Category Archives: Medical School

The Coast Guard will begin training its own physicians to help fill vacancies in medical staff amidst a nationwide shortage of health care professionals.

The service is expanding two programs that would sponsor Coast Guard members through medical school at the Uniformed Services University of Health Services School of Medicine (USUHS SOM):

The Coast Guard currently has two commissioned officers attending USUHS as medical students. The plan is to have four Coast Guard members begin medical school training and one Coast Guard enlisted member begin premed training in the 2023 academic year.

Selection is a two-step process: 1. Applying to a Coast Guard selection panel (which will include an interview), 2. Applying to USUHS or EMPD2. You can find application packages and other required information on the USUHS admissions page. Email your completed application materials as one PDF package, to Capt. Shane Steiner no later than Oct. 12. More details and requirements are in the Solicitation for 2023 Physician Training Applications ALCOAST 354-22.

The physician training program is part of a wider effort by the Coast Guard to meet its need for health service officers particularly, doctors and dentists as supply tightens and seasoned practitioners separate from the service. In the Commandants Intent, Adm. Linda Fagan directed the enterprise to establish new ways of accessing, training, and developing active duty medical doctors and dentists. On Aug. 5, the Coast Guard began direct commissioning of health service officers.

Previously, the Coast Guard had relied solely on Public Health Service (PHS) Officers to fill medical, dental, and other healthcare positions. A nationwide doctor shortage, exacerbated by the pandemic, has made it necessary for the service to look for additional ways to meet its healthcare needs.

The goal is to have a sustainable model for filling positions, said Rear Adm. Dana Thomas, Director of Health, Safety and Work-Life at CG-11. The U.S. was in a bad situation regarding primary care access before the pandemic. We have experienced a graying of medicine nationally many older providers, not enough younger docs to replace them. Post COVID-19, the situation has worsened. Looking at our Coast Guard physicians, 75% can or will be retired in the next five years.

The Coast Guard is also looking into getting authority to create a Coast Guard Health Service Officer Corps (HSOC) through a Legislative Change Proposal (LCP). This would allow the Coast Guard to manage the careers of Coast Guard Health Services Officers similar to how they are managed in the other Armed Forces such as separate promotion lists that do not count against Coast Guard active or reserve controlled-grade promotion strength or opportunity.

This is a life or death situation, Thomas said. Having the doctors we need determines whether our people are safe to fly, safe to be on a cutter, safe to do any mission. It also determines whether they can do those missions knowing their families are taken care of. In the future the Coast Guard may also need to provide care to our family members in remote locations.

Resources:

Read the rest here:
Coast Guard will begin new physician training to help staff clinics - MyCG

When longtime Oklahoma resident Christen Jarshaw joined the OU College of Medicines class of 2023, she knew the limitations she would encounter as a studying provider with interests in OB-GYN.

She stayed in state because she wanted to improve Oklahomas 1,630-to-1 patient-to-provider ratio and increase access to reproductive health care in a state burdened by uncomprehensive sex education and the fourth highest maternal mortality rate in the U.S., as of 2018.

Jarshaw, who is in her first year of clinical training, is among OU medical and pre-med students who are considering leaving Oklahoma to expand their education on reproductive health care. But the reasons behind their applications to out-of-state medical schools and residencies are more complicated than the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Laws like House Bill 4327 and Senate Bill 1503 which allow anyone to sue someone who provides abortions or aids and abets someone in accessing abortion limit OU medical students opportunities to counsel patients. But their ability to learn how to provide abortions has already been restricted by state funding to cases of rape, incest and threats to maternal life for many years.

The hands of faculty from the OU College of Medicine have long been tied by legislative framework inhibiting what they can teach about abortions. For many soon-to-be physicians in Oklahoma, the Dobbs v. Jackson decision was the final straw.

OU Medical Students for Choice on August 24.

The OU College of Medicines curriculum is split into preclinical for the first two years of medical school and clinical training for the remaining two. Jarshaw said medical students take their first course about reproduction in the second semester of their second year of preclinical curriculum.

The course is designed to teach undergraduate medical students about the normal and abnormal structure, function and development of male and female reproductive systems with an emphasis on treatment options for conditions and functions that are specific to women, according to the college of medicines curriculum.

Alexandra Regens, an OB-GYN resident physician at the OU Health Sciences Center who helps organize curriculum on reproductive topics, said she doesnt expect the overturning of Roe v. Wade to impact what she can include in the courses curriculum. She said its impossible to talk about reproductive health care without including conversations on abortion and abortion access.

