University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey s1

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: [email protected] Student Council Minutes Meeting Date: 9-18-08 Location: Top Doc’s Cafe

Next Meeting: 7:00 p.m., Thursday, September 18th , 2008 Location: Top Doc’s Cafe

I. Call to Order and Attendees: (A) The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm (B) Attendees: Council STUCO Board: Matt LaPorta, Betty Chung, Kim Young, Kirin Syed, Erin Toller, Garrett Tomasino, Soumya Bollampally Class of 2009: Ken Minnett, Michael McCollum, Hope Voto, Class of 2010: Olamide Oladipo, Melissa Suarez, Danielle Mercurio, Rob Donlan Class of 2011: Oliver Chang, Elizabeth Jasolosky, Tom Nappe, Kristen Spencer, Beth Chisholm, Lauren Moleta Class of 2012: Michael Z. Caposole, Ingrid Edshteyn, Nidhi Shah, Farhad Modarai, Aileen Chen, Matthew J. Ingrassia

Guests Dr. Krueger, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Lambert, Acting Assistant Dean of Student Affairs

II. Approval of Minutes

(A) The minutes from the August 21st meeting were unanimously approved.

III. Special Business

(A) Matt LaPorta, STUCO president, extended a warm welcome to the class council of 2012.

(B) Open Forum with Dr. Krueger 1) Dr Krueger started with a welcome to the class of 2012 2) Dr Krueger then went on to speak about academic matters a) COCA has approved an increase in the class size to 150 students. The current plan is to increase the class size gradually and as of yet, no decision has been made on how many students will be admitted to the class of 2013 b) Comlex scores: the class of 2009 did well on Comlex level 2 which was an improvement from the scores of the previous year. The graduating class of 2008 did not perform as well and scored below the national mean. c) The fourth year class should have registered for the Comlex PE by now. Dr Krueger sent the Class of 2009 an email reminder to take the PE early. Late test dates may result in the student not graduating .It takes six to ten weeks for the test to get graded and if the test is scheduled too far in the spring, then results might not be available in time for graduation. d) The third years will soon be informed about enrolling in the Comlex PE exam. The ideal date to take the test is in late fall around late October or November of the fourth year. Third years should also know to start looking into Comlex CE dates when they register for the PE exam. The Comlex CE is usually taken after the Comlex PE. e) Dr Kruger outlined 4 major points for academic success i. Admit the “right students” i.e. students that are academically prepared to handle the work load of a demanding medical school curriculum. Admission policies were revised two years ago to accomplish this goal. ii. Teach students well. The faculty at SOM does an excellent job at teaching and preparing our students for board exams and clinical practice. iii. Academic support. Jackie Giaccobe heads the Center for Student Academic Resources and is always available to help and guide students in all aspects of academia. iv. Fail students who should fail and those in need of extra help should be identified earlier. f) The new curriculum was recently approved by the executive council, the full faculty and the curriculum committee. It needs one more COCA approval, which is due in December after which it will be posted online. The new curriculum integrates all seven AOA competencies. It is designed to be system based with integration. First years will see more clinicians and more basic science will be brought back in the second year. It incorporates methods for multiple learning. The curriculum is designed so that there will be 25% less class room time and more independent learning with interdisciplinary exams. The faculty will also be raising the bar for honors, high pass and pass. The numerical value for a pass, high pass or honors will not change but it will change in terms of observing student performances. g) PBL: no decision has been made on PBL for next year. Dr Krueger strongly supports the continuation of PBL. Some issues w/ budget and faculty have to be sorted out before a final decision is made. h) Fourth years should be ready for match and interviews. They should submit all the necessary paperwork and evaluations as soon as possible to ensure that their Dean’s letter is ready in time for their interviews. i) There is a move towards computer based exams. The current challenge is finding software that will support the interdisciplinary exams. Dr Krueger stated that they may have found such a program. Currently the Ob/gyn exam is being discussed as it is an interdisciplinary exam and will be piloted on second years. j) The Med Tech Committee has purchased new eye simulators, virtual microscopy (from off-campus) and has placed new wires in the SP labs. Furthermore the virtual microscopy has also been in use without any complications. If there are left over funds, the committee will discuss implementing audience response software. k) In the spring of 2009 there is a planned change of Camtasia to new classroom software. The new software will allow taping of everything seen on the screen including videos from the internet. It has the capability to record the professor as well but our classroom are limited in that capacity. However, downloaded material cannot be shared due to copyright issues. l) The professional evaluations that the thirds years completed last year as second years will NOT be distributed. The Evaluations did not go as expected and they “didn’t work”

