Doctor of Medicine MD Program
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Table of contents A message from the president and dean.................................1
Year 1: This community’s medical college Caring for the community..............................................................2 Year 1 curriculum............................................................................... 4
Year 2: Grounded in science Research opportunities..................................................................6 Year 2 curriculum..............................................................................6
Year 3: Regionally engaged, nationally relevant Year 3 curriculum: Longitudinal integrated curriculum...............................................................................................10 Regional campus model...............................................................14 Regional impact................................................................................17
Year 4: The continuum: ready for residency Year 4 curriculum........................................................................... 22 Match maker.................................................................................... 24
GME enriches the UME experience.................................... 28 Faculty............................................................................................... 30 Preventing burnout with ePortfolio....................................31 Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program.................................. 32 Apply...................................................................................................33
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine educates aspiring physicians and scientists to serve society using a community-based, patient-centered, interprofessional and evidence-based model of education that is committed to inclusion, promotes discovery and utilizes innovative techniques.
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine is committed to non-discrimination in all employment and educational opportunities.
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
A message from the president and dean Healthcare’s evolution has accelerated. Imagine learning in an environment that stays ahead — an environment ready to meet abrupt change intelligently and already leading the systemic shifts medicine requires to deliver care equitably and with concern for the whole person. Geisinger provides that environment. Our focus on interprofessional care teams, rather than disconnected individual providers, prepare us for unexpected challenges, like those posed by COVID-19. Our physicians are also leading a revolution in primary care, an organizational change in which we are proud innovators. And Geisinger’s distinct innovations, like electronic health records with data analytics and our international prominence in genetics and genomics, are deployed in ways that benefit the clinician and the patient. As a student, you will learn from practitioners using these high-tech tools every day to improve the health of individuals and entire communities. At Geisinger, we train tomorrow’s physician to approach medicine on both a macro and a micro level — to be capable of discerning and helping to cure the broad, societal causes of disease, and ready to render compassionate care rooted in the Geisinger values of kindness, excellence, safety, learning and innovation. In addition to the MD, Geisinger offers an outstanding degree program in nursing and a master’s degree in biomedical sciences and a professional science master’s degree. We also have more than 500 residents and fellows, comprising 31 accredited residency programs and 27 subspecialty fellowship programs, which encompass Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education physician programs as well as dental, podiatry, pharmacy and more. Your education will be enhanced by learning and interacting with these fellow professionals. As a young school created by community and integrated with a health system routinely held up as a national model of excellence for person-centered care, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine offers a unique and distinct medical education. We emphasize active learning, early clinical exposure and community engagement to address social determinants of health from day one. That’s why Geisinger Commonwealth graduates are known for their brilliance and their caring — for authentic empathy coupled with superior clinical skills and knowledge, all accompanied by an unparalleled ability to connect with patients. This is the kind of doctor who will lead the healthcare teams of the future. If this is the future physician you’d like to be, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine is the place to learn. Sincerely,
Steven J. Scheinman, MD President and Dean of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Geisinger Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
This community’s medical college
Year 1
Caring for the community There’s a space in medicine where encyclopedic scientific knowledge and finely tuned clinical skills can’t reach. It’s the space where a physician connects with patients, beyond their collection of signs and symptoms — on a human level, where true communication occurs. As medicine’s technological complexity increases, so does the need for practitioners who effortlessly inhabit this infinitely more fundamental space. At Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, we call that space caring. And, along with mastery of medical knowledge and clinical skills, it forms the basis of our MD curriculum.
It begins with a focus on the student Geisinger Commonwealth’s medical education blends tradition with invention. Our curriculum honors the century-old mandate that students gain experience and expertise in basic and clinical science, but it also capitalizes on the learning advantages inherent in being part of a dynamic, fully integrated health system that sets the standard for medicine’s new focus on improving outcomes through initiatives in population health and the novel use of technology. All of this begins, however, with the student. Throughout their four years at Geisinger Commonwealth, students engage in professional identity formation that asks them to look within and begin to build a core of values and priorities. This core is something students can rely on to replenish their mental and spiritual reserves, and something that will keep them connected to their ideals when the strenuous pace of medical education — and later medical practice — can seem overwhelming. Throughout their time at Geisinger Commonwealth, through a variety of assignments and experiences, medical students are continually challenged to envision and to plan for not just what kind of doctor they want to be, but also what kind of person.
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Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Putting the patient at the center of medicine At Geisinger Commonwealth, students spend time with real patients right away. Throughout their first two years, our students participate in the FamilyCentered Experience (FCE) Program. Students take a break from studying anatomy, physiology and molecular biology to meet with their assigned family — community volunteers who agree to allow medical students into their homes and lives to be up-close witnesses to what it’s like for a family to cope with chronic and debilitating illness. Students forge close bonds with the families and often accompany them to various appointments to see firsthand how fragmentation and communication barriers in the health system can impact well-being. “The FCE Program far exceeded my expectations,” said one student. “It has been a unique, eye-opening addition to my medical school experience that I know I will surely miss moving forward. My FCE family took me in with open arms and made me feel like family in their own home. I will take the memories with me forever.” The program also has a strong positive impact on our community and volunteers.
One family volunteer stated, “Having the opportunity to candidly share experiences throughout the medical system (good and bad) was surprisingly therapeutic and helped me appreciate the journey. I’d never really shared it with anyone outside my immediate family and friends. The students were receptive, thoughtful and overall just lovely individuals. I am excited to see them graduate in the upcoming year. They’ve become friends and I cannot wait to see all they will accomplish.” The program is integrated into the Patient and Physician-Centered Care 1 & 2 courses through self-reflection and facilitated group discussion. Experiencing medicine from the patient’s point of view is a life-altering experience and an essential piece of learning to put patients at the center of healthcare.
Community immersion: The view from 30,000 feet During their pre-clinical years of medical school, Geisinger Commonwealth students have a chance to change a community and, in the process, gain the tools and learn the strategies necessary to enhance population health anywhere. In this phase of the MD curriculum, students spend time in a specific community, interact with partner agencies and
healthcare facilities, and get to learn about the health status and needs of that community. In addition, they work with our community partners to address a community-identified health concern through a research project. A significant portion of this community experience will take place in the Community Health Improvement and Promotion (CHIP) course, which spans the first two academic years. Mushfiq Tarafder, PhD, director of Preventive Health and Community Studies and associate professor of epidemiology, said that the CHIP course involves active student participation in a multisite community health research project, which additionally serves as a venue for community engagement and servicelearning activities. “The main idea is to give students real contact with community and incorporate hands-on experiences with population health. These are robust projects meant to have lasting impact. The students build intervention projects in collaboration with our partner agencies and they go through every step: literature review, planning, IRB approval, recruiting participants and collecting and analyzing data. This experience is something they can take with them anywhere, and the lessons learned translate to any community,” he said.
Fast fact: Geisinger Commonwealth students completed 15,162 hours of service in academic year 2019–2020.