But beyond this course, Jarshaw said state legislation already prevented medical students interested in abortion care from effectively furthering their education at OU, causing many to either lobby for an expansion of curriculum or look outside the traditional medical system.

For Jarshaw, this was not an issue. She joined OUHSC Medical Students for Choice during her first year and serves as the groups co-president. There, she participates in educational events and lobbies alongside her peers for more comprehensive education.

She also volunteered in less restrictive medical facilities outside OU to further her skills in obstetrics and gynecology. But the overturning of Roe v. Wade limits Jarshaws access to opportunities outside of medical school, meaning she has to rely on clinical training in a space whose services were already limited by state funding.

Regens, who is also the associate clerkship director for third-year medical students, said students entering clinical training will experience the greatest impacts on their learning, as the universitys clinic can only provide abortions in cases threatening maternal life.

Before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, providers in the college could also counsel patients and connect them to external resources. Now, because Oklahoma prohibits anyone from aiding or abetting someone in accessing abortion, they are limited in how they can guide patients.

The need for abortion care exists, Jarshaw said, as patients carrying unwanted pregnancies have made it to the doors of OU's clinic. If the political landscape looked different, Jarshaw could implement the counseling skills she learned from OU or outside involvements.

Christen Jarshaw attending a protest at the Oklahoma state Capitol after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. She is co-president of OUHSC Medical Students for Choice.

The frustration shared between patients and providers is apparent in moments of silence, Jarshaw said, as she and her patients take deep, deliberate breaths. She said it feels like a disservice to know clinical guidelines but be prohibited from following them in ways that would align with everyones experience and morals.

I think everyone across the board is incredibly dissatisfied and upset with the concept that the government is determining what we can and cant say to our patients, Jarshaw said. The patient-and-provider relationship is no longer private and sacred.

Now, Jarshaw is considering whether her studies will continue at OU as she applies for residencies. A close adviser encouraged her to try studying out of state, but she doesnt know where she could go.

Its a reality many current and future medical students face at OU.

OU Health Communications Director April Sandefer wrote in an email to the Daily that, as an academic health system, OU Health provides comprehensive care for women and children of all ages and at all stages of life. She wrote that their health care complies with state and federal laws along with health care regulations and compliance, and they will continue to monitor state and federal legislation and legal changes and ensure full alignment as new laws are enacted.

Some OU pre-med and medical students dont want to wait for legislation to change and are considering other options while they are earlier in their education.

Danielle Digoy, a second-year preclinical medical student, became passionate about reproductive care because of her grandma, who died from cervical cancer when she was in middle school.

Although she is not set on a specialty, Digoy enjoys shadowing OB-GYNs and participates in OUHSC Medical Students for Choice to further her education on reproductive health. She even volunteered at Oklahoma Citys Trust Women Clinic for a few weeks before it shut down.

Oklahoma is where Digoys family lives and where she has planned to stay in the long term, but she fears she will have to travel out of state to continue learning how to provide comprehensive care in abortion provision and counseling.

The state already faces a shortage of OB-GYNs, and Digoy fears the patient-to-provider ratio will continue to shrink if medical students feel they cant access comprehensive education.

We need people who feel this obligation, provide high-quality patient care and provide for their patients and advocate for them, Digoy said. We don't want them all to leave.

Megan Talbot, a biology pre-med senior, is a peer health educator at the OU Goddard Health Center and participates in OU Womens Health Advocacy, a group focused on increasing campus awareness of womens health, tackling stigma and easing access, according to its Instagram page. Both involvements have expanded her interest in OB-GYN by providing spaces for students to discuss and learn about reproductive health care.

Talbot also faces the reality that if she applies to medical school in Oklahoma, she will experience limitations in what she can study. She said she is applying to medical schools in California to receive a comprehensive education.

An OU Physicians white coat with a stethoscope in the shape of a uterus.

Physician shortages and patient needs are both things Talbot said she is keeping in mind, but she wonders how the state can expect her to stay when they are limiting how she could care for Oklahomans.

Luckily, I have more time, but even when I'm looking at medical schools it's very limited because, also as a person of color, I don't want to stay here, Talbot said. I want to go somewhere where I can learn the full scope of medicine and not be limited in my education as a provider because should there come a day where abortion is totally fine, I want to be able to provide that medical care, if necessary.

Regens said she doesnt blame medical students for wanting to leave Oklahoma when there are legal, financial and criminal repercussions for physicians, but that the states continued shortage of providers has the potential to be very dangerous.