3) Dr Krueger moved on to some housekeeping topics a) There have been complaints lodged by the housekeeping staff regarding the condition of the bathrooms. Please keep the bathrooms clean and please remember to flush the toilet! b) Coffee is allowed in the auditorium in hard mugs c) Study rooms are all are open for modules/block studying. Housekeeping leaves around 9:30-10:00 pm therefore if the students use the rooms after that time; it is their responsibility to clean up the rooms following their use. Please KEEP THEM CLEAN! 4) Reminder of interdisciplinary grand round on October 6th at 4:30pm in the auditorium. Attendance will be taken and students who attend all three will receive a certificate that will go into their Dean’s letter.

(C) Open Forum with Dr. Lambert 1) Dr Lambert began with commending all the clubs and committees on doing an excellent job. 2) She next talked about the fall travel season. Students traveling to conferences or to the AOA convention need to fill out the travel waiver and travel approval form or else they won’t be reimbursed. a) Students should have individual receipts so that they can individually get reimbursed upon their return b) Students need to fill out the form for travel expense in order to be reimbursed. All forms are available on the student affairs website and are available to download. c) Students should turn in their travel expense to Karen forms upon their return d) Student reimbursement forms need signatures of club presidents/ treasurer 3) Dr Lambert expressed her admiration for the STUCO newsletter and the Club newsletter. She went on to say that the faculty at SOM has a great interest in student activities and requested permission to send out the newsletters to fellow faculty members.

IV. Executive Committee Reports:

(A) President:

(1) I recently wrote a continued funding request to the NJOEF (New Jersey Osteopathic Education Foundation), an educational branch of NJAOPS. Two years ago, the NJOEF created a line item in the NJOEF to support the students of UMDNJ-SOM. To date, these monies have supported 19 student projects. In a time when budgets are being cut, we are extremely grateful to the NJOEF and NJAOPS for supporting UMDNJ-SOM students; endeavors both locally and nationally. (2) STUCO is hard at work creating programming for the student body. We will be working with the Departments of Student and Academic Affairs for presentations on such topics as; “Planning your Educational Career”, “Exploring Specialty Options”, “ERAS Navigation Session”, “Getting into the Residency of Your Choice”. We also plan on hosting Dr. Frederick G. Meoli, President of the NBOME to discuss COMLEX I and II. Please stay tuned for more details. (3) Please mark your calendars for Monday October 6th at 4: 30 PM in the auditorium. Dean Cavalieri has made interdisciplinary education an important cornerstone of his vision for the school. It is expected that all first and second year students will attend. Third and fourth year students should attend if their clinical schedules will allow. Students who attend all Interdisciplinary Grand Rounds this year will receive a certificate that they have done so. The awarding of that certificate will be added to their Dean's Letter

(B) First Vice President:

(1) Weekly club newsletter since Aug 18, 2008 posted on 2nd floor AC bulletin board (2) Clubs and 1st VP club newsletter to set up groups on my.umdnj.edu that students can subscribe to for receiving club info so as to cut down on class listserv spam (3) There was a combined club treasurers and presidents meeting this month with STUCO treasurer Erin Toller (4) I advised 2 proposed clubs (AMSA and AOCP/path club) through new club process (5) I advised Infectious Disease club how to obtain 3 month trial re-activation process (6) I wrote up checklist for new club recognition process (anyone who wants to start a new club can get this checklist from STUCO 1st VP) (7) New clubs are on probationary status after they receive STUCO approval by 2/3 of voting members (10) for a period of 2 years. During probation, clubs cannot get a yearly club allocation at the beginning of the year from student activities fees like the "established active" clubs can. They can, however, request funding from STUCO for specific projects, apply for alumni grants and apply for travel money to go to conferences. After the 2 yr period is over, the club can come to STUCO and petition to be recognized as "established active" with full funding privileges. (8) Clubs that have been voted to "established inactive" at a STUCO meeting by voting members because of inactivity and not meeting certain requirements in terms of numbers/types of events outlined in the constitution can also petition STUCO for a 3-6 month trial period during which they have to meet certain requirements after which they come back to STUCO to show they've met their obligations and petition to get back on "established active" status.

