COM Outlook Winter 2021

34 | DR. KIRAN C. PATEL COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE At Your Service As KPCOM faculty members banded together to implement the revised curriculum plan, the Office of Student Affairs, along with the KPCOM Student Government Association (SGA), made sure the first- and second- year students had important resources available throughout the semesters. Since the Office of Student Affairs was already using Zoom to communicate with the NSU Tampa Bay Regional Campus, the transition wasn’t as difficult, with only minor kinks to be worked out. “Some of the initial challeng- es had to do with having the proper technology set up in our home offices to stay up and running. This was resolved with good organization and working with the college’s technology team to train us,” Harper-Celestine said. By the time the class of 2024 students began their virtual studies in August, they had already adapted to numerous changes brought about by the pandemic. Although the White Coat Cere- mony was postponed indefinitely, the Office of Student Affairs stepped up to give the first-year class a virtual orientation featuring breakout discussions and speeches from the KPCOM dean and various university offices via Zoom. Many of the basic resources, such as academic and financial advis- ing, are still available to students remotely, along with the sense of community that academic societies, the SGA, and the various student clubs and organizations provide. “The pandemic has only sped up our ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances and be more creative in our endeavors,” said second-year student Nadia Ahamed, Tampa Bay SGA president- elect. “We were able to coordinate relief efforts and welcome the first-year students, boost their morale through Zoom sessions, and offer advice and icebreakers with the SGA Executive Board and student leaders. We also hosted a virtual White Coat Day where students posted pictures in their white coats, which we reposted on our SGA Instagram page. Although it was no comparison to our normal White Coat Cere- mony, it was just a little something we thought would help celebrate such an amazing milestone in their lives.” Rotations Revamp When the pandemic forced the postponement of all third- and fourth-year clinical rotations in early spring, the college crafted a proactive response to ensure the students would be able to success- fully complete the academic year. “We were able to provide online education in the fields of clinical research and public health for the first seven weeks of disruption due to COVID-19,” said Jill Wallace- Ross, D.O., M.S., assistant dean of clinical education. “In addition, we were able to offer approximately 60 students the opportunity to complete their emergency medicine curriculum by participating in synchronous and asynchronous learning directed by the chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine,” Wallace- Ross added. “Third-year students, as well as a few fourth-year students, continued with online education through Lecturio, which offered a series of videos and quizzes. Through a new online education resource sharing network, these courses were also shared and utilized by other NSU health professions education programs.” According to Annisah Ishmael, Ed.D., M.S., director of osteopathic clinical education, KPCOM department chairs also began First-year D.O. student Josue Reyes gets ready to begin his first day of class from home.