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
The humanities and medicine The Health Equity Group (HEG) at Geisinger Commonwealth has recommended a new book as the required summer reading for incoming students. Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy, MD, is described by Kirkus Reviews as “an arresting memoir that personalizes the enduring racial divide in contemporary American medicine.... In this unsparingly honest chronicle, Tweedy cohesively illuminates the experiences of black doctors and black patients and reiterates the need for improved understanding of racial differences within global medical communities.” As the new academic year begins, the book supplies the basis of small group discussions for both first- and second-year students, led by our faculty members of
HEG. The book examines the complex ways in which both Black doctors and patients must navigate the difficult and often contradictory terrain of race and medicine. Through his own and his patients’ stories, Dr. Tweedy illustrates the complex social, cultural and economic factors at the root of many health problems in the Black community. As the New York Times writes, “In this powerful, moving, and deeply empathic book, Tweedy explores the challenges confronting black doctors, and the disproportionate health burdens faced by black patients, ultimately seeking a way forward to better treatment and more compassionate care.” Dr. Damon Tweedy is a graduate of Duke Medical School and Yale Law School. He is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center and staff physician at the Durham VA Medical Center.
Year 1 curriculum Students spend their first two years primarily in Geisinger Commonwealth’s North Campus location, studying basic sciences and learning clinical skills. Courses are designed to address the interface of patient, physician and society, and introduce clinical thinking and decision-making in today’s socioeconomic and cultural environment. During first year, the focus is gaining a core understanding of the structure and function of the human body.
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Course
Topic
Case-Based Learning 1 (CBL1)
CBL1 prepares students for clinical practice by linking classroom-based knowledge to clinical practice through the discussion of clinical case studies.
Community Health Improvement and Promotion (CHIP)
The goal of CHIP is to give students the opportunity to learn about the principles, methods and complexities involved in community health/public health interventions through active participation in group projects.
Foundation of Systems (FoS)
FoS covers biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, medical genetics, physiology, clinical anatomy and radiology, histology, immunology, microbiology, pathology, embryology and pharmacology.
Physician and Patient-Centered Care (PPCC1)
PPCC1 is a year-long course that assists students and one another to connect to humanity and humanism — our own as well as that of our peers and those who will benefit from our professional skills, knowledge and presence.
Physician and Society (PAS)
The goal in PAS is to illustrate the need for and the benefits from collaborative approaches and efforts for advancements in health, health policies and clinical practices among the fields of clinical medicine, research epidemiology, biostatistics and public health.
Neuroscience
The instructional material is presented in a multidisciplinary format to foster the integration of the basic disciplines of neuroanatomy, biochemisty, histology, immunology, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology and physiology.
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Tyler Bogaczyk MD Class of 2023 Tyler Bogaczyk is used to multitasking. As both an undergraduate and graduate student, he occupied what little downtime he had from his studies to fill leadership roles and find innovative applications for 3D printing. In college, Tyler was very involved on campus. He was a member of the men’s crew team, a resident assistant, a campus tour guide and president of the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society. In addition, Tyler found time to learn about 3D printing at Bucknell University’s MakerSpace. “I was introduced to 3D printing right after graduation and became fascinated with the technology,” he said. “I spent time in the MakerSpace throughout the summer and learned how to use the printers. I was blown away by the endless applications that the technology could be used for, so I bought my own printer and started a custom 3D printing business as a new hobby.” In addition to his 3D printing projects, Tyler worked as a research assistant in Geisinger’s Department of Epidemiology and Health Services Research to gain experience collaborating with physicians. After two years, he decided to pursue a Master of Science in Biomedical Studies (MBS) from Drexel and moved to Philadelphia with his 3D printer. While there, Tyler teamed up with two other MBS students to design a community impact project that utilized 3D printing. By combining their passions for medicine and Tyler’s 3D printer, the three of them established the first Philadelphia based chapter of e-NABLE, an international nonprofit that connects individuals with 3D printers to clients in need of prosthetic limbs and assistive devices. Throughout the rest of his time at Drexel, his team would go on to create and donate prosthetic devices to multiple clients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. As he enters his second year of medical school at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Tyler is still finding ways to leverage his 3D printing background, only this time he’s using his printer to help battle COVID-19. In early April, Tyler began taking advantage of the strict stay-at-home orders by printing “ear saver” devices on a daily basis to donate to local healthcare workers. The devices prevent mask straps from rubbing on the back of ears, an emerging problem for healthcare workers who need to constantly wear masks at work. He did this without missing a moment of school or study time. Tyler has a timer set on his watch so he can start his printer, resume his studies or Zoom meetings, then return to the printer for post-print processing when the timer goes off. He has been doing this on repeat for two months now and plans to continue doing so until the devices are no longer needed. Tyler has already made over 500 ear savers and donated all of them to Geisinger clinicians. Despite his busy daily schedule, Tyler has also become very involved in the Geisinger Commonwealth community. He was elected president of the Medical Student Council and treasurer of the Student Musculoskeletal Society and is an active member of many other student groups. Tyler is also one of 10 Abigail Geisinger Scholars for his class, a status he’s very proud of. “As an Abigail Geisinger Scholar, I have pledged to serve the Geisinger family and NEPA community,” he said. “I wanted to begin honoring that commitment by serving in leadership roles that will allow me to make an impact at my school.”
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Year 2
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Grounded in science
Research opportunities Medical research today is much like physics, focusing on things both galactically enormous and so small we can only infer their existence. On the macro side, medical researchers believe population health is the key to subduing modern-day scourges like high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as the growing problems of addiction and suicide. Yet even as medicine zooms out to consider the health of entire populations, it is also going micro, with the advent of precision medicine through genomics. At Geisinger Commonwealth, researchers are on the cutting edge of these disciplines and everything in between.
Year 2 curriculum The second year of medical school lays the foundation for the clinical experiences of the third and fourth years. The educational theme shifts to the study of illness, with a focus on the body’s 12 organ systems and processes. Courses continue to address the interface of patient, physician and society and introduce clinical thinking and decision-making in today’s socioeconomic and cultural environment.
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Course
Topic
Case-Based Learning 2 (CBL2)
The purpose of CBL2 is the development of clinical reasoning skills, which is the central most important skill for a physician.
Physician and Patient-Centered Care 2 (PPCC2)
PPCC2, a year-long course, is a broad vision course that addresses physicians’ unique relationship to individual patients as well as clinical skills development, professionalism, cultural awareness, legal and moral values, and quality improvement.
Systems I
The purpose of Systems I is to acquire the knowledge of the skin, muscles, bones, gastrointestinal system, blood and kidneys needed to describe the major related diseases.
Systems II
The purpose of Systems II is to acquire the knowledge of the cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrinological and reproductive systems, as well as behavioral health, needed to describe the major related diseases.
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Oluwaseyi Olulana MD Class of 2024 As a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s MD Class of 2024, Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Olulana already has several research papers — one of them on COVID-19 — bearing her name. Although she is proud of the papers, it is the work that went into them that she says gave her new confidence in her role as a future physician. Under the externship program offered by Geisinger Commonwealth’s Center of Excellence, Seyi worked as a research extern at the Geisinger Neuroscience Institute Decode Lab in Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center and Geisinger Medical Center during her gap year, after she received her MBS degree from the School of Medicine. At this externship, she worked with the research team to input data for the IMAGENE research study, contribute to the writing of research papers to be published on topics such as disparity and stroke, and further the understanding of stroke assessment within Geisinger under the mentorship of Ramin Zand, MD. The work, which relied on work necessarily performed in person, was challenging and exciting — but it was suddenly uprooted by COVID-19. Seyi said that Dr. Zand could have told her, “Oh well, there’s nothing for you to do,” but that didn’t happen. Instead, he pivoted and challenged the team to produce even more than we did in person. “This is what I like so much about the experience,” she said. “I could have just sat at home, but instead I was called upon to create the discipline to work effectively and productively from home. Dr. Zand and also Dr. Vida Abedi set a very high standard, and in a way, I had to work harder from home than when I was in person. But I did the work, I met the standard and it has contributed to how I see myself. If you had told me in October that by May, I would have my name on three research papers and counting, I would have laughed. But that’s exactly what happened.” Some of the papers examine the impact of COVID-19 on various communities. “Our analysis shows that counties with more diverse demographics, higher population, education, income levels and lower disability rates were at a higher risk of COVID-19 infection. However, counties with higher disability and poverty rates had a higher death rate. African Americans were more vulnerable to COVID-19 than other ethnic groups,” she said. “When we began the research, I thought ‘OK, this is a lot, but I can do it,’” she said. “And now I know I can do it. I can go the extra mile. I think this confidence is going to be an advantage in medical school.”
