for a total of $300 to cover the
cost of registration. The award was granted with the stipulation that if they
were awarded the Merit grant then they shall not receive the afore
mentioned funds from STUCO. Furthermore, if they do not receive the
grant and utilize the STUCO funds they are to present at the 2010 Grant
Recipient Dinner. The decision was approved by a vote of 13 with 1
abstention.
(H)
Funding request from Betty Chung for Patient Safety and Medical Quality
Pre-Convention Symposium
Betty Chung submitted a request to fund herself to attend the 2009 Patient
Safety and Medical Quality Pre-Convention Symposium on March 11th in
Washington D.C. The request was presented by Farhad Modarai OMS I.
The submitted request stated that the event is as an opportunity for
students of various health professions to take part in an intensive,
interdisciplinary exploration of Patient Safety, Medical Error, and
mechanisms for working for improved Medical Quality. The symposium
will include two keynote addresses, two patient care simulations, and 4-5
interactive workshops. There will be also be the added opportunity for
those interested, to work together to design and develop projects that will
address patient safety and medical quality in the communities from which
you come. Students must apply and be chosen to attend this preconvention symposium.
Betty requested a total of $180 from STUCO.
Ultimately she was awarded the sum of $60 to cover the cost of
registration with the stipulation that she is to present at the 2010 Grant
Recipient Dinner. The decision was approved by a vote of 6 with 5 vetos
and 3 abstentions.
(I)
Funding request from Betty Chung for the 2009 Annual AMSA
conference
Betty Chung submitted a request to fund herself to attend the 2009 AMSA
Conference from March 15th- 19th in Arlington, VA. The request was
presented by Farhad Modarai OMS I. The submitted request stated that as
a past attendee one of the AMSA leadership institutes this year, one of the
mandatory requirements is to attend the Annual Convention. Betty also
stated that she is considering running for a chair position on AMSA’s
National Action Committees as well as the position of National
Coordinator of the Osteopathic Medicine Interest Group.
Betty requested a total of $165 from STUCO.
Ultimately she was awarded $75 for registration. The decision was
approved by a vote of 11 with 3 abstentions.
( J)
Infectious Disease Club- Reinstatement of Active Status
Parth Patel submitted a request to re-instate the active status of the ID club
at SOM. He informed the council that the Infectious Disease club has
finished the 3 month reactivation trial period. Over the course of the trail
period, they held seven events and have managed to recruit 42 students
with Dr Todd Levin serving as their mentor. They plan to hold another
fundraiser on February 19th as well as another ID review and club
elections on March 10th.
Ultimately the ID club reinstatement request was unanimously approved
by the council.
(K)
Funding request from Infectious Disease club for spring club events
The ID club submitted a request to fund two spring club events namely an
ID review and club elections with Dr Levin. They stated to the council that
as a newly elected club, they had very limited funds available for any club
activities and that they have a fundraiser scheduled for next week.. They
requested a total of $100 from STUCO.
Ultimately they were awarded $100. The decision was approved
unanimously.
(L)
Pathology club – Reinstatement of probationary status
Jeanine Chiaffarano represented the pathology club and requested that the
club be reinstated to its previous probationary status. She informed the
council that they had met the reactivation period requirements by holding
6 events and recruiting 32 members. At this time she requested that the
council grant the club temporary probabtionary status. Ultimately the
council determined that the club had met all requirements for the
reactivation period and were to return in the fall to be considered for
activation. The decision was approved unanimously.
(M)
AdHoc committee- election guidelines
The AdHoc committee presented the final draft of their election guidelines
to the council. They informed the council that they had collaborated with
the Honor Code committee who is in full support of the guidelines and are
also part of the election committee in the event that there is a contest.
They further stated that at the present time they are planning to open
nomination from March 2nd -5th and will inform the candidates of their
nominations on March 6th and 7th after which speeches will be held on
March 17th and 18th. Online voting will be open from March 18th – 23rd
and the winners will be announced on March 24th by midnight. After the
speeches are emailed to the student body, an online forum will be open for
Q & A for the candidates. Again, there will be no campaigning.
Ultimately the amendments to the election guidelines were approved
unanimously by the council and the changes will be reflected in the
constitution.
X. Motion to adjourn
(A)
The meeting was adjourned at 10:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kirin Syed
STUCO Secretary