TouroCOM News

Before she entered osteopathic medical school, Lauren Fleig wanted to understand what life was like for the patients she eventually planned to serve. A graduate of Temple University, Fleig spent five years working in the social work field, visiting poverty-stricken elderly residents in the area.

Immediately after finishing his residency in 2010, Dr. Fernando Bruno was drafted into the Brazilian army.

The Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine hosted its first national conference this fall at its Harlem campus. The 2018 Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) National Student Conference, “At the Intersection of Power: Communities in Crossfire,” drew dozens of socially conscious medical students from around the country and speakers from around the globe to discuss health crises and how physicians advocate for policy change.

Reason he enlisted: Former Sergeant Nicholas Hoffmann enlisted in the Marines for two reasons: his father served so it was something he always considered and after witnessing the atrocities of September 11, 2001, he felt like it was something he needed to do.

Reason he enlisted: Former Corps of Engineer Captain David Yens enlisted in the army after growing up as a self-described Army brat as his father served as an Army doctor for several years.

TouroCOM-Middletown Student Dana Golden (OMS-II) highlights what she hopes to learn and contribute to the medical field while serving her country.

Dr. Joyce Brown, Director of Simulation and the Vice Chair of TouroCOM Middletown’s Department of Primary Care, always knew what she wanted to become a doctor. Her job at TouroCOM was the combination of all her interests.

A summer of relaxation after the intensity of first-year medical school? Not for these students. Five TouroCOM Middletown students used their summer break as an opportunity to broaden their medical horizons while also fulfilling TouroCOM’s mission of service. OMS I Dana Golden, a recipient of the military’s Health Professional Scholarship Program, worked in a military lab to improve combat casualty care ; OMS I Jennifer S. Lee discovered the nexus of policy and medicine working as a Summer Fellow at U.S. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney’s office; OMS I Lyle (Yap) Yaphockun researched better medical treatment for transgender individuals; and OMS I Tiguiran Kane and OMS I Anna Marie Tran spent two weeks in Haiti studying how factors such as race, power and class affect medical treatment.

Clark Johnsen, TouroCOM Harlem Class of 2018, was chosen by the faculty and students to be the student speaker at the school’s recent commencement ceremonies.  Before med school, he was leading the star-studded life of a Broadway actor, working in the ensemble of the award-winning musical The Book of Mormon.  Now, after four years of intensive study and rotations in medicine, he will be starting a residency in psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.

When Caroline Basta was a junior in college, her mother developed painful headaches. After seeing several specialists and taking various drugs and finding no relief, her mother sought out the care of a doctor of osteopathy. “After a few sessions of cranial manipulation,” recalls Caroline, “my mother’s headaches were gone.”