(1) VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for Stratford Fall Festival. The Borough of Stratford is having it's very first Fall Festival. There are several thousand members of the community expected to attend. UMDNJ-SOM will have good representation from our faculty with free varicose vein, foot, balance, and tai chi demonstrations. In addition, we need student volunteers to perform blood pressure screenings. This is an important opportunity for students to get involved right here in our community of Stratford. Of course, participation will earn students TOUCH hours! Volunteers can e-mail me at [email protected] to sign up for any one hour (or more) block of time. Stratford Fall Festival Saturday, October 4 – 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Yellin School Warwick Road, Stratford

(D) Treasurer:

(1) The Annual AOA Convention will be October 26-30, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. (2) STUCO will be setting aside a certain amount of money to be divided among all students who attend the convention. An announcement will be sent out via email within the next week disclosing the total amount available. (3) Club Presidents and Treasurers, I apologize for not being able to make the meeting that Betty held. I am in the process of finding another date so that we can go over all the funding forms and what is needed to request money from STUCO. This meeting will be held before the next STUCO meeting, September 18, 2008. Please look out for the email! (4) Lastly, the STUCO budget will be voted on at the September STUCO meeting. If anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to email me at [email protected].

(E) Secretary:

(1) Documentation change: The form used previously to request funds has been altered. The new format has been discussed by Erin our treasurer. Please DO NOT use the excel form that was previously emailed out. The goal is to place all information in one proposal/report. The old form required several attachments which made it very cumbersome. (2) The deadline for submission still holds firm at 3pm the Sunday before each meeting. Almost all reports were submitted on time for this meeting. Thanks to everyone who sent in their reports on time. (3) Late reports will be documented. (4) Attendence is taken at every meeting

V. Class Reports:

(A) 2009

(1) Mock PE exam in the SP lab to prepare for our Step 2 PE board exam occurred from 9/5/08 to 9/10/08. Focus was on the H and P and the humanistic domain of medicine. Encounters were evaluated by faculty and recorded for review and feedback. (2) Studying for Step 2 CE and PE .Most students are taking these in September and October (3) Fourth years are currently sending in residency applications and are starting interviews (4) Residency Interviewing Session scheduled with Dr. Krueger and Dr. Kimmelman to prepare for interviews was held on 9/4/08.

(B) 2010

(1) The class just finished 12 weeks of rotation, most of us had done at least two different clerkships. The class had a nice time at PJ's after the Shelf Exam (2) The class E-board is planning residency directors open forum (student expectations, what they are looking for etc)

(1) The Class of 2011 finished Nutrition and is now deep into the Medicine module starting with Cardiology, in addition to the other favorites, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Pathology, Pharmacology, Physical Diagnosis, OMM, small groups, and more. (2) Class representatives are looking into bids to select for a new Boards review vendor. Boards Boot Camp and Kaplan are among the considerations. Any suggestions, feedback, or comments are welcome. (3) The 2011 medical supply sale is in progress. Representatives from Welch- Allyn came in on Friday, August 29, to give a presentation on some of the diagnostic equipment no medical student should be without. Orders for the Steele Medical Supply Company will be taken until the end of September (please see Elizabeth Jasolosky or Oliver Chang of 2011 for more details). (4) Congratulations to the recently elected SOM Class of 2012 Class Council for 2008-2009. President: Michael Caposole Vice President: Ingrid Edshteyn Curriculum Representative: Nidhi Shah Student Affairs Representative: Farhad Modarai Honor Code Representatives : Aileen Chen and Matt Ingrassia Problem Based Learning Representative: Sarah Campeas (5) Preparations and planning for the SOM 2008 Halloween party (2011/2012) are underway.

