TouroCOM News

It was the usual scene for a Friday afternoon at the corner of 137^th and Edgecombe in Harlem, NY: more than one hundred Senegalese residents milled around the sidewalks in front of the Murid Islamic Community in America Mosque. Their afternoon service just completed, the prayer-goers—the men in long robes, the women in colorful head scarves and dresses—were rolling up their prayer mats from the sidewalk. Meanwhile, street vendors hawked their wares (sandwiches, watches, cut-up mango, headsets) in Senegalese.

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM)-Middletown recently co-sponsored a Community Volunteer Fair with the Joint Membership of Health and Community Agencies (JMHCA), a united federation of voluntary health and community agencies that offer wellness and recovery services for Orange County residents.

The Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine-Harlem is committed to training osteopathic physicians with a particular emphasis on practicing medicine in underserved communities, and to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in medicine. Three DOs—Rhoda Amiseng, Tatiana Carrillo, and Gabrielle Jasmin—are quintessential examples of both aspects of that very mission. Recently, these three students were chosen to speak at the TouroCOM-Harlem parlor meeting fundraiser to raise donations for underrepresented minorities, which raised nearly $66,000 in scholarships for TouroCOM-Harlem. Here, get to know these inspiring women even better. 

“Where can I get alcohol swabs?” a breathless D.O. student asked his peer. “Sir, do you take any medications? Would you like to have them reviewed?” a PharmD candidate asked an approaching visitor.

This past Saturday, Pharmacists for Public Health (PPH) at the Touro College of Pharmacy (TCOP) teamed up with the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM)-Harlem to perform blood-pressure screenings and brown-bag medication reviews at the third annual Harlem Healthy Soul Festival hosted by the Apollo Theater. The festival, which offered live entertainment, informative exhibits, and presentations by celebrities, doctors and health experts including TouroCOM's own Dr. John M. Palmer and Dr. Jeff Gardere, offered families the opportunity to learn about resources that foster active and healthy lifestyles. 

For medical students, summer is a valuable stretch of time ripe for participating in new learning experiences, internships, and volunteering work. At Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, first and second year students on both the Harlem and Middletown campuses make the most of their summers by actively pursuing, and attaining, summer experiences that give them more exposure to various fields of medicine.

On August 16^th, the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM)-Middletown Class of 2019 participated in their formal White Coat Ceremony, the second annual ceremony since the opening of the new TouroCOM campus in Middletown, New York. 

Michael Erickson, a fourth-year medical student at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) in Harlem, is finishing up his medical school training doing surgical rotations – mostly specializing in trauma and burn surgery – the field he has come to love.

The story begins with Edward Qian, OMS2, who’s been gardening since he was a kid. In his hometown of Hinsdale, a quiet suburb of Chicago, his father (a former carpenter who taught him “to build everything from scratch”) maintained a bountiful garden with cucumbers, tomatoes, and soybeans. 

Get involved in organizations, and create a social support group. Be aware of timelines, and reach out to professors, advisors, and contacts at your preferred clinical rotations. Come in with an open mind, and don't be afraid to pursue a different medical route than you initially expected. Put in that extra effort and work hard, but also take breaks. And always remember: This is an incredible honor.