Class of 2007

Omar Al-Nouri

Mani Batchu

Dennis Bernier

Dana Block

Donnell Bowen

Ryan Chauffe

Nadine Chipon-Schoepp

Liz Davis

Amber DeChambeau

Ann Duskin

Rachel Epstein

David Fisher

Nicole Henry

Theresa Hess

James Hunt

Jill Ross

Shivani Shah

Samantha Shelton-Hicks

Joanna Wahl

Sandra Williams

Roya Zolnoor

Paula Zozzaro-Smith

Class 2008

Latifa Akande

Olphanine Athouriste

Cynthia Benson

Allison Bloom

Leslie Bridges

Bob Cambridge

Ashley Chapman

Nicole Coleman

Caecilia Garcia

Aditi Gupta

Melissa Hartman

Stacey Helps

Ericka Hersh

Matthew Irwin

Jennifer Lamneck

Gayatri Menon

Sarah Pizzigati

Kathryn Rooth

Lisa Rubiano

Andrew Schlussel

Nick Zilieris

Class of 2009

Michael Alvarez

Roger Alvarez

Kim Boardman

Jill Collins

Kylee Eagles

Aaron Farmer

Jacquelyn Fisher

Paul Ghattas

Cara Golish

Alexandra Grace

Carrie Hersh

Scott Hewitt

David Jabs

Jasmol Jayaprakash

Janet Kong

Mathew Levine

Katherine Lumpkin

Stephanie Markle

Travis Osterman

Donie Marie Rivas

Jennifer Sears

Emily Sutton

Maria Terneus

Nicole Tuve

Jessica J Wilson-Chan

Class of 2010

Deidre Bass

Sean Branch

Jessica Cuello

Mary Chrisochos

Stacey Keller

Vivian Lo

Teresa McDill

Mark Newberry

Joala Tubilleja

Danielle Wallach

Introduction

The Xi chapter of Sigma Sigma Phi has started the year off with many of its wonderful projects underway. Medical Explorers and Pre-Doc are off to a great start, as well as our new projects Child Life and PENS on a MISSION. Our annual rotation luncheon is scheduled for the end of November, and we are excited about accepting new members in November and integrating them into our programs. My goal as President is to make this year a very successful and productive one. I hope to implement new programs along the way and branch out to new schools for many of the programs we are involved with. I also hope to help students become aware of the political and social obstacles we will come across in our life as we become physicians by introducing them to DO Day on the Hill as well as possibly having some lectures on this very subject. The Xi chapter at NSUCOM looks forward to another productive and successful semester ahead.

Educational Programs

COM-Pals Program

Program Chairs: Deidre Bass

COM-Pals’ goal is to promote osteopathic awareness to the undergraduate population. Understanding that many of the universities in our tri-county area are unaware of osteopathic medicine or that Nova Southeastern University houses a medical school, we plan to contact local pre-medical advisors and offer our students as liaisons and mentors. COM-Pals also plans on expanding our services to the entire state of Florida this year, reaching out to other universities as far north as UF and FSU with Alumni eager to educate their schools about our university.

Some of the services we are offering include:

1. Having medical students available to give private tours of NSU-COM.

2. Speaking to pre-medical clubs about our university and osteopathic medicine.

3. Having medical students available by e-mail to mentor undergraduates.

4. Allowing undergraduates to shadow a medical student for a half-day.

This program is in its fourth year of existence and we are trying to continue the great response that we received last year through our efforts. A future goal that we have is extending our services to other states to help spread the word about the Osteopathic profession.

DOctor’s Bag Program

Program Chairs: Sean Branch and Mary Chrisochos

The Doctor's bag program is one of our most well known service projects. We changed this program last year to reach out to kindergarten & first grade students in underserved communities instead of day care programs. Every month Sigma Sigma Phi brings student volunteers to local elementary school and we set up interactive stations for the children to become more comfortable with doctors, teach them what doctors do, and explain to them the different parts of the body.