(D) 2012 It hasn’t been long since the last STUCO meeting and it’s been less than two weeks since our class council has been voted into office. Therefore, this report will be brief as follows: (1) The class of 2011 released the election results for the class of 2012 student council members: President – Michael Z. Caposole Vice President – Ingrid Edshteyn Curriculum Representative – Nidhi Shah Student Affairs Representative – Farhad Modarai PBL Representative – Sarah Campeas Honor Code Representatives – **Postponed due to technical difficulties** (2) The class of 2011 released the election results for the class of 2012 Honor Code Representatives: Honor Code Representative – Matthew Ingrassia Honor Code Representative – Aileen Chen Thank you class of 2011 for a job well done! (3) I personally addressed our newly elected 2012 student council via email as follows: a) I congratulated them on becoming elected b) I ask them each to keep an open line of communication with me and the other members of student council c) I asked them to keep me informed of any activity or communication that they plan on using their position for, as to uphold the integrity of our student council by use of accountability and good decision making d) I collected and compiled their contact information and sent a copy to Kirin Syed; and which I also intend on distributing to the entire class e) I forwarded them information Betty Chung sent me regarding parliamentary and STUCO meeting procedures (4) I worked with Felicia Tillman and the class of 2012 to reschedule the previously canceled “Brown Bag Luncheon” with Dr. Krueger for Thursday, September 18, 2008 at noon. I sent an email to the class informing them of this event and I intend on sending them a reminder on Wednesday, September 17, 2008. (5) I addressed the entire student body via email concerning the use of club acronyms in their communications; I asked them to please include their full club name at the end of every such communications a) I had a large response from the student body and would like to see this issue addressed at the STUCO meeting on 9/18/2008 (6) I started a communication with John Pennisi regarding a campus wide technical compatibility issue between the use of Microsoft Office 2007 products and earlier versions of this software. He has agreed to work with IS&T to address this issue. (7) A few words from our PBL representative; Sarah Campeas: a) The PBL students are currently on Unit 1: The respiratory module. Dr. Russel Griesbach is the acting facilitator for the Unit 1 module. b) They have finished three of four cases and have started on their fourth case. c) Dr. Adarsh Gupta met with the PBL students to review the use of online and offline resources d) The PBL students have also met with Dr. George Scott in the SP lab to review the physical examination of the thorax pertaining to patients that present with respiratory issues. e) The PBL students received their cadaver i. They met with Randy Swanson for a three hour lecture on the anatomy of the thorax ii. They also met with Randy in the dissection lab for another three hours f) Finally, the PBL students are preparing for their exams i. Their first SPL exam is scheduled for Friday, September 19th, 2008 ii. Their first Unit exam is scheduled for the following Friday, September 26th, 2008 iii. They also participate in the OMM exams with the traditional students scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, September 24th and 25th respectively g) Following the exams, the PBL students will begin Unit II: The cardiovascular and renal modules. i. Dr. T.P. Stein will begin this unit as facilitator, followed by Dr. Guzelsu, Dr. Rosen and third year PBL student Anne Marie Santilli

VI. Committee Reports:

(A) Curriculum:

(1) The first full committee meeting post-curriculum approval is scheduled for Thursday 9/18

(B) Student Affairs:

(1) First SA is to take place Friday September 19th.

