TouroCOM News

New York, N.Y. – Successful recruitment of underrepresented minorities (URMs) to medical school is enhanced when prospective applicants are able to interact with minority medical students who have already overcome the barriers.

Consolidated Edison is partnering with Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) Harlem in support of MedAchieve, the school’s popular afterschool STEM program that mentors underrepresented minority youth who want to become doctors or other health science professionals. Con Ed is supporting the award-winning program with a $5,000 grant, provided in December.

Atif Towheed, Ph.D., a third-year medical student at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Middletown has received the 2020 AOF Burnett Osteopathic Student Researcher Award from the American Osteopathic Foundation. The monetary award is for Towheed and his colleagues’ work examining the attitudes of health care practitioners towards vaccination. For their study, “The Role of Health Care Providers in Community Immunization,” the researchers surveyed health care providers about their views, perspectives and practices on vaccination. Respondents provided their thoughts on barriers to vaccination.

The “first wave” may be behind us, but New Yorkers are steeling themselves as the coronavirus resurgence hits. When the pandemic swept NYC in the spring, Dr. Michael Erickson, TouroCOM Harlem ‘15 and Chief General Surgery Resident at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, Queens, had completed a fellowship in surgical critical care/burns and was spending his time doing surgeries. St. John’s was the first hospital in the borough with a positive COVID-19 patient, and was hit hard. Everyone had to adapt, and Dr. Erickson’s duties shifted overnight to caring for coronavirus patients in a sealed COVID-19 ICU. Now the national “DO of the Year” is back in the OR, reflecting on the experience and lessons learned as infections rise again.

As Veterans Day approaches, we spoke with TouroCOM Harlem student and Marine veteran Ben Olsen on why he enlisted, the military awards he received for his service, and why he's passionate about osteopathic medicine.

As Veterans Day approaches, we caught up with Army veteran, and medical student on the TouroCOM Harlem campus, Pritish Sahoo, on why he enlisted, where he served, and more.

Middletown, New York – Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) has announced the recipient of the newly established Sullivan 180 Medical Scholarship Program. This award promotes the practice of medicine in underserved areas by offering tuition assistance to a TouroCOM Middletown student who has demonstrated financial need, outstanding academic work and dedication to improving the health of the local community.

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine today received the 2020 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for its outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The announcement marks the third time the school has received the award, bestowed annually by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

TouroCOM Middletown OMS II Lynn Allyssa Désiré, MS, MPH, is the 2020 recipient of the Shelly Arnstein Minority Scholarship. The award is given by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) to two underrepresented minority students either entering medical school or continuing their medical education. The award is named after Arnstein, a groundbreaking scholar in the field of participatory decision making and a past executive director of AACOM.

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (TouroCOM) highly successful after-school science enrichment program for high school students, MedAchieve, is the recipient of the 2020 “Inspiring Programs in STEM Award” from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.