Our interactive stations include: X-ray station - a small skeleton is used to teach the children about bones and an x-rays of a child’s hands is used for the kids to compare their own hands. Heart and Brain Station - plush models of hearts and stethoscopes are utilized so the kids can see and hear the heart. Foam models of the brain are used to teach children the importance of wearing helmets and taking care of the most important part of their body. We teach them that without the brain nothing else works. Eye and Ear Station – children learn how to look into the eye using a plastic ophthalmoscope and a plastic softball which has been colored to mimic the ocular muscles. We help the kids understand why you are not supposed to put objects into your ear. Then we let the kids play with large rubber ears and plastic otoscopes to look inside the ear. The children are also asked to draw what they see in the ears and eyes. Hygiene Station – this is where we discuss the importance of hand washing and band aids and then let the children play with band aids. Organ Station – We teach kids about organs thru a vest made with Velcro to place organs on, in the proper places complete with a headband for the brain. Children are taught the way the GI system works and the order in which food makes it through the body. Finally, the favorite station of the children is the Doctor Station in which we take a Polaroid picture of each child with our lab coat and a stethoscope to take home.

We always end the program with a wrap up session in which we review what was taught. Before each child leaves they receive a certificate with their name on it and the Polaroid picture of themselves dressed in a doctor's lab coat. Also at the end of each program we give the day care director and the children a toy doctor bag and kit so that they can practice what they learned. This program has been a big success because the children love it. We have been asked many times to come back and teach to a different class at the same school because the children get so much out of it. We are anxious to spread this program throughout the state of Florida and the United States.

Medical Explorers

Program Chairs: Stacey Keller and Joala Tubilleja

This is a national program through Learning for Life, a program directed to educating high schools students about health care as a profession as well as instilling leadership and community service. This program first began at NSUCOM four years ago and three years ago became a Sigma Sigma Phi sponsored program. The group consists of approximately 25 high school students who come to NSUCOM weekly for an event. In the past, we have recruited from five high schools, this year we have added another two schools. Previously they have been a variety of programs: an ultrasound program, audiology workshop, pediatric ear infection workshop, OPP workshop, a dental workshop, and nursing workshop. We have incorporated the other Health Professions programs at our school, including Pharmacy, Dentistry, Optometry and Occupational Therapy. Each department gives a short presentation about their profession and then allows the students to participate in a “hands-on” session, enabling them to get a sense of what the profession entails. In addition to the hands-on experiences we also have “College Night” where students are given the opportunity to ask questions about school, college, and future careers. This year we have added some new evenings including a chance to spend time in the Harvey Heart Lab, Microbiology night, dental impressions, anatomy, radiology and of course exposure to OMT.

Pre-D.O.ctors Program

Program Chair: Jessica Cuello and Vivian Lo

The Xi Chapter of Sigma Sigma Phi has always had a commitment to osteopathic awareness. Our goal this year is to expand the osteopathic awareness program to include multiple interactive teaching modalities as well as visit the medical magnet and HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) programs at the local high schools. In South Florida many high schools students are lacking good role models and proper guidance in preparation for medical school and their future career options. We wanted to provide a role model in a fun and educational environment for the high school students as well as a channel for them to gain direct knowledge regarding osteopathic medicine.

Once or twice a month medical students volunteer their mornings/afternoons to this program. We go to a high school in the area and set up five different interactive stations. The first station is a medical education station in which the high school students are taught about the differences between osteopathic and allopathic medicine. At this station the students can ask any questions they may have about being accepted to medical school, how much work is involved, how much it costs, etc. The second station gives the students a chance to learn the purpose of taking a blood pressure, how to keep it down and how to perform one. The third station is the heart sound station where students can hear abnormal heart sounds, learn how to keep their heart healthy and how to use a stethoscope. The fourth station allows the students to understand the function of an otoscope/ophthalmoscope and to learn what they should and should not see when looking through one. The fifth station is dedicated to osteopathic medicine and to showing Osteopathic Manipulative Treatments. At this station, the high school students watch two medical students perform manipulations on each other. There is always a lot of interest in this station because they can see the difference that a psoas stretch makes or hear the thoracic vertebrae during the Texas Twist.