MyCode: Personalizing healthcare Geisinger’s research theme is to personalize healthcare by discovering ways to empower doctors to discern differences in patients — genetic, environmental or social — that impact quality and outcomes. Anchoring this theme is the MyCode® Community Health Initiative, a systemwide biobank storing blood and other samples for research use.
powerful intelligence that is personally relevant to individual patients. MyCode research has already been translated into ways to diagnose certain medical conditions earlier — even before symptoms appear — and to implement new treatments or medications to manage them.
MyCode analyzes the DNA of volunteers and has surpassed its latest goal of 250,000 participants. Researchers use this vast body of data to transform knowledge of the genome into
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
From the bench to the bedside The research of Sonia Lobo, PhD, responds to the need for a validated interstitial cystitis (IC) biomarker that can be used for diagnostic and potentially prognostic purposes. “Many of the struggles clinicians face in diagnosing IC and in selecting treatments, evaluating effects and deciding when and how to modify treatments could be overcome if a validated biomarker for IC existed,” said Dr. Lobo, associate dean for Research and Scholarship and professor of biochemistry. Antiproliferative factor (APF) holds the most promise as an IC biomarker, as it has been shown to be present in the urine of 95 to 97 percent of IC patients. A reliable technique to detect and measure this biomolecule in urine has eluded investigators to date. Dr. Lobo and her colleagues have developed a method that uses advanced technology to specifically detect and measure APF in the urine, with no invasive procedures. “It is critical to validate and refine this methodology, which we believe will eventually lead to a noninvasive test for IC and provide greater insight into APF’s role in IC.” Such a test, if validated, would not only be safer and less costly, but it will also help physicians understand the disease and be trained to quickly diagnose and treat this painful condition.
Human performance lab Personal resilience has emerged as a quality that researchers believe sustains people exposed to adverse conditions, protecting them from long-term health consequences ranging from cardiovascular disease to depression. Scientists know what resilience is, but not why some people have it while others do not. Gabi Waite, PhD, and David Averill, PhD, both professors of physiology, dream of finding a biomarker for resilience, a finding that could increase our understanding of resilience and help to build it in people at risk. 8
The researchers have devised a study to seek the biomarker. It will use heart rate variability to search for clues. Dr. Waite explained that heart rate is controlled by the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system, a system a person can’t consciously control but which reacts to stress by producing measurable changes in heart rate. The study will evaluate the feasibility of having subjects wear a small device which continuously records their electrocardiogram (or ECG, the electrical signature of the heart’s electrical activity). The time between each heartbeat is then extracted and its fluctuation over minutes, hours and even days is measured as heart rate variability. Subjects will also selfreport their levels of stress throughout the study period. “We know any stress — emotional, physical — affects the autonomic nervous system. We believe that people whose patterns of autonomic nervous system activity are relatively constant may be
under stress continuously. So, yes, this may define the current state of a person. The question is, how does this relate to resilience? That is not so clear,” Dr. Waite said. Before COVID-19 hit, the research team — composed of Drs. Averill, Adonizio and Waite — was ready to go with wearables and logbooks for a starting sample of about 50 people. The pandemic forced a rethinking of the logbook. At present, the team is working with people helping to develop an app that would allow subjects to record their stress and submit their data virtually. “Our dream is to give to every student enrolled at Geisinger, every staff member, every faculty member at school with a wearable and ask them to self-monitor and self-collect. But first, we’ll beta-test the app and roll it out with about 50 people, most likely students,” Dr. Waite said.
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Research synergy There is an apocryphal tale about Michelangelo describing sculpture as simply removing parts of the stone that aren’t statue. The story may be false, but the process it illustrates — patient acceptance of uncertainty until a form emerges from the fog of infinite possibilities — is a good metaphor for scientific discovery. Whatever the term, Brian Piper, PhD, assistant professor of neuroscience, says it’s how he thrives. He prefers to focus on areas where competing or even contradictory facts make a single answer unlikely. “Our society likes extremes, black-and-whites,” he said. “But there are shades of gray. I like the ambiguity. For example, I conduct research concerning opioids, which have both medical benefits and potential for misuse. I also research ethical questions, particularly conflicts of interest not revealed in scientific journals. I find it interesting because, on one hand, we get products with great promise to improve evidence-based medical care, but there’s a downside when industry doesn’t report its financial incentives.” Dr. Piper’s interest in the gray areas of opioid research was sparked during his undergrad days as a psychology major studying children whose mothers “used” during pregnancy. The experience persuaded him to switch to neuroscience, and he’s been studying neuro chemicals ever since. However, coming to Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and embracing its community-focused mission has allowed his research to branch out in new ways. For example, he’s lending his expertise to a unique project to discover the health needs of the Scranton area’s Latino population led by Ida Castro, JD, Geisinger Commonwealth’s vice president for Community Engagement and chief diversity officer. The population health project involves Geisinger Commonwealth medical students leading teams of REACH-HEI participants (those who participate in the Regional Education Academy for Careers in Health – Higher Education Initiative), to conduct a survey Dr. Piper designed. The survey will delve into issues with health, nutrition and substance abuse that affect this “hidden population” in northeast Pennsylvania.
Enhancing U.S. Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 preparation through an in-house Step prep program The first step toward obtaining a medical license is appropriately and simply called Step 1. As with many first things, Step 1 has the reputation of being the most difficult. At Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, the Center for Learning Excellence (CLE) provides intense student support to prepare for this important exam. The Step 1 Prep Program is offered through CLE in collaboration with faculty and is free and open to any GCSOM student preparing to take Step 1. CLE opens discussions about Step 1 at the end of the first year, mostly to quell anxiety around the exam and answer questions. Informational sessions are scheduled in the fall of second year. Throughout exam preparations, CLE encourages students to remain focused on their courses to build a solid foundation for their spring Step study. As winter break approaches, Step study begins in earnest. Students are invited to a series of faculty sessions that provide a deep dive into Step subject matter and allow students to practice answering Step-type questions. These faculty-led sessions build student confidence by introducing exam content and giving students time to master it. Because research suggests practice testing has positive effects on student academic performance, CLE offers faculty-facilitated, subject-specific, question-based review sessions. The Step 1 Prep Program also consists of workshops about the USMLE Step 1 exam facilitated by CLE staff, individual meetings with members of the CLE staff and, most recently, a wellness component in collaboration with Student Health Services called “Beat the Boards Blues.”
Fast fact: Geisinger Commonwealth students have a pass rate of 100% for the Step 1 exam. The national average is 0.97.