Our best shot is the people who are from here, people who have trained here and people who have ties to the state. Its not a time that I would think a lot of physicians from our state are wanting to come here, Regens said.

Outside of Oklahoma, there are 21 states where there is expanded or protected access to abortion, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. The closest options for students in Oklahoma seeking more comprehensive abortion education are in Kansas and Colorado.

At the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, providers operate under statutory protections, meaning abortions at any stage of pregnancy are protected as a fundamental right. Michael Belmonte, the colleges senior fellow in complex family planning, chose to work and educate residents in Colorado for this reason.

Belmonte came to Colorado after he completed a residencyat Indiana University, where he could only perform abortions in cases threatening maternal life. Now, he can effectively perform abortions up to 24 weeks and, in certain cases, beyond that.

The universitys educational programs usually include upper-level medical students and residents in the operating room. Starting as early as their first year in residency, students build up basic surgical skills and enter their second year feeling comfortable providing first-trimester abortions.

Belmonte had to wait until the end of his residency in Indiana to provide first-term abortions. He said Colorado students ability to learn how to perform these procedures and counsel patients early helps decrease the stigma felt by the provider and patient.

It really normalizes abortion and makes it a health care decision that you come to with your medical provider and, because of the lack of barriers here, that can start the same day that you decide that this is what you want to do. Being able to support our patients in any choice that they make and doing my best to make that as comfortable and seamless as possible is a really nice change, Belmonte said.

In light of restrictions placed in other states, Belmonte said the universitys clinic has seen more demand. It began with the passage of Texas near-total abortion ban and has only increased with the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Belmontesaid he wassurprised to hear just how far people need to travel,as its difficult to track down clinics with available appointments, even if a patient lives near a state with fewer restrictions.

Belmonte said he cant fully quantify how many people they see each day, as that number fluctuates depending on circumstances, but there have been moments where their phones were ringing off the hook. A high patient load means students receive a lot of training opportunities, but he said its unfortunately at the expense of their patients difficult circumstances.

Looking ahead, Belmonte said there have been conversations at the University of Colorado about how to open opportunities to medical students, residents and fellows studying in programs restricted by state laws.

It would be logistically challenging, Belmonte said, as there would have to be contracts written between universities, and students would need malpractice insurance. Partnering universities would also have to decide who would pay for expenses like lodging and traveling.

As a former medical resident in Indiana, Belmonte recognizes the considerations and restrictions medical students in states like Oklahoma are experiencing. He said hes felt intimated by anti-abortion advocates, who have sent him anonymous letters and followed him home.

He said he knows hes privileged to practice in an accepting and supportive environment and feels nothing but empathy for students who are being forced to decide if they will stay close to their in-state support system or seek education out of state.

It's just a matter of what you prioritize, and it's OK to prioritize being in your home state or city with your family with the intention of building those skills in other ways, Belmonte said. I hope those opportunities will continue to grow as we settle from all the changes that have been happening very rapidly.

Medical Students for Choice pamphlet on August 24.

In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade being overturned, the intersection of policy and medicine is becoming increasingly clear to the general public. Abortion has become a top issue in the upcoming midterm elections and is pushing more people to vote in November.

But for medical students and providers in Oklahoma, the overturning of Roe v. Wade was more so a continuation of medicine clashing with policy.

Regens, who is also a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said she tries to use her experience in advocacy work to equip medical students and residents. She organizes an advocacy curriculum for OB-GYN residents and provides sessions in the colleges reproductive course reflecting on Oklahomas status in womens health.

She also invites students in OUs OB-GYN interest group to advocacy days at the Oklahoma state Capitol, where they have advocated against several bills restricting abortion that have come through the state over the years.

The main issue these students face is that many legislators have made up their minds on abortion, Regens said. ACOG is against any bill that limits access to abortion care, but Oklahoma providers must also move the needle on issues like maternal mortality and access to contraception.

Regens said they have to pick and choose their battles.

Its frustrating to medical students like Jarshaw. She has always seen the gaps in Oklahomas reproductive health care system and is dedicating her 20s to clinical training so she can help fill them.

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, Jarshaw woke up to five texts from friends confirming what she already knew was coming. Her education would continue to be dictated by government officials who hadnt completed the years of medical training she had.

All she could do was put her phone down, get up and clean something in her apartment. She took care of what was around because she knew as many medical students did that day she couldnt fix what was happening outside her closed doors.