(1) The Alumni Golf Outing is Sunday, September 21st

(D) Public Relations:

(1) Our first-ever issue of the STUCO electronic newsletter appears to have been a successful way to reach the student body. We welcome any suggestions for future editions. (2) Since the last meeting I have updated the club section of the website to include descriptions of all the clubs and the email addresses of the club presidents

VII. Club Affairs: (A) None.

VIII. Old Business:

(A) Budget Policies and Procedures (1) Time allotted to present funding requests is 5 minutes (2) Budget set for events was based on costs incurred during last year’s events. Since the talent show and medicine ball are the most costly events a larger budget is set aside for those events. At this point in time the amount set aside is similar to how much was spent last year. (3) A set budget is also reserved for food for Grand Recipient Day and programming has been added into this cost (4) Monies have also have set aside for line item for anatomy memorial and for the white coat ceremony and initial STUCO meeting (5) A rough number has also been set aside for each meeting to fulfil funding requests. The amount is not set in stone and allows for some flexibility. This number will not be disclosed (6) AOA convention money and DO day on the hill and E-board travel money are in separate accounts (7) There is some money set aside for gifts which is a money pool for gifts for professors, students etc (B) All voted in favor of the new budget and it was approved unanimously with no abstentions

IX. New Business Note: reminder that discussion can occur with members that may receive funding but a proxy must vote and must step out for vote. Point of information: There is a two minute limit for funding requests and five minute limit on question and answer.

(A) Funding request from SOHOA Emilia Connolly submitted a request for funding to support the following club sponsored events: i. Light the Night in Camden to support leukemia and lymphoma research - $50 to support participates in addition to fundraising money ii. The Brain Tumor 5k run in Philadelphia- a panel of hematology/oncology physicians $100 for food iii. A presentation by Dr. Christain Ogilvie, an orthopedic oncology surgeon from Penn - $100 for food iv. Purchasing various items for $50 (t-shirts, keychains, etc) We can sell at school and outside events to provide a continual source of income for the club in the next few years. In total Emilia requested $300. They have held several bake sales and a poker tournament to raise money since the induction of the club and have raised just over $200 in total and are aiming to raise $500 in total. That money went to food for speakers last spring and their first general meeting this year. Furthermore they are planning fundraising events such as providing a massage to students for a small donation in conjunction with SOMA and SPMA to support the Light the Night event. Emilia also stated that as a probationary club without membership dues they have limited funds for club events. They is also no national SOHOA organization and so this is not an option for added funds. When asked if they had looked at other sources such as SOMAFF, Emilia stated she wasn’t aware of those sources and would also look into them. Ultimately STUCO awarded SOHOA with $300. The decision was approved by a vote of 12 with 3 abstentions

(B) Funding request from IFMSA Daria Szkwarko and Claire Lipperini submitted a request for funding to support the following club sponsored events: i. Kickball tournament October 10th ii. October speaker: Dr. Mintz will speak about his non-profit healthcare organization in Cambodia . In total, they requested $270. They further stated that because they were founded last January they are still a probationary club until the end of June and are therefore not receiving any funding from STUCO this year. Their major fundraising goal is to raise money to grant two scholarships that will subsidize students’ costs for their international work next summer. There will be an application process with essays will beset up to determine recipients of the scholarship and the E-board will then vote based on the applications. Furthermore IFMSA has held a community concert in August to raise money for this purpose, and had over 100 UMDNJ-SOM community members attend. IFMSA is trying to raise money for the club’s expenses through bagel sales, sports bag sales, and a kickball tournament. They are requesting money because the money from the scholarship fund has already been used to support their first general meeting. They have a received a traveling grant from SOMAFF but as of yet have no account to transfer the money into. Ultimately IFMSA was awarded the full amount of $270. The decision was approved by a voted of 12 with 1 opposition and 2 abstentions

(C) Funding request from SOIMA Alana Kekevian submitted a travel grant request for four students to attend ACOI’s 68th Annual Convention & Scientific Sessions in Marco Island, Florida from October 29th -Nov. 2nd 2008.. SOIMA has already sought funding from the American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI), and the ACOI has agreed to reimburse them up to $1000 in expenses but this figure is not guaranteed. In addition, they plan on using proceeds from their Otis Spunkmeyer fresh cookie sale fundraiser ($200). The total cost of attendance is $2446 which translates to $611.50 per person and SOIMA requested a total amount of $1246 from STUCO. As of yet they have not requested funding from SOMAFF Ultimately SOIMA was granted $100 per person for a maximum total of $400. The decision was approved by a vote of 12 with 3 abstentions