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Regionally engaged, nationally relevant
Year 3
Longitudinal integrated curriculum At Geisinger Commonwealth, third year follows an innovative longitudinal integrated curriculum with a hybrid of inpatient and outpatient experiences, virtual clerkships and a capstone experience. This hybrid model provides for continuity of outpatient care with dedicated outpatient faculty, and also allows for intensive inpatient training in core disciplines. This curricular approach helps students develop a cohort of “continuity patients� and allows students to take part in the initial assessment, the plan of care,
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the intervention and the follow-up. The relationships provide for a period of sequential learning with incrementally greater levels of responsibility that are not achieved in brief clerkships. Longitudinal assessment and feedback are critical to the development of competence. In addition to the specific inpatient and outpatient experiences for our seven core clerkships, students will also complete a two-week elective.
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Ambulatory curriculum
Inpatient curriculum
Students work one on one with attending physicians in an ambulatory setting. This experience emphasizes continuity of students with their preceptors and patients, and allows the students to integrate into patient care in a meaningful way. During the ambulatory curriculum, students participate in family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics.
Inpatient experiences primarily occur in hospital settings. These experiences allow for training with acutely ill and hospitalized patients in numerous disciplines. Students will often work with interdisciplinary teams and residency teams in these core areas. • Medicine •
OB-GYN
• Pediatrics • Psychiatry • Surgery/anesthesia •
Component Clinical Fundamentals 10 weeks
Ambulatory Medicine 9 weeks
Inpatient Clinical Rotations 25 weeks
Capstone 2 weeks
Neurology
Rotations
Weeks
Internal Medicine / Family Medicine
2
OB-GYN
2
Pediatrics
2
Psychiatry / Neurology
2
Surgery
2
Family Medicine (2 days per week, 9 weeks)
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Internal Medicine (1 day per week, 9 weeks)
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Pediatrics (1 day per week, 9 weeks)
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Independent Student Learning (1 day per week, 9 weeks)
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Internal Medicine
4
Neurology
3
OB-GYN
4
Pediatrics
3
Psychiatry
3
Surgery / Anesthesia
6
Elective
2
NBME Prep ACLS Professional Identity Formation
2
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Nelson Sofoluke, MD ’17 Neurosurgery resident at Geisinger When he was growing up in Baltimore, Nelson Sofoluke, MD, loved computers. Delving into the mechanics behind what made a program run appealed to his curiosity and he was delighted by seeing immediate responses when he tweaked a program. In fact, he was fairly certain he was going to have a career in computers — right up until his junior year at the University of Maryland when he had a neuroscience course. That course sparked his deep fascination with the brain and the ways surgeons can revive lost function by fixing the brain or nervous system. “When I began to think about medicine, I felt that I would be choosing to do all of the things I loved most — solving problems, thinking critically, being a detective,” he said. Since Dr. Sofoluke’s call to become a surgeon came late in his college career, he began to look for master’s degree programs where he could get the basic science prerequisites necessary to apply to medical school. “The master of biomedical sciences program was my introduction to Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine,” he said. “I chose it because I liked the community — it was small and I felt at home there. The school was so integrated with the community that I instantly felt a part of it. One of my favorite events at the school was the Alley Oop for Autism basketball tournament. All of my friends in the community came and played in it — it was open to everyone.” Another of Dr. Sofoluke’s favorite memories of his time at Geisinger Commonwealth was sharing small group discussion as a medical student with Gino Mori, MD, a retired Scranton surgeon who decided to audit the first two years of medical school just for the intellectual stimulation. “In effect, he graduated with us,” he said, adding that he admired Dr. Mori’s dedication to lifelong learning. As a medical student interested in the highly competitive field of neurosurgery, Dr. Sofoluke said the School of Medicine’s longitudinal integrated curriculum in his third year gave him an important advantage. “Because of the inpatient/outpatient combination, I was in the operating room every week — straight block rotations wouldn’t have allowed that. I was able to have that repetition with the instruments and gained skill with my hands,” he said. “And I had very good teachers. That experience gave me a lot of confidence that helped a lot when I started residency.” Now in his fourth year of a seven-year residency at Geisinger, Dr. Sofoluke admits that, despite his confidence, he finds working in the OR the fulfillment of his dreams. “Neurosurgery has very high rewards because the risk is so great. When someone has a deficit and the surgery fixes it and function returns, the reward you feel is amazing. But I also think of how wrong things can go, so when patients trust you to touch them despite that risk, it’s humbling. Sometimes it’s nerve-wracking, but it’s always humbling.” 12
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Katherine Snyder MD Class of 2021 Katherine (Kathy) Snyder is a native of Dallas in Luzerne County. As a child, helping to care for her beloved grandfather as he coped with Type 2 diabetes nurtured Kathy’s budding interest in medicine. The road wasn’t easy for Kathy, as family finances were tight and she worked to contribute all that she could. “My father worked two part-time jobs for most of my life, struggling to make ends meet. At age 15, I began working as a cashier at Gerrity’s Supermarkets to help with my family’s finances. While in college I worked as many as three part-time jobs simultaneously,” she said. Nevertheless, Kathy remained focused on her ultimate objective of entering medical school. During her undergraduate years at Washington & Jefferson College, Kathy shadowed physicians and served as a student health coach, where she discovered that the patients she coached saw vast improvement. Through this experience Kathy saw the importance of holistic care and communication within the professional healthcare team. She went on to earn her Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) degree in 2016 from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and worked at the school as an education instructor. On Aug. 4, 2017, Kathy got her white coat at Geisinger Commonwealth’s annual White Coat ceremony and officially joined the school’s MD Class of 2021, even receiving a Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation scholarship. Today, she is looking forward to matching into psychiatry. “I am inspired by Geisinger Commonweath’s mission of improving quality and continuity of care to its surrounding communities and neighborhoods,” she said. “I am happy to have the opportunity to become an integral part of improving healthcare in the community I call home.”
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Regional campus model We have affiliation agreements with several hospitals and healthcare systems in our region. Our healthcare delivery partners are each known for the quality of care they provide and for their commitment to healthcare education programs. Our students also work with physicians and health professionals in private practice, community health centers and other sites throughout our region.
Geisinger Commonwealth offers a community-based model of medical education with five regional campuses: Central (Danville), Guthrie (Sayre), North (Scranton), South (Wilkes-Barre) and AtlantiCare (Atlantic City, N.J.), a member of Geisinger. In years three and four, medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth complete their clinical training at their assigned regional campus. Each campus offers exposure to urban and rural settings, allowing for abundant, diverse clinical experiences. Geisinger Commonwealth is fortunate to have outstanding clinical partners with whom we work in each regional campus community.
Tompkins Schuyler Steuben Chemung
Tioga
Sayre
Susquehanna
Bradford
Tioga
Wayne Lackawanna
Scranton
Wyoming Sullivan
Pike
Lycoming Clinton Columbia Montour Union
Wilkes-Barre Luzerne
Danville
Northumberland
Monroe
Carbon
Schuylkill
Doylestown
Dauphin
Cumberland
Ocean
York
Atlantic City Atlantic
Cape May
Campus locations:
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Regions:
Guthrie
North
South
Central
AtlantiCare
A member of Geisinger
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Campus location: AtlantiCare in Atlantic City, NJ Counties: Atlantic, Cape May, Ocean
AtlantiCare Campus
Campus location: Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA Counties: Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Union, York
Central Campus
Campus location: Guthrie in Sayre, PA Counties: Pennsylvania – Bradford, Tioga; New York – Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins
Guthrie Campus
Campus location: Medical Sciences Building in Scranton, PA Counties: Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming
North Campus
Campus location: Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre in Wilkes-Barre, PA Counties: Carbon, Columbia, Luzerne, Schuylkill
South Campus 15
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Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Regional impact Distributed campuses: An entire region dedicated to educating the healthcare teams of the future Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine is unique among academic health centers, which all have well-developed research capabilities and carefully crafted educational programs. At Geisinger Commonwealth, however, patient care is a robust third pillar. Our distributed campus model and our tremendous community clinical faculty — who are physicians first — thrust patient care to the forefront of everything our students learn. That commitment to patient care is the great strength of a Geisinger Commonwealth medical education.
