22
COM Outlook . Winter 2015
dent Progress Committee process
by adding a student to the commit-
tee like other COMs throughout the
country and colleges at NSU do,”
she explained. “I’d also establish
a student-led clinic like so many
other medical schools have done
because student-led clinics help
students in their first two years
of school integrate what they are
learning. It also offers a service to
the homeless and underserved,
so our students would have the
opportunity to practice OMT on
someone other than their peers
because many students do not feel
comfortable treating their own
family members let alone a patient
when they have only practiced on
their classmates.”
As an OPP fellow, Faucheux is
an exemplar of the holistic approach
to medicine, which may be why his
idea for his fictional day as dean is
decidedly more fanciful than the
rest. “As dean of the college, I think
my first order of business would be
to implement a true South Florida
experience to the classroom,” he
said. “We are blessed to have the op-
portunity to attend medical school in
a tropical environment in the Sun-
shine State, which medical students
around the country admire. I can
remember numerous occasions of be-
ing in class all day in the Morris and
Steele auditoriums and wishing we
could have had class outside.
“I would begin development of a
plan to build an outdoor classroom
where students could attend lec-
tures and still be connected with the
nature of South Florida,” he added.
“For example, I would offer the small
groups that comprise the second-
year Principles of Clinical Medicine
course the option to hold class out-
side under the palm trees. I feel that
bringing this change to the classroom
experience would allow students to
feel more relaxed and happy each
day and encourage them to attend
lectures. When you are connected to
the environment, you are more con-
nected with yourself.”
When Champion-Lippmann was
initially asked to serve as an inter-
viewee for this article, she was be-
yond excited to have an opportunity
to share her thoughts on the univer-
sity she has called home for many
years due to her pursuit of three de-
grees, which she will proudly earn in
May 2016. “I have interviewed many
students from different classes over
the years about what they like and
would change about NSU-COM,”
she explained. “And I have filtered
that feedback through my seven
years of experience with NSU-COM
as a spouse to a student, as a medical
student and SGA president, as chair
of the Health Professions Division
SGA Committee, and as a student at
other NSU colleges.
“I’ve also been able to provide
insights to the college and univer-
sity through my experiences in the
national Council of Osteopathic Stu-
dent Government Presidents, where I
hear about the good and bad of every
osteopathic medical school in the
country as well as collaborate with
student leaders from M.D. schools,”
she continued. “Although there
is always room for improvement,
thanks to my experiences and ability
to compare our college to other NSU
colleges and other osteopathic medi-
cal schools, I know NSU’s College of
Osteopathic Medicine is truly doing
a lot of things right.”
CUTTING-EDGE SIMULATION:
“Our simulated-
patient experiences and opportunities to
interact with mannequins in the Simulation
Lab will be invaluable resources as we move
forward in our careers to rotations, residency,
and active practice.” - Elyse Julian
Champion-Lippmann’s
Five Additional Points
of Importance
Eliminate a family medicine or
geriatrics core rotation so an elective
rotation can be added to the third year.
Ensure that no students have to do
both rural underserved and emer-
gency medicine rotations during their
golden months.
Stop limiting rotations in one discipline
to two months as many disciplines
don’t have subspecialties.
Make rotations last four weeks instead
of month by month.
Change the way tuition is configured
in the fourth year as it is broken down
differently than in the first three years.
As a result, the students end up owing
money to the school instead of having
funds to live off of during the most
expensive year of medical school due to
the expenses associated with elective
rotations and residency interviews.