Read the original post:
OU medical students fear state legislation will further restrict access to comprehensive reproductive education - The Oklahoma Daily

Photo: Audio und werbung (Shutterstock)

If theres one thing we know here at The Root Bedside Baptist Church, its that a delay doesnt mean a denial. (Come on somebody.) And in the case of mechanic turned medical doctor, Carl Allamby, no statement could be more true. While pursuing a medical degree is a long road for anybody, for Dr. Allamby of East Cleveland, Ohio, realizing his lifelong goal of practicing medicine would take him more than 30 years.

Growing up in the 70s in a small suburb in East Cleveland as one of five siblings to a door to door salesman and stay at home mother, Allamby didnt have it easy. As he told Fox News, he recalls many times going without food, gas, and electricity in his home.

We faced economic hardships throughout my upbringing and were on welfare for what seemed to be my entire childhood, said Allamby.

And if not for government handouts, he said, we would have been without food on many occasions.

He added, I remember having a desire at a young age to become a doctor but my life circumstances led me to a much different place.

G/O Media may get a commission

Releases November 30Borrowing the display from the much-beloved Paperwhite, this screen provides a glare-free experience both indoors and outdoors so you can read by the pool or on the beach on a sunny day. New to this model is the inclusion of a pen. Take notes directly on the pages as you might in a traditional book, but the notes are automatically organized by title in a single placeletting you review and export them with ease.

And while it was difficult at times, Allamby credits his perseverance and ambition to his family.

My saving grace, added Allamby, was our strong family structure. My siblings and I always stuck together and weathered our hardships as a team, he told Fox.

It was this ambition that motivated Allamby to take on a part time job at a local auto repair shop during high school. He then began performing repairs and offering maintenance services as a side gig. But that wouldnt lend enough financial support to his family. And so at only 19, Allamby opened his first auto repair shop.

In a sense, I started Allambys Auto Service mostly out of desperation and necessity, he said.

Throughout the years, (25 to be exact), Allambys business grew, and so did his own family. During this time, the mechanic had gotten married and began raising his own children. Despite running a successful shop, Allamby found that he still struggled financially, and wanted a change. So in 2006, Allamby enrolled in Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio at the age of 34, taking classes in the evening while still maintaining his business.

While Allamby originally pursued a business degree, it would be an introductory biology class that would reignite the passion he once held for medicine.

Learning about some of the incredible basic functions of the body reminded me of my childhood ambitions to become a doctor, Allamby told Fox News Digital.

And so, in 2010, Allamby started to take pre-med classes at Cuyahoga Community College, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was later accepted into Cleveland State University to prepare him for medical school.

Over the course of five years or better, I attended weekend, evening or early morning classes in pre-medicine and other college studies while managing my business, lifestyle and household in order to transition my career, he said.

Going back to school can be tough for any adult student, but Allamby says that being older helped him remain focused and helped him recall the family who was counting on him to succeed. And succeed he did. In 2022, he began his first job in an emergency room as an attending physician. When asked if he had any advice to provide to those going for their goals later in life, he had this to say:

I feel we all have the opportunity to make our lives better. If you want it, go after it. Dont give up. Plan your work and work your plan. Your sacrifices today will produce advantages for tomorrow.

Go here to see the original:
From Motors to Medicine: An East Cleveland Auto Mechanic Becomes A Doctor At 47 - The Root

Drs. Michael Stifelman, Mutahar Ahmed and Mubashir Shabil Billah hosted invited faculty, residents and fellows for a weekend educational program that offered hands-on experience

Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Centers Department of Urology experts hosted a national Single Port Symposium for urology residents and fellows on September 17-18, 2022, at Hekemian Auditorium on the Hackensack University Medical Center campus in Hackensack, NJ.

The weekend-long symposium gave residents and fellows from across the U.S. - traveling from institutions including Stanford, Yale, University of California (UC)-Irvine, Cornell, UC-San Francisco, Baylor, NYU and more - an opportunity to learn from some of the worlds most experienced single port urologic surgeons. The symposium was made possible by a grant from the Endourology Society and the departments Urology Education Fund.

The symposium included expert didactic lectures and the opportunity to observe three live surgeries - a kidney, prostate and reconstruction procedure - performed using the da Vinci SP Single Port Robotic Surgical System. The da Vinci SP allows urologic surgeons to perform complex urological procedures through a single half-inch incision. All participants had access to the single port system and participated in hands-on training using hydrogel simulation models.