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Community well-being As a system, Geisinger has devoted significant resources to examining the unique health needs of the communities it serves and proposing novel solutions that can be applied locally, but transferred globally. From Springboard Healthy Scranton to the health system’s innovative Fresh Food Farmacy®, Geisinger believes that if it can solve common health problems like obesity and Type 2 diabetes in our part of Pennsylvania, those solutions can be carried across the nation and around the world. Nowhere is this belief put into action more vigorously than at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. The School of Medicine plays a central role in the well-being of its home communities. Our impact is felt economically (Geisinger has an annual $9.9 billion positive impact on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s economy), but more importantly, it’s felt in the ways our presence enriches and uplifts our neighbors. Geisinger Commonwealth is most visibly concerned with bettering lives and improving the healthcare workforce through medical education and advanced fellowships, but our academic focus begins as early as grade school. Our REACH-HEI (Regional Education Academy for Careers in Health – Higher Education Initiative) program is an out-of-school experience that provides academic enrichment opportunities and enables students in northeast Pennsylvania to succeed in health-related professions. A longitudinal program helping middle school, high school and undergraduate students, REACH-HEI has a proven track record of success, with hundreds 18
of its program participants successfully completing their high school and college goals. In 2017, the first cohort of high school students graduated from universities — and some have joined their Geisinger Commonwealth REACH-HEI family as students in the school’s doctor of medicine (MD) and master of biomedical sciences (MBS) programs. The School of Medicine also cares about behavioral health in the region. Market intelligence firm Open Minds, working on behalf of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s Behavioral Health Initiative (BHI), concluded that a 7-county region in northeast Pennsylvania would need to increase its number of psychiatrists by 40 percent simply to meet current need. As a result of those data, in 2015 BHI generated a key recommendation: The School of Medicine and The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education should co-create a psychiatry residency program to train new doctors in this desperately needed specialty. Just two years later, The Wright Center welcomed four residents to its brand-new, ACGME-accredited (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) psychiatry residency program. Every year since, a Geisinger Commonwealth graduate has matched into the program. In addition, in 2018 the School of Medicine welcomed nationally renowned psychiatrist Leighton Huey, MD, as associate dean for Behavioral Health Integration and Community Care Transformation. Since Dr. Huey’s arrival, BHI has launched integration of care efforts in partnership with local agencies and has laid the groundwork for a project focused on building resiliency in the community.
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
“ Geisinger Commonwealth is a unique medical school because no other medical school has made mental and behavioral health, in collaboration with community, its No. 1 priority. My goals for the curriculum are to provide students with the tools, awareness and expertise to integrate physician and mental health in a way that’s seamless — so it’s just a matter of fact that the two problems will be addressed together.” –L eighton Y. Huey, MD, Associate Dean for Behavioral Health Integration and Community Care Transformation
Fast fact: Approximately 1,129 physicians and healthcare professionals in northeast and central Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey serve as Geisinger Commonwealth clinical faculty members.
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Matthew Busch MD Class of 2021 When Matthew Busch, MD Class of 2021, entered medical school, he was fairly certain he wanted to be a pediatrician. Volunteer experiences, a meaningful thirdyear rotation and a research project tailored to helping kids grow up to enjoy a lifetime of wellness convinced him his choice was correct. “In my first and second years at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, I volunteered to tutor and mentor with REACH-HEI*,” he said. “I was also active in the school’s American Sign Language club, where I learned to sign alongside parents of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. These experiences confirmed my passion for working with and advocating for children.” In his third year, Matthew specifically sought a rotation at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville. He knew the region’s only children’s hospital would provide him a “more robust” experience that would greatly add to his clinical knowledge. “The benefit of a rotation at a children’s hospital is that you get to work with residents and see what a pediatrics residency is like, its culture. And the residents were amazing. They were so willing to use time they didn’t have to teach me,” Matthew said. “For example, one resident took 30 minutes to teach me about medicines for diabetic ketoacidosis before we went to see the patient in the ED.” Matthew’s rich volunteer and clinical experiences were augmented by his participation in clinical research into adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their impact on poor adult health outcomes. Matthew sought out F. Dennis Dawgert, MD, a retired pediatrician and Geisinger Commonwealth faculty member who teaches clinical skills and Patient-Centered Medicine. “I am very interested in ACEs and Dr. Dawgert has been active in research in this area. I asked him how I could get involved.” Dr. Dawgert urged Matthew to reach out to Geisinger Commonwealth’s Behavioral Health Initiative, which is looking at the relationship between ACEs and adult opioid addiction. Matthew ended up working with Terri Lacey, director of the Behavioral Health Initiative, and The Wright Center to add ACE screening to the initial intake of hundreds of patients to the center’s addiction medicine clinic. Matthew was responsible for analyzing the data to look for relationships between ACEs and substance use. Seeing for himself how the overwhelming majority of patients struggling with addiction say they witnessed their own parents using was powerful. “Understanding how ACEs impact a child’s long-term health and how they are predictors of negative outcomes will make me a better advocate for better resources for my patients,” he said. “It will be a good way to practice preventive medicine.”
* Regional Education Academy for Careers in Health – Higher Education Initiative (REACH-HEI)
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Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital is the first rural acutecare children’s hospital in the country and one of the first rural academic facilities in the region. As a dedicated 91-bed inpatient unit, Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital has separate floors for infants, toddlers and teenagers where children receive the most advanced pediatric services. At the children’s hospital, specialtytrained pediatric doctors and nurses provide expertise in more than 30 medical and surgical disciplines, including care of children with neonatal illness, life-threatening critical illness, traumatic injuries, neurologic disorders, cancer, diabetes, gastrointestinal disease, infectious diseases and heart and lung disorders. In addition, the genetic team partners with Geisinger’s Genomics Institute to provide cutting-edge diagnosis and treatment of genetic disorders and birth defects.
“ Being a teaching hospital, Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital has a wonderful culture of learning. Medical students get to see a wide variety of pediatric patients — the hospital has specialists in every field. And working with residents provides yet another facet to medical student learning. It is a very comprehensive experience.” –T homas Martin, MD, Professor Emeritus and Founder of Geisinger Department of Pediatrics at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital
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Year 4
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
The continuum: ready for residency Year 4 curriculum Fourth year is focused on advanced clinical experiences. Throughout the fourth year, students participate in a variety of sub-internships, as well as several months reserved for electives.
