PCOM Perspectives

The January episode features a discussion about interprofessional education (IPE) at GA-PCOM with the PCOM School of Pharmacy Director of Interprofessional Education Sara (Mandy) Reece, PharmD, an associate professor and vice chair of the department of pharmacy practice at GA-PCOM. Topics included the evolution of IPE at GA-PCOM, the key ingredients for the success of the year-long course for DO, PA, PharmD and PT students, and how IPE fits into the healthcare ecosystem in terms of value-based health care and population health.

This episode features a discussion about PCOM South Georgia, the college’s developing location in the Southwest Georgia region, with Michael J. Sampson, DO, FAOASM, the new campus’ associate dean and chief academic officer. Dr. Sampson provides a progress update, discusses his vision for the Moultrie location, provides thoughts on the new school’s regional impact, and describes his experience of residing in South Georgia.

This episode is the first of a two-part series on interprofessional education (IPE), and features a conversation with Stephanie Felgoise, PhD, professor and chair, clinical psychology and director of the doctorate program in clinical psychology.

IPE provides a unique educational experience for students from across academic programs to learn with and from each other. Dr. Felgoise and I discussed the ways PCOM is using this approach to train our students to become skilled members of the healthcare team of the future, with each area contributing its own skill set to achieve the best outcome for the patient.

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this episode features a discussion about breast cancer research with GA-PCOM’s Assistant Professor of Anatomy, Abigail Hielscher, PhD. Dr. Hielsher discusses how the tumor environment facilitates breast cancer growth, her long-term goals with this specific research, how the field is progressing, and how our students participate in the research process.

This episode features a discussion about osteopathic manipulative medicine with GA-PCOM’s Professor and Director of OMM, Dr. Walter Ehrenfeuchter. As you may know, Dr. “E” is the principal author of five chapters in a widely used osteopathic medical textbook, “Foundations of Osteopathic Medicine.”

This episode features a conversation with Scott Glassman, PsyD, clinical assistant professor of psychology and associate director of the master’s program in mental health counseling. Dr. Glassman’s work focuses largely on the integration of behavioral health in primary care settings, and we discussed how this can lead to better patient outcomes and better training opportunities for our students.

We also discussed the need for better behavioral health support for medical students and physicians, who tend to have higher rates of depression, burnout and suicide.

The opioid epidemic is one of the most pressing public health crises of our time. Our latest episode features a conversation with David Festinger, PhD, director of substance abuse research and education at PCOM about research on and treatment of substance abuse disorders and how physicians, pharmacists and mental health professionals—indeed, all health care practitioners—should be working together to address this epidemic.

Our latest episode features a conversation with Jessica Kendorski, PhD, director of the MS in School Psychology program and professional education in school psychology, who recently authored a new book focusing on parents and practitioners working with children with autism.

In celebration of National Osteopathic Medicine Week, Jay S. Feldstein, DO '81, president and CEO, sits down with Kenneth Veit, DO '76, MBA provost, senior vice president for academic affairs and dean, to discuss the history and growth of the osteopathic medicine and of PCOM.

PCOM President and CEO Jay S. Feldstein, DO '81, talks with Farzaneh Daghigh, PhD, professor, biochemistry and molecular biology, about the College's new Culinary Medicine elective, and the integral role nutrition and diet play in health and wellness.