(D) Funding request from SOMA Farrel Silverman submitted a request for funding for two students to attend the SOMA fall convention in Las Vegas, Nevada from October 23rd-26th. The convention meetings gives osteopathic medical students the opportunity to create resolutions they feel are pertinent to their role in the osteopathic community on a national and international level. These resolutions are then up for debate and discussion. If passed, these resolutions are representative of the Student Osteopathic Medical Association. SOMA’s total cost for the event was calculated to be $614.66 per student and they requested $250 per student for a total of $500 from STUCO. Ultimately SOMA was granted 200 per person for maximum total of 400. The decision was approved by a vote of 13 with 1 abstention.

(E) Alumni funding request from SOMA Daria Szkwarko and Farhad Modarai submitted a request for an Alumni grant to organize a voter registration drive. SOMA is collaborating with PM&R, MSFC, and SNMA to have a three-day voter registration drive. On Monday October 6th they plan to have tables set up in the Academic Center, the UDP, our affiliated hospitals, and local community healthcare centers and retirement homes. In addition, they plan to have a table at the Camden Clinic every Saturday until the election. Student volunteers will hand out educational pamphlets created by our political action committee and have computers on site to register voters. On Tuesday October 7th , they will have a bi-partisan speaker discuss healthcare reform and would like to have a free lunch at the event. On Wednesday October 8th they plan to have one representative from each campaign come to SOM for a Question/Answer session, which will be moderated by faculty or political action committee members. The entire community will be invited to this event and they will ask members of the community to submit questions beforehand in order to stimulate an important educational discussion about the future of healthcare in America. SOMA plans to provide dinner at this event. Finally, they will have election day carpooling for our community. Volunteer drivers will take students, faculty and physicians to the polls at different times during the day so that everyone has an opportunity to vote. Furthermore the Cherry Hill library is also involved and students volunteering will be able to earn Touch hours. Itemized Cost of Event/Program: -Tuesday’s speaker: $175 - Postage for registration forms: $100 - Dinner for Question/Answer session $200 - Gas costs for election day carpooling $60 The total of the event is calculated at $535 and SOMA requested $250 from STUCO. Ultimately SOMA was granted the full amount of $250. The decision was approved unanimously.

(F) Funding request from Jon Torres for AOA convention Jon Torres submitted a request for funding for one students to attend the AOA Convention from October 26-30th at the Palazzo, and also for the AOA Research Conference from October 26-28th at the Sands in Las Vegas. Jon plans to attend the semi-annual board meeting for the AAO Louisa Burns Osteopathic Research Committee, a national board on which he holds voting rights as the sole elected representative of the undergraduate body. His attendance at this meeting is mandatory. At the AOA Research Conference, at the Sands, he will be presenting his poster on OMM in the treatment of acute otitis media, and will also be competing in the national poster competition. This is required as a condition for the publishing of his abstract in the August issue of the JAOA this year. Jon did not request any money from UAOO or the OMM department. Jon requested a total of $1174 from STUCO. Ultimately Jon was granted $250 to cover the $100 cost for his poster and $150 for registration. He is still eligible for the AOA convention travel funds. The decision was approved unanimously.

(G) AMSA approval for probationary status. Farhad Modarai, Pratik Gandhi and Louis Marquet appeared before the council to request probationary status for AMSA and to provide more information about the club. They stated that AMSA aims to provide: 1) Leadership development and training in line with AMSA’s strategic priorities 2) Focused efforts on health policy and legislation appreciation, understanding, activism and advocacy 3) Grassroots and community organizing leadership training 4) Networking opportunities with medical students and physicians from both osteopathic and allopathic members. They stressed that AMSA is not strictly an allopathic club. They also hope to bring light to the Pharm Fair Campaign geared towards discouraging marketing and acceptance of benefits from pharmaceutical companies. Ultimately the club was approved for probationary status unanimously.

X. Motion to adjourn

(A) The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Kirin Syed STUCO Secretary