Residency prep Knowing how you compare to others competing for the same residency program is essential. That’s why Geisinger Commonwealth uses the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) model of assessing readiness for residency matching, together with our own institutional data, to provide practical counseling services as you plan your application and compare it to those who have successfully matched in your desired specialty. All Geisinger Commonwealth students have a career coach to see them through to a successful residency match. Everything from the mean number of research experiences you have to the number and quality of volunteer experiences influences your chances of gaining entry to your desired specialty. Your coach will help you navigate these critical decisions and when your third year begins, weekly team support is available for: • CV prep and personal statement development and two-tier review of finished product • Specialty specific advising
July
August
Electives: Student Choice
Subinternship: Student Choice
September
October
• Mock interviews • Rank order list assistance • Peer mentoring by alumni
Prep for practice Students are required to participate in two Prep for Practice curriculum sessions: one as they begin their fourth year and one during the Match week experience. Some Prep for Practice sessions are offered virtually and some are offered on regional campuses, with an emphasis on honing clinical skills and preparation for residency. 22
Critical Care Medicine
Subinternship: Medicine
N
January
Electives: Student Choice
February
March
April
May
Senior Seminar Break Graduation
December
Interprofessional Selective
November
Electives: Student Choice
nship: ine
Year 4
Match / Core Week
ber
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Match maker
Anesthesiology
Geisinger Commonwealth’s student-centered approach to medical education reaches its denouement in the fourth year. That’s when an abundance of resources is brought to bear to ensure our students make the best residency match possible. Geisinger Commonwealth’s collaborative advising model is intensive and effective. In fact, the school’s student affairs team presented on their approach at a meeting of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). The process begins with collaborative team meetings held weekly beginning in the second half of the third year. During the fourth year, the team continues to meet weekly to guide students through the application and interview season. Institutional match data are used to assist students in comparing their application to that of alumni who have successfully gained interviews and match status. Students receive strategic direction in regard to application submission, and alumni provide peer mentoring, as needed.
• Geisinger, PA
Student success
• Geisinger, PA
In 2020, Geisinger Commonwealth medical students participated in the match experience hosted by the NRMP. Students interviewed across the country with residency programs in a wide range of specialties and programs.
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, CA • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY • Icahn School of Medicine St Luke’s-Roosevelt, NY • The George Washington University, Washington, DC • University of Chicago Medical Center, IL • University of Louisville School of Medicine, KY • University of Maryland Medical Center, MD • University of Southern California, CA • Westchester Medical Center, NY
Child neurology • UPMC Medical Education, PA
Dermatology • Broward Health Medical Center, FL • Loyola University Medical Center, IL
Emergency medicine • Baystate Medical Center, MA • Christiana Care, DE (2) • Crozer-Chester Medical Center, PA • Geisinger, PA • Guthrie/Robert Packer Hospital, PA • Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, CA • Kern Medical Center, CA • Medical College of Georgia-Augusta University, GA • Medical University of South Carolina, SC • St. John’s Riverside Hospital, NY • Thomas Jefferson University, PA • University of Rochester/Strong Memorial, NY • University of Virginia, VA • UPMC Medical Education, PA • West Virginia University School of Medicine, WV • Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Wright State University, OH • Zucker School of Medicine-Northwell NS/LIJ, NY
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Fast fact:
Family medicine
32% of Geisinger Commonwealth’s Class of 2020 matched into a primary care specialty.
• Kaiser Permanente-Napa/Solano, CA
• Guthrie/Robert Packer Hospital, PA • Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine, ME • UPMC Altoona Hospital, PA • UPMC Medical Education-Susquehanna, PA • Ventura County Medical Center, CA
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program • Massachusetts General Hospital, MA • MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC • Montefiore Medical Center/Einstein, NY • Orlando Health, FL • Penn State Hershey Medical Center, PA • Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University, RI • The George Washington University, Washington, DC • University of Miami/Jackson Health System, FL • UPMC Medical Education, PA • Westchester Medical Center, NY
Medicine-pediatrics • Case Western/MetroHealth Medical Center, OH • Maine Medical Center, ME
Medicine-preliminary • Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, CA • Pennsylvania Hospital, PA
Medicine-primary • Virginia Mason Medical Center, WA
Neurodevelopmental disabilities • Baylor College of Medicine–Houston, TX
Neurology • Maine Medical Center, ME • Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, FL • Temple University Hospital, PA • Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, VA
General surgery
Obstetrics-gynecology
• Bassett Medical Center, NY • Christiana Care, DE
• Cooper Medical School of Rowan University/Cooper University Hospital, NJ
• Geisinger, Wilkes-Barre, PA
• Geisinger, PA
• Louisiana State University School of Medicine-New Orleans, LA
• Lankenau Medical Center, PA
• Spartanburg Regional Healthcare, SC
• Penn State Hershey Medical Center, PA
• University of Rochester/Strong Memorial, NY
• Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, MD
• University of Tennessee Health Science Center–Memphis, TN
Ophthalmology
• Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, VA
• Larkin Community Hospital, FL
Internal medicine
• UT–Southwestern, TX
• Christiana Care, DE
• West Virginia University Eye Institute, WV
• Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, NY
Orthopaedic surgery
• HCA Healthcare/University of South Florida Morsani Graduate Medical Education-Trinity, FL • Kaiser Permanente–San Francisco, CA • Loyola University Medical Center, IL
• Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, PA • SUNY Upstate Medical University, NY • University of Tennessee Health Science Center–Memphis, TN
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
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Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Otolaryngology • Thomas Jefferson University, PA
Pathology/combined-anatomic & clinical • Yale-New Haven Hospital, CT
Pediatrics • Geisinger, PA (3) • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY • Jefferson Medical College/duPont Children’s, PA • Medical University of South Carolina, SC • UCLA Medical Center, CA • UPMC Medical Education, PA • Zucker School of Medicine–Northwell Cohen Children’s, NY
Pediatrics/psychology/child psychology • Indiana University School of Medicine, IN
Preliminary • University of Chicago Medicine–NorthShore University Health System, IL
Psychiatry • Lehigh Valley Hospital, PA
Radiology-diagnostic • Boston University Medical Center, MA • Geisinger, PA • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, PA • West Virginia University School of Medicine, WV
Surgery preliminary • Medical University of South Carolina, SC • MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, DC • Temple University Hospital, PA
Transitional • Geisinger, PA (3) • John Peter Smith Hospital, TX • Lehigh Valley Hospital, PA • Nassau University Medical Center, NY • University of Miami Miller School of Medicine/Holy Cross, FL • West Virginia University School of Medicine, WV (2)
Urology • Penn State Hershey Medical Center, PA • Westchester Medical Center, NY
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
GME enriches the UME experience In addition to undergraduate medical education, Geisinger has 31 accredited residency programs in a variety of specialties and subspecialties, from anesthesiology to urology, as well as 27 accredited fellowships. The medical student/resident relationship is mutually enriching. Residents and fellows have the opportunity to teach and mentor, and medical students benefit from having the chance to see what residency/fellowship is really like, up close and personal.