The symposium was hosted by Hackensack University Medical Center Department of Urology faculty members, including:

Invited faculty included:

Our goal for the symposium is to educate residents and fellows on how to use the technology and provide them with skills that enable them to teach this new technology to future urologists, said Dr. Stifelman.

Excerpt from:
Hackensack University Medical Center Takes the Lead Educating Surgeons on Single Port Robotic Surgery Technology - Hackensack Meridian Health

(Washington, DC) Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Universal Health Services (UHS) announced a plan to expand the size of the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health in Ward 8 on the St. Elizabeths East Campus. The expansion is made possible through a $17 million investment from Universal Health Services and will allow an additional fourth patient floor and larger diagnostic and treatment to be included in the new hospital. The new floor will be able to accommodate 48 additional beds in the future, as need arises increasing the total number of beds from 136 to 184. The additional beds and diagnostic space will provide flexibility in responding to future health and regional emergencies. When it opens its doors to patients in early 2025, the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health will be the first inpatient facility to open in the District in over 20 years. The state-of-the-art, full-service hospital also includes a trauma center, ambulatory pavilion for physician offices, clinics and community space, a 500-car garage, and a helipad for emergency transports.

With Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health, we are delivering the hospital our community deserves, said Mayor Bowser. At every stage of planning this new hospital, we have been limitless in our vision for how we can build a healthier and more equitable DC. Now, we are giving that vision even more room to grow so that no matter what comes our way in the future, our state-of-the-art hospital in Ward 8 will be ready to support the needs of our community.

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C (adjacent to the new hospital) and Councilmember Vincent Gray, Chair of the Health Committee, are in support and the required regulatory commissions have approved of an expanded facility. Expanding the hospital will require moving the opening of the new hospital from December 2024 to early 2025. The additional floor is estimated to cost $11.5 million, paid for entirely by UHS. The expanded diagnostic and treatment area is estimated to cost $11 million and will be shared between UHS and the District, at $5.5 million each. The additions add 58,000 square feet to the hospital, for a total of 407,000 square feet.

Our investment in Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health continues to demonstrate UHS commitment to providing a wide array of critical healthcare services East of the Anacostia River, said Kimberly Russo, MBA, MS, Group Vice President of the Washington, DC Region for UHS and Chief Executive Officer of GW Hospital. This $17 million UHS contribution is earmarked for the hospitals expansion, strategically focused on addressing the needs of the community by providing additional space for expanded diagnostic and patient treatment areas.

Services at the new 407,000 square foot Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health will include:

I am very excited that we are building the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health hospital with the shell space to grow into the nations premier community hospital with 184 beds, said Councilmember Gray. When I met with Dr. Elaine Batchlor, the CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, in Los Angeles, she advised us to build our new hospital with room to grow. I commend Universal Health Services for funding the $17 million for this increased 48-bed capacity and larger hospital, and Mayor Bowser on her continued leadership and commitment to this transformational hospital project that will create a generational shift for health equity in the city, as part of our vision to create a comprehensive system of healthcare on the District's East End.

Named after Frederick Douglasss historic residence in Anacostia, Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health will be fully integrated with two new urgent care facilities, existing providers, and the George Washington University Hospital to establish a robust system of care for all District residents and in particular, communities east of the Anacostia River.

As previously announced by the Mayor, practitioners, physicians, and academic medicine at the new medical center will be provided by the George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates and the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Childrens National Hospital pediatricians, nurses, and physician assistants will provide infant and pediatric care. Specifically, Childrens National staff will operate the pediatric emergency department and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

This generational health care project builds on Mayor Bowsers continued investments in Ward 8.In just the last year, the Mayor opened the new 801 East Mens Shelter and broke ground on the new Whitman-Walker Clinic and opened the Townhomes at St. Elizabeths East. Last year, the hospital design, completed by HOK and McKissack & McKissack, was approved by the United States Commission of Fine Arts and received its Certificate of Need from the State Health Planning and Development Agency.

Social Media:Mayor Bowser Twitter:@MayorBowserMayor Bowser Instagram:@Mayor_BowserMayor Bowser Facebook:facebook.com/MayorMurielBowserMayor Bowser YouTube:https://www.bit.ly/eomvideos

Read the original:
Mayor Bowser and Universal Health Services Announce Plan to Expand Size of Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health, Adding a Fourth Patient...

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine students always remember their first patient and since the schools launch, Dan Schlegel has had a key role in those relationships.

The reason?

Schlegel has managed OUWBs Anatomy Lab since its start in 2011.