Many times the students we are addressing have an interest in science and medicine so this program gives them a chance to explore their interest and to see medical students that are excited about their future careers. We have such a great time doing this program because we see the impact we are making. These students are interested, they want to be involved. We get so many questions about how to get into medical school and what they can do to improve their chances. Some students are taking notes about how to take a blood pressure or what osteopathic medicine is all about. Each of us leaves this program excited and anxious for the next time we can do it.

Read-On Program

Program Chair: Danielle Wallach

Sigma Sigma Phi’s Xi Chapter started a program five years ago in order to help elementary school students improve their reading skills. Our goal is to become mentors for the children we work with by committing ourselves to the same classes. The result of this vision is a bi-monthly reading program for kindergarten and 1^st grade students at Royal Park Elementary, and recently added Sterling Elementary. The first book to introduce the program every year is What's In A Doctor's Bag?, by Dr. Neil Shulman. This beautifully written book is a fun and interactive way for children to learn about tools doctors use everyday. This past year, we received many new books from local organizations and also purchased many new books, all of which are somehow related to doctors. We hope to make a difference in the children’s lives by inspiring and encouraging them to improve their ability to read.

Community Service Events

Senior Soirees Program

Program Chair: Teresa McDill

"Senior Soirees” is a simple yet enriching experience that benefits not only a group of United States veterans, but also the NSU-COM students. The students travel to the VA nursing home in order to celebrate the holidays with our honored veterans. Some of the services our students provide at these events include bingo, singing, piano playing, and most importantly, company and conversation for the seniors. Students gain a new perspective on life as well as some wise advice from their senior friends. For some medical students, this may be their only exposure to the geriatric population, which will more than likely compose a large part of their future patient population. Senior Soirees holds annual events for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, and Easter, as well as a special caroling party for Christmas. The students that participate truly learn the importance of quality of life in caring for our elders. The one goal uniting us all in this undertaking is to simply give back and care for those who may or may not have someone else to care for them - a way of saying thanks to those who have fought for our country to give us the freedoms we enjoy today. Last year, music therapy was added to this portion of the program. We had the Fall Music Festival which featured NSU students and community members as the musicians including a string quartet, barbershop quartet, a folk guitarist and a vocalist, and a flautist. The program was a wonderful 45 minute concert that reminded the residents of some of their favorite pieces as the sang along to many of the songs and clapped their hand the whole way through.

In addition, a new program called the Adopt a Grandparent Pen Pal Program was begun last year to reach the residents who may have no living family members or connections in Florida. 14 NSU students volunteered to write letters that were then delivered to the nursing home for these special residents. The Pen Pals will meet their residents at a Pen Pal Social event on Nov.17. This was kept up through the year and was a huge success.

Finally a new program that was started at the nursing home last year was pet therapy. This gave students a chance to bring their loving pets to the home and let the residents enjoy their company. They pet them, played with the animals, and really enjoyed spending time with the furry creatures.

PENS on a MISSION

Project Chair: Deidre Bass

Pens on a Mission is a program that I started through Sigma at NSUCOM, however it was adapted from a similar program started by SOMA (Pens for Africa) that has actually become a very big project. The SOMA president at NSUCOM however, did not want to participate, so I gladly took over this project. It is a little different from the SOMA project in that it is geared toward missions in which our school participates. Some of my fellow classmates, after I told them about the project, cam to me and expressed their experiences on the missions they went on last year. They stated that so many of the little kids in the towns & villages were asking for pens. For me, this was a definite bright light that just solidified my pursue in this very special project.

Moist of the pens, per request, have been the left over pharmaceutical pens from drug reps or from conventions. We have already done one round of collections and have over 300 pens. We plan on collecting them once a month from students in our medical building at school, with a goal of collecting 2000 pens overall. These pens with go with students on the many mission trips our school is involved with: Guatemala, Jamaica, Ecuador, and Nicaragua to name a few. We are sure this project will be a favorite one in the future.