Sarah Bashaw Hayek, MD ’15 Sarah Bashaw Hayek, MD, a fourthyear surgical resident at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, said there was one thing for which she was eminently prepared on day one of the program. As a 2015 graduate of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, she said her medical education laid a solid foundation in professional identity formation and it gave her a tremendous boost in residency. “I had a leg up on figuring out how to be a professional,” she said. “One of the most valuable lessons I learned at Geisinger Commonwealth was that I’d spend a long time training — during all the young years of my life — and that I couldn’t look at it as a pause. It’s not a pause. This is real life and you have to keep living it.” This simple but powerful insight, coupled with time-management skills Dr. Hayek attributes to Geisinger Commonwealth’s longitudinal integrated curriculum, resulted in her being named intern of the year at the end of her initial year in residency. She has also won an award for professionalism. Her experiences in residency have been, she said, “wonderful so far.” She has grown close to her fellow residents and has high praise for the surgeons teaching her. “The surgical attendings teach because they love it and that’s apparent,” she said. “They are very invested in making us great surgeons, but they also look out for us and try to create a family atmosphere. The faculty is committed to us all the time.” In this way, she said, her experiences at Geisinger Medical Center mirror those she had at Geisinger Commonwealth. For this reason, she said, she was “thrilled” at the integration of medical school and health system. As for her future, Dr. Hayek said she is entirely open to staying in the region. She and her husband, Andrew, an engineer, have a home in Bloomsburg and have recently welcomed their first child, Abigail. The Vermont native said that, in addition to her career in surgery, she hopes to eventually teach medical students or residents. She’s already begun honing her teaching skills. She’s been mentoring 2017 Geisinger Commonwealth graduate Josh Cole, MD. “Surgery has a reputation for being hard on residents. Our program director is wonderful, inspiring — so I haven’t had that experience,” she said. “I’m happy now to have the chance to return the favor.” 28
Jake Parrick, MD ’19 Jake Parrick chose to become a doctor because he wanted to give back to his community. “Give back” is a trite phrase, but Dr. Parrick’s experience with the power of community was anything but banal. He had just started classes as a freshman at Wilkes University when the rain began. By the time it stopped, he had a completely different outlook on himself and his neighbors. “It was September 2011 and I was living with my family in my childhood home in Duryea. Weather reports said the rain had affected the Lackawanna River right behind our house, but we couldn’t see much difference, so we weren’t worried. Then the National Guard came knocking and warned people to leave. My mom and sister did, but my dad and I figured we’d ride it out,” Dr. Parrick said. Remaining in the home was no longer an option when the pair looked out their kitchen window and saw waves of water coming through the fence in their backyard. After their narrow escape, the family came home to complete devastation. Fortunately, every day, an army of volunteers swarmed the neighborhood’s homes. “People would just walk in and start working, pulling down drywall, bringing food and supplies. People we didn’t even know. I was overwhelmed by their generosity,” he said. The experience drove Dr. Parrick’s desire to excel in his undergraduate studies so he could attend medical school. It was also influential in his choice of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. “I wanted to remain in the northeastern Pennsylvania area to serve the community I grew up in,” he said. Dr. Parrick is now a psychiatry resident at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. “I chose psychiatry because it really enables the clinician to form lasting deep relationships with patients,” he said. He is also pleased that his training continues to put his community at the forefront. “Geisinger Commonwealth places great emphasis on service. Students are not only encouraged but required to get involved. So, I like that The Wright Center has that community focus, too. I chose to be a doctor because I wanted to serve. My training is helping me to achieve that dream.”
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Gina Baiamonte, MD ’20 Despite COVID-19 restrictions, Gina Baiamonte was overjoyed on Match Day 2020. Not only did she match into one of the more competitive medical specialties — emergency medicine — but she also landed a spot in her firstchoice program: Geisinger. “I was lucky because of all the preparation I got at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine,” she said. One major advantage Dr. Baiamonte got from Geisinger Commonwealth, she said, was being required to complete a two-week rotation in emergency medicine in her third year. “That was really fortunate,” she said. “Most schools don’t have such a requirement, so most students don’t get to experience the Emergency Department until their fourth year, when it may be too late. I, for one, was certain I wanted to be a surgeon. It was that two-week rotation that changed my mind.” Dr. Baiamonte said she was captivated by the pace and the breadth of knowledge required in the Emergency Department. “In my first and second years, I loved everything. I wanted to learn
everything. The fact that emergency medicine is one of the few specialties where I can apply it all really interested me,” she said. Having the advantage of knowing she wanted to practice emergency medicine allowed Dr. Baiamonte to structure her fourth year in a way that would answer other questions she had. “I grew up in a small town and stayed close to home for college and medical school because I love it. But I wanted to experience a big city to be sure I wasn’t missing out. I had an away rotation that proved to me that I don’t want to live and work in an urban area,” she said. The away experiences convinced her that Geisinger would be her No. 1 choice on her rank list. “I did a rotation at Geisinger and I just felt at home. All of the residents were super friendly and willing to teach. I wanted to be a part of that,” Dr. Baiamonte said. Now on the threshold of her first year, she admits to being a bit nervous. “Suddenly, I’m the doctor. What I do counts, so yes, it’s scary. But I know Geisinger will prepare me well and I know that Geisinger Commonwealth has already given me a leg up. Our program director told us we would begin with standardized patients and we would be evaluated on empathy and communication. I am confident that I have an advantage there. I’ve done it so many times at school, I know I’ve got this part down pat.”
Max Vogel, MD ’18 Max Vogel, MD, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s Class of 2018, is beginning his second year of residency in orthopaedic surgery at Geisinger Medical Center. As the son of a carpenter and a registered nurse, the Aliquippa native said he was raised to have compassion for others and use his mind and other tools to find solutions to problems, making his career choice and specialty decision almost effortless. It didn’t hurt that, as an athlete, Dr. Vogel’s earliest and most frequent exposure to medicine came through orthopaedics. “I played baseball in college in South Carolina, where I met my wife, Kaley. We both love sports and the outdoors, so we were happy to come back to Pennsylvania and all of the outdoor activities it has for my medical school education,” he said. “The experience has been even better because I got to go to Geisinger Commonwealth. It has such a family feeling. Everyone there is on your side. Everyone is there to help. It’s a school where many students are on a first-name basis with faculty and staff, which is both unique and impressive,” he said.
Dr. Vogel said that warm family feeling has continued at Geisinger Medical Center. “One thing that is consistent across both the School of Medicine and Geisinger Medical Center is the focus on community. Geisinger was, of course, founded by Abigail Geisinger with the intent of helping to serve her community. Similarly, the School of Medicine was founded by the surrounding community with the intent of increasing healthcare availability in the region. At Geisinger Commonwealth, I think the result is that there’s a true family feel and a sense of connection to the region. At Geisinger Medical Center, I get that same impression. That strong sense of family/community is the overarching theme, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Fast fact: Geisinger has more than 500 residents and fellows.
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Faculty At Geisinger Commonwealth, students encounter excellent instructors and mentors, such as:
John Arnott, PhD
Regional Associate Dean for Central Campus Assistant Professor of Medicine
Dr. Arnott’s research focuses on understanding the signaling mechanisms in osteoblasts that are important for bone formation and fracture repair.
Dr. Olaf practices emergency medicine with Geisinger in Danville, Pa.
Joseph Bannon, MD
James Scott, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery Dr. Bannon practices general and colorectal surgery at Geisinger. He serves as associate professor of surgery and program director for the Geisinger Northeast general surgery residency program.
Youngjin Cho, PhD Associate Professor of Immunology Dr. Cho’s research focuses on understanding the signaling mechanisms in mesenchymal stem cells and osteoblasts that are important for bone formation.
Na Tosha N. Gatson, MD, PhD, FAAN
Director, Geisinger Neuro-Oncology Division Chair of the GCSOM Center is Excellence, Health Equity Group Assistant Professor of Medicine Dr. Gatson specializes in neurology and subspecializes in neuro-oncology and neuro-immunology at Geisinger Medical Center. Her research interests are in brain tumor imaging and population science.
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Mark Olaf, DO
Chair of the Department of Medical Education Associate Professor of Cell Biology
Regional Clerkship Director of OB/GYN Assistant Professor of OB/GYN Dr. Scott is an obstetrician/gynecologist at Guthrie Corning Hospital in Corning, N.Y.
