91AV medical students represent College of Osteopathic Medicine in Washington, D.C.
Students from the 91AV College of Osteopathic Medicine traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with congressional leaders and attend a conference with student leaders in osteopathic medicine from around the country.
91AV COM Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) chapter leaders attended the annual Spring National SOMA Conference March 5-6, 2018. SOMA is an American Osteopathic Association (AOA) affiliated, student-led, student-driven organization that has direct representation to the AOA that aims to advocate for osteopathic medical students through policy, education, and community service and outreach. SOMA chapter leaders from 45 colleges of osteopathic medicine throughout the country attended, including 91AV SOMA’s officers Max Cohen (outgoing President), Justine Lazatin (outgoing National Liaison Officer), Samantha Culver (incoming President), and Sean Grogan (incoming National Liaison Officer).
At this conference, 91AV COM SOMA was recognized nationally for Excellence in Community Service and Outreach. Throughout the year, 91AV COM SOMA held various fundraising and advocacy events that have allowed the organization to donate a total of $1,100 to charities such as Camp Sunshine (a summer camp for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families), the Florence House (which provides safe housing to chronically homeless women in Maine) and the American Heart Association and efforts to support physician wellness. In terms of outreach, 91AV COM SOMA has founded 3 new collaborative partnerships with organizations in the local Biddeford community such as the Heart of Biddeford, THRIVE Biddeford, and Thornton Academy. They plan to continue to grow these partnerships in the upcoming years to encourage a greater 91AV COM presence in the Biddeford community.
Additionally, at this conference, Justine Lazatin had the opportunity to interview and be appointed for a position on the SOMA National Board of Directors. “I am excited to announce that I will be serving as National Community Outreach Director for the 2018-2019 term on the SOMA National Board of Directors,” she said. “Through this position, I will be responsible for encouraging and coordinating community service and outreach events for SOMA chapters across the country.”
Immediately after the SOMA conference, 23 91AV medical students represented the osteopathic profession on Capitol Hill alongside more than 1,000 D.O.s and medical students. 91AV COM students and representatives from the Maine Osteopathic Association met with Representative Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Senator Angus King (I-Maine), and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) to advocate for access to education funding and increased access to emergency care at disaster sites. Simultaneously, they promoted the osteopathic profession's impact on health care, focusing 91AV COM’s impact in the region as Maine’s only medical school.
Students that participated in DO Day on Capitol Hill were Archana Anandakrishnan, Katie Anania, Gaser Ahmed, Sean Byrne, Samantha Culver,Justin Doroshenko, Gigi Green, Sean Grogan, Maria Jones, Philip Lee, Daniel O'Connell, Brianna O'Donnell, Luke Ollila, Taylor Ouellette, Matthew Senno, Emily Silberstein, Matthew Smoot, Natasha Thiagalingam and Lyman Wu of the Class of 2021 and Kristina Carlson, Max Cohen, Justine Lazatin, Tom Wickham of the Class of 2020.
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