He is responsible for taking care of the lab and the donors in this context, that primarily means people who made a pre-death decision to donate their respective bodies to science so that medical students can study and truly understand structures within the human body.

Its a unique job that Schlegel says generally elicits one of two reactions.

People are either super interested and ask a lot of questions, he says with a smile. Or they just kind of back away slowly.

Regardless, Schlegel says he never forgets what the job is really all about.

For me, its all about working with the students and faculty to help build future doctors, he says.

Those who work closest with Schlegel say his commitment to the role is evident.

Dan does an exceptional job, says Malli Barremkala, associate professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies and director of OUWBs Body Donation Program.

Over the years he has been instrumental in the support of the anatomy programs at OUWB, and we affectionately call him Dan the Man.

I was a little tentative

In his managerial role, Schlegel works directly with OUWB faculty to ensure students have what they need when it comes to studying anatomy in the lab. Additionally, he supports Oakland University physical therapy programs, which also use the lab.

His responsibilities not only include moving and preparing donors, but ensuring students have all of the equipment they need, that the entire space is maintained and held to the highest standards of cleanliness, and that all rules are followed. For example, students are prohibited from taking pictures in the lab.

Schlegel says his daily work in the lab is guided by two principles: the important role the donors play in helping students learn, and the need to maintain respect.

Donors essentially donate themselves before deaththey give everything that they are to educate students, he says. We respect donors as patientsjust because they cant hear you or respond doesnt mean we treat them less.

Of course, the big question is: how does one become manager of a medical school anatomy lab?

For Schlegel, it started when he was an undergrad at Oakland University, pursuing a bachelors degree in health sciences.

During that time, in the mid-2000s, Schlegel had his first experience with donors. It was different from the experience that medical students have because the anatomic specimens were prosected (already dissected by more experienced anatomists).

Still, the experience helped build his comfort level of working with body donors. The fact that he has always been science-minded further helped.

As a student, I was a little tentative the first time they pulled out the donors in that first lab classbut I was never really squeamish, he says. I was more interested in learning how things worked.

Soon, Schlegel was helping others learn how things work as a teaching assistant for Mary Bee, Ph.D., associate adjunct associate professor, School of Health Sciences.

When presented with the opportunity to join OUWB in 2011, he jumped at the chance.

It was a month before OUWB welcomed its charter class of 50 students.

Theyre even more comfortable

For the first two classes, OUWBs anatomy lab was in the basement of Oakland Universitys Mathematics and Science Center. Schlegel said the situation was less-than-ideal as the space did not have windows, the loading dock was across the hall, there was lackluster ventilation, and other issues existed.

Among the biggest, he said, was that the donors had to be moved every time there was a class.

All of that changed in 2013, when the lab was relocated to the third floor of Oakland Universitys Hannah Hall following a complete remodeling of the space that now houses the anatomy lab.

The restricted lab now features 37 tables specifically for donors, each equipped with a special ventilation system and computer. The size and the layout of the lab allows students to move freely and not feel crammed into a tiny space. Windows line the walls, creating a bright atmosphere.

Schlegel says his favorite part of the job is seeing the evolution of students with regard to how they approach donors.

At the beginning of the semester, some of the students can be pretty (hesitant), but by the end of the semester they are totally immersed, he says. Then they come back for the second semester and theyre even more comfortable.

Having an OU alum run the lab is beneficial, says Barremkala.

He has knowledge of the OU campus and facilities and he uses this effectively for a well-functioning lab, he says.

Schlegel also goes above and beyond to help keep students on track.

Dan was one of the very few employees that worked in-person throughout the pandemic and played a key role in delivery of the lab component of the AFCP (Anatomical Foundations of Clinical Practice) course, says Barremkala.

Looking ahead, Schlegel says he is excited that OUWB recently started its own body donor program. So far, OUWB has worked with other institutions like University of Toledo to obtain donor bodies, which are then given back to the school at the end of the year for proper cremation and return to the family.

Well have more control over the embalming process, selection criteria of the donors, and direct contact with the families, which makes it a little easier to get necessary medical records, he says. Its really exciting.

For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, at adietderich@oakland.edu.

To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketingwebpage.

NOTICE: Except where otherwise noted, all articles are published under aCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. You are free to copy, distribute, adapt, transmit, or make commercial use of this work as long as you attribute Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine as the original creator and include a link to this article.

Follow OUWB onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram.

See the article here:
Dan the Man: Meet the manager of OUWB's Anatomy Lab, medical students' 'first patients' - News at OU