Shubhra Shetty, MD Regional Associate Dean for North Campus Professor of Medicine Dr. Shetty serves as the director of The Wright Center’s HIV Clinic and as an infectious diseases specialist at Moses Taylor Hospital and Regional Hospital of Scranton, both affiliates of Commonwealth Health.
Christin Spatz, MD Director of Clinical Advising Assistant Professor of Medicine Dr. Spatz practices nephrology with Guthrie Medical Group.
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Preventing burnout with ePortfolio “To promote burnout among physicians, it is only necessary to subvert their professional and personal priorities, so that they spend all their time on little things and suffer continually from a growing sense that they are neglecting the ones that really matter.” –The Atlantic magazine paraphrasing Sir William Osler, one of the four founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. (“The Root of Physician Burnout” by Richard Gunderman, The Atlantic, Aug. 27, 2012) Michelle Schmude, EdD
“Burnout at its deepest level is not the result of some train wreck of examinations, long call shifts, or poor clinical evaluations. It is the sum total of hundreds and thousands of tiny betrayals of purpose, each one so minute that it hardly attracts notice.” –“For the Young Doctor About to Burn Out” by Richard Gunderman, The Atlantic, Feb. 21, 2014 At Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, students learn about external tools like healthy eating and exercise to help combat stress. More importantly, however, carefully crafted components of the curriculum are designed to build and strengthen students’ internal resources — and none is more important than professional identity formation, or simply “professionalism.”
Tanja Adonizio, MD
Numerous studies have demonstrated that professionalism not only ensures patient safety but is also key to preventing physician burnout. As a way to ensure that students are gaining competence in professionalism, Tanja Adonizio, MD, associate dean for Student Affairs and assistant professor of medicine and Michelle Schmude, EdD, associate dean for Admissions, Enrollment Management and Financial Aid and associate professor, developed the ePortfolio, first introduced to the Class of 2021. The ePortfolio digitally collects students’ reflections and provides tools to aid students in self-directed learning. It logs periodic assessments of each student from faculty, peers and advisors that provides a “360-degree view” of the student and their progress from a variety of perspectives. The ePortfolio also uses leading measures of hard-todefine qualities like emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and an individual’s sense of personal accomplishment. The student and advisor will be able to use this to establish a baseline for each student’s attitudes and track variations over time. “The purpose of ePortfolio is to enable students to reflect, to gain self-awareness and to continually ask themselves what it means to be a doctor,” Dr. Adonizio said. In short, ePortfolio will create a narrative of a student’s journey to professional identity and to the sense of purpose that will illuminate and sustain them throughout their future careers.
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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program Geisinger believes that the future of medicine lies in robust primary care – care that anticipates and prevents disease, focuses on wellness and recognizes mental health and well-being as fundamental to stronger, more resilient communities. That’s why the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program focuses on the following specialties: • Family medicine • Internal medicine • Medicine-pediatrics • Psychiatry Our scholars program frees medical students from the financial concerns that often derail their dreams. Abigail Geisinger Scholars will: • Graduate without tuition debt; • Receive a $2,000 per month stipend; • Become a Geisinger-employed physician in one of the specialties listed above upon completion of residency training. One year of service equals one year of support, with a two-year minimum.
Tiffany Garcia MD Class of 2022 Abigail Geisinger Scholar
Tiffany Garcia’s family first emigrated to New York City from Colombia, later relocating to Reading for financial reasons. There, Tiffany observed some of the inequities in medicine. Knowing little English, her parents, particularly her mother, struggled to navigate the healthcare system, mainly because there was limited availability of bilingual services, especially compared to New York. A pivotal experience for her occurred during an undergraduate medical service trip to Honduras. “I found that I loved helping the people, but I didn’t like the feeling that we were helicoptering in and would soon be gone. I wanted more. The experience solidified my desire to study medicine, and the type of physician I want to be” she said. “I am drawn to primary care because it’s the center point for patients. The primary care doctor guides patients and knows everything about them,” she said. Her ideas about the centrality of primary care have been reinforced by her LCE (longitudinal clinical experience) at Geisinger’s Kistler Clinic in Wilkes-Barre. “The teambased care and the wide range of services available to the patients excites me. I can see myself being part of that,” she said.
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Interested in applying? Submit an American Medical College Application Service® (AMCAS®) primary application and Geisinger Commonwealth secondary application. • Answer “yes” to the first question on the Geisinger Commonwealth secondary application regarding interest in applying for the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program. • Complete the question regarding primary care and provide any updates to your experiences that align with the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program. Students are selected to participate in this program based on the following selection criteria: financial need; merit; diversity; and likelihood of staying at Geisinger beyond the service obligation. Students not selected for the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program will also be considered for regular admission into the MD Program. To learn more, visit geisinger.edu/AbigailScholars.
Doctor of Medicine | MD Program
Apply Admission requirements Students seeking admission to Geisinger Commonwealth’s MD program must:
1. Have a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. or Canadian accredited undergraduate college or university (must be completed before enrollment in MD program) 2. Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident 3. Be able to certify and comply with Geisinger Commonwealth’s technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations 4. Have MCAT scores no more than three years old at time of application 5. Have completed the following coursework:* » General biology with laboratory (1 year/2 semesters) » General inorganic chemistry with laboratory (1 year/2 semesters) » Organic chemistry with laboratory (1 year/2 semesters) » General physics with laboratory (1 year/2 semesters) » English and English composition (1 semester) 6. Have consented to Geisinger Commonwealth’s enrollment requirements for accepted students prior to matriculation 7. Have submitted to and satisfactorily completed required background checks *AP credits can be applied toward these requirements. *Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Admissions Committee will accept online coursework for the pre-requisite courses for the spring and summer 2020 semesters. Additionally, the Admissions Committee will accept pass/fail grades for coursework.
Application process Students interested in applying to Geisinger Commonwealth’s MD program should:
1. Complete an application through the online American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), the national application for U.S. MD programs » AMCAS application completion includes an application fee and all supporting documents as requested. » Geisinger Commonwealth will only consider verified AMCAS applications (no incomplete applications will be reviewed). 2. Submit letters of recommendation via AMCAS letters » All applicants are required to submit one preprofessional/pre-health/committee letter or three evaluation/recommendation letters from faculty who are familiar with the applicant’s career goals and academic coursework. » For nontraditional students, the Admissions Committee will consider letters of recommendation written by
individuals who have firsthand knowledge of the candidate’s strengths, work ethic, abilities and commitment to the field of medicine. 3. Complete the Geisinger Commonwealth Secondary Application » All AMCAS-verified applicants will automatically receive a secondary application. » The application fee is $100. » Candidates in receipt of an AMCAS Fee Assistance Program waiver should submit a PDF copy of the form to admissions@som.geisinger.edu.
Interviewing After a holistic review of the application materials, students are notified if they have been offered an interview for the MD program.
Contact us Call: 570-504-7000 Text: 570-904-2084 admissions@som.geisinger.edu geisinger.edu/gcsom
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Scranton, PA 19
525 Pine St. Scranton, PA 18509 Call: 570-504-7000 Text: 570-904-2084 geisinger.edu/gcsom admissions@som.geisinger.edu
MD Class of 2024 profile • Number of applicants: 6,145 • Class size (new students): 115 • Pennsylvania residents: 76 • Geisinger Commonwealth counties: 46 • Men: 56 • Women: 59 • First generation to college: 20 • Underrepresented in medicine: 20 • Average overall GPA: 3.66 • Average MCAT 2015: 511
2012-8466-9/20-HDAV/SL
