2017 YEAR IN REVIEW

Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) continues our commitment to address the needs of the state and the nation. Through our growth in undergraduate and graduate medical education, our expanding research enterprise, and transformative clinical services, SOM is advancing the health of the communities we serve. Over half of SOM graduates pursue their careers in New Jersey, and over 80 percent of our student body are from the State. Our student body is reflective of our commitment to diversity, with over 23 percent of our students from groups underrepresented in medicine. With $18 million in extramural grant funding, we lead the way in discovery in areas such as neuroscience, aging and cancer. Rowan Medicine, our clinical enterprise, continues to provide excellent care for our patients, through innovative and integrated care. SOM’s talented faculty, staff, students, residents, and alumni continue to advance our great mission. Our success is evident every day in all that we do, and as Dean, I am proud to share with you a few highlights of this past year. My best regards,

Thomas A. Cavalieri, DO, MACOI, FACPDean

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MISSIONThe Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) is dedicated to providing excellence in both undergraduate and graduate medical education, research and health care for New Jersey and the nation.

An emphasis on primary health care and community health services reflects the School’s osteopathic philosophy, with specialty care and centers of excellence demonstrating our commitment to innovation and quality in all endeavors.

The School seeks to develop clinically skillful, compassionate and culturally competent physicians from diverse backgrounds, who are prepared to become leaders in their communities.

VISIONTo be the best osteopathic medical school in the nation by providing a premier, dynamic academic environment that attracts and nurtures outstanding faculty, staff and students who are dedicated to our mission to promote health and treat illness.

Jennifer Caudle, DOFamily Medicine

Martin Forsberg, MDGeriatrics and Gerontology/Psychiatry

Kevin Overbeck, DOGeriatrics and Gerontology/Family Medicine

Andriy Pavlenkol, MDPathology

Millicent Channell, DO Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine

Xinhua Chen, MD, MSMC Obstetrics and Gynecology Research

Joshua Coren, DO Family Medicine

Adarsh Gupta, DOFamily Medicine

Richard Jermyn, DO Rehabilitation Medicine

Congratulations to the SOM faculty who earned promotions this year.

CONGRATULATIONS

TO PROFESSOR: TO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR:

• The Department of Family Medicine learned it had become the first department at SOM to receive initial ACGME accreditation since the agencies responsible for overseeing both osteopathic and allopathic graduate medical education announced the new, unified system.

• The complexities of biomedical research were on full display at the 21st Annual Stratford Campus Research Day on May 4. The annual event includes lectures and poster projects.

• Commencement celebrates the next generation of physicians and researchers: 157 students graduate from the School of Osteopathic Medicine and 81 students received degrees from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences on May 13.

• Dr. Linda Boyd ’84, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, is honored with the 2017 SOM Distinguished Alumna Award.

• Several students traveled to New York City to personally meet and thank Mrs. Y.C. Chen, CEO of the J.T. Tai & Company Foundation, over lunch. Through the ongoing generosity of the J.T. Tai & Company Foundation, the Office of Advancement awarded 21 student scholarships this past academic year.

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• On June 30, Rowan Medicine received notification from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) that the Hammonton, Mount Laurel and Stratford Family Medicine offices are recognized as Level 3 accredited Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH). These offices join the Sewell office, which was named a Level 3 NCQA PCMH in October 2016. This is a tremendous accomplishment that resulted from many hours of preparation and work by the faculty and staff of the Departments of Family Medicine and Managed Care.

• SOM doctors continue to share their knowledge and expertise with the outside world. Dr. Jennifer Caudle is a medical correspondent and regularly appears on national and local television programming, including The Dr. Oz Show, Fox News, CBS Philly News and CNN. Several faculty members traveled to China throughout the year to promote primary care and osteopathic manipulative medicine education and training. Participating doctors include Dr. Adarsh Gupta, Dr. Taly O’Dell, Dr. Joshua Coren and Dr. Danielle Cooley from Family Medicine, and Dr. Millicent Channell from the NeuroMusculoskeletal Institute.

• SOM welcomed 24 high-achieving high school students from nine area schools during the RAISE (Recognizing Achievement and Inspiring Student Excellence) program, supported by the Kal and Lucille Rudman Foundation. The tuition-free, six-week science enrichment program gave high school juniors and seniors an opportunity to get hands-on experience under the guidance of physicians, faculty and research scientists.

• Pamela M. Basehore, EdD, MPH, FNAOME was promoted to Associate Dean for Assessment. Dr. Basehore has served at SOM for 28 years and is recognized as a leader in medical education and assessment.