SOUPinator

Program chair: Deidre Bass

This is a program that was started last year and has been enjoyed by all. Twice a month we go to the Jubilee Center of South Broward, a soup kitchen, and volunteer. We clean tables to prepare for lunch, serve lunch, and clean up afterwards. We also help organize and distribute other items to the homeless such as food, clothes, and toys for children. This is a really great place to volunteer and many of our members went back more than once because they had such a great time. As people went through the line to get their food, they would smile, say thank you, and have a look on their face that they were so appreciative to be eating that day. Being able to experience situations like this is what interests students so much in attending this program time and time again.

Child Life Volunteering

Program Chair: Danielle Wallach

Another new program started last year is Child Life Volunteering. This is a program where students volunteer at the Chris Evert Children’s Hospital in Fort Lauderdale every Monday. The students enjoying spending time with the children whether it be playing games, coloring pictures, watching TV, or just talking. This program was a huge success last year and has already begun this year because of the enthusiasm.

Camp Boggy Creek

Program Chair: open

The Boggy Creek Gang Camp
Co-founders: General H. Norman Schwarzkopf & Paul Newman

The Boggy Creek Gang Camp is a not-for profit medical camping center specifically
designed and equipped for children ages 7-17 who have chronic or life
threatening illnesses. Camp Boggy Creek offers week long summer camp sessions,
family retreat weekends, and sibling weekend camps free of cost for chronically-
ill children and their family members. SSPHI members along with other students have the opportunity to volunteer for the weekend as “family pals” engaging in
various activities such as: swimming, archery, boating, horseback riding,
fishing, wood shop, and most importantly FUN! The mission of Camp Boggy Creek is to
enrich the lives of children who have life threatening illnesses by creating
camping experiences that are memorable, exciting, empowering and medically
sound. Unfortunately last semester we were unable to attend due to conflicts in scheduling but we hope to participate this spring again. This has also been added as possible credit for a com2serv program for first and second years, were community based medicine for rural communities is stressed and encouraged.

Diabetes Camp

Program Chair: Jill Collins

Florida Diabetes Camp is a camp for children with insulin dependent Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. The relies strictly on volunteers and donations, Sigma encourages participation, in addition this camp serves as partial credit for one of the mandatory courses in the first and second year curriculum. Volunteers range from doctors, nurses, psychologists, nutritionists, medical and college students. As a medical student your responsibilities are both as a camp counselor and the child’s first line of medical care. Each day the counselors round with the doctors, go through each child’s medical record for the day and suggest changes to insulin dosages and other aspects of diabetes care. While with the campers, the counselors monitor blood glucose levels, administer insulin shots, facilitate activities with the children, and ultimately serve as a role model. For 2 years now, Sigma has organized a group of members to attend camp working with these children as well as gaining medical knowledge for years to come.

Campus Events

Rotation Luncheon

Program Chairs: Kim Boardman and Michael Alvarez

After the huge success of the rotation luncheon in past years we are planning to repeat the event on November 18, 2007. The luncheon is going to be held at the Renaissance hotel in Plantation, Florida. A total of about fifteen third and fourth year students are planning to return for the luncheon to represent their respective core hospitals. Students will share their experiences and answer questions from roughly one hundred second year medical students. This is such a valuable service to the students as they are given the opportunity to hear first hand information about the various hospital tracts in an unbiased atmosphere. Previously, the luncheon was only open to Sigma Sigma Phi members, however after realizing how beneficial the event has been, we have opened the event to the entire second year class. Since Sigma’s budget is not huge, we are asking all the student clubs on campus to pledged donations to help with cost. Student’s feedback has historically been very positive and in general students feel that the information and true student experiences presented at the luncheon will better assist them in making an informed decision about core rotation sites.

Spring Initiation Dinner

The 2007 spring initiation dinner welcomed 25 new members to the Sigma Sigma Phi

Fraternity. With the help of a pharmaceutical company, we had a wonderful dinner in the Chancellor’s Dining Room, at the Health Professions Building. Events from last year were revisited and the plans for the future were declared. We look forward to the new members that will be initiated into Sigma Sigma Phi in the upcoming year.