• Full-time, part-time and volunteer faculty convened at the Annual General Faculty Meeting. The meeting encourages dialogue among the faculty on such topics as curriculum, admissions, faculty affairs, research and student academic progress.

• The Alumni Association’s 20th Annual Golf Classic at Riverwinds Golf Course attracted more than 80 golfers and dozens of sponsors and supporters. As SOM’s longest running fundraising program, the golf outing generates significant support for student scholarships.

• The Stratford campus celebrated the holiday season at the Annual Unity Tree Lighting ceremony. As is tradition, students, staff and faculty shared the celebration with preschool and elementary-age children from the Stratford Borough school district and enjoyed holiday performances from both the children and Rowan University’s Brass Ensemble. The celebration also marked the culmination of toy and food drives to benefit the local community.

• The Problem-Based Learning Curriculum (PBLC) classrooms recently relocated to their new home in the University Educational Center. The classrooms are equipped to support the two-year PBLC curricular track. Problem-Based Learning is the learning that results from the process of working toward the understanding and resolution of a problem. In the PBLC, the problems students encounter are those of actual patient cases, which present in a variety of formats. The patient problems serve as the stimulus for acquiring the basic science knowledge needed to understand underlying mechanisms, as well as the focus for the development of clinical reasoning skills.

• The Class of 2021 was officially welcomed to SOM on Sunday, August 6 in the Pfleeger Auditorium on Rowan’s main campus in Glassboro. That same day, 21 members of the Class of 2018 and three faculty were inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

• Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-1) announced that the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the first year of a five-year, $1.5 million grant to SOM to continue administering the New Jersey Area Health Education Centers in South Jersey. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Coren, Chair of Family Medicine, the project will seek to increase the number of health professions students who will pursue careers in primary care and are prepared to practice in rural and under served areas of the state.

• We were lucky to experience this year’s Osteopathic Medical Conference and Exposition (OMED) of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) in our backyard, just across the river in Philadelphia. SOM enjoyed a strong representation of faculty, staff, students and alumni due to the close proximity.

• SOM sponsored a continuing medical education conference at the Kalahari Resort & Convention Center in Pocono Manor, PA. The sessions were led by SOM faculty and centered on business, wellness and mental health topics.

• The Department of Psychiatry recently appointed a new Vice Chair for Clinical Services, Dr. Walter Rhoades. As Vice Chair, Dr. Rhoades will oversee the department’s clinical operations

• The Alumni Association held its biennial Reunion Dinner, the largest gathering of SOM alumni, honoring graduates from the classes of 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2012. This milestone event allowed the more than 150 guests the opportunity to reconnect and reminisce over dinner and drinks at the Nassau Inn in Princeton, NJ.

2017 REVIEW

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• RESEARCH IS KING. SOM researchers secured a record number of grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), totaling nearly $3.8 million over the life of the research projects. A blood test developed by a team of School of Osteopathic Medicine researchers that can detect the presence of Alzheimer’s disease was included in Reader’s Digest list of “10 medical advances that are giving us hope in 2017 and beyond.” These accolades are tremendous achievements and significant of the breadth of the educational experience at SOM.

• Philip Mesisca, MBA, CMPE joined SOM in the role of Chief Operating Officer.

Phil has over 20 years of experience leading health care institutions and medical schools, including Drexel University College of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University and University of Pennsylvania Health System.

• Students, faculty and staff honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy by volunteering at several local agencies and organizations during the MLK Day of Service.

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• Dr. William Ranieri and Dr. Theresa Scholl were promoted to the rank of Professor Emeritus.

• The Department of Cell Biology has updated its name to the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, reflecting an exciting new direction for the department under its chairperson, Dr. Barry Waterhouse.

• Dr. Ronald E. Ayres was appointed as the Acting Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Ayres is well known to the SOM community, having served as chair of that department from 2000-2010.

• Thanks to generous and loyal donors, 111 awards totaling more than $368,000 were presented to students attending the Office of Advancement’s Annual Scholarship Luncheon on March 5.

• Students celebrated their matches from both the National Resident Matching Program and the American Osteopathic Association at the Match Day celebration on March 17. More than half of the students matched to primary care residencies in family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine or obstetrics/gynecology, 70 of whom will train at New Jersey based residencies.

• U.S. News & World Report includes Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine among America’s top medical school for both Primary Care and Geriatrics.

• Dr. Joanne Kaiser-Smith, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, was featured in A History of Osteopathic Internal Medicine – Celebrating the ACOI’s First 75 Years, which chronicles the shaping of the profession from its origins to its growth and future opportunities and challenges.