Institutional Heritage: Founders’ Day 2020

The annual observance of Founders’ Day honors the forebearers of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine: Oscar John Snyder, DO, and Mason Wiley Pressly, DO. This year’s honorees are examples of those who continue to embody the dedication, loyalty and service that the College’s founders exhibited.

O. J. SNYDER MEMORIAL MEDAL RECIPIENT

ARTHUR J. SESSO, DO ’81

This year, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine proudly bestowed its highest honor, the O. J. Snyder Memorial Medal, upon Arthur J. Sesso, DO ’81, for his leadership and service to the osteopathic profession and to the institution that he has been affiliated with since 1977.

Dr. Sesso, who was in private surgical practice from 1990 to 2004, has taught at the College since 1986 and has chaired PCOM’s Department of Surgery for 15 years. His myriad duties include senior associate dean of osteopathic curricular innovation and oversight; program director, General Surgery; director of graduate medical education, Surgical Services; medical director, Clinical Learning and Assessment Center; chairman, PCOM Curriculum Committee; and course director for SEENT, CRIBS, and I2C.

“PCOM has been a tremendously large part of my life,” says Dr. Sesso, who grew up in South Philadelphia and now commutes daily from his home in Ocean City, New Jersey. “My time spent at PCOM has been such an honor and privilege. I’ve met best friends here. And I met my wife, Eva, here too.”

The latter meeting occurred in 1978 during a practice session on osteopathic manual manipulation. At the adjacent table was his wife-to-be, Eva Placentra, DO ’82, then in her first year, now a cardiologist. As Eva practiced a treatment with a partner, her arm became entangled under him, and she fell to the floor.

“I laughed, and she yelled at me,” Dr. Sesso says. “I ended up cutting class and took her out to lunch.”

Dr. Sesso’s studies at PCOM launched a 40-year (and still counting) career dedicated largely to medical education and mentorship at PCOM. He heads the College’s committee focused on transforming physician training with more hands-on learning and less classroom time—and with more focus on wellness, communication and understanding how to run a system-based practice.

He teaches medical students at all levels. He lectures in general surgery to some 300 first- and second-year students each year. He is involved in clerkship preparations for those readying for their residencies, and he oversees those students who do fulfill their surgical residencies at PCOM.

Dr. Sesso has developed two courses that remain part of PCOM’s medical education. Clinical Reasoning in Basic Science, or CRIBS, was developed to address complaints from former medical students that the basic science courses they took during the first two years of medical school were not connected to the practice of medicine. His course bridges that gap by integrating classroom learning with clinical case studies—and it has proven to be a great success.

A second course, titled Introduction to Clerkship (I2C), prepares students for their residencies through a month-long protocol of 16 exercises on topics that range from patient interviews and medical ethics to trauma care and surgical techniques.

“These courses give our students a step up,” Dr. Sesso says. “The competition starts early. When you go on rotation, you have to look good because the people you are working under could be your future bosses. It’s best if you know what you are doing from day one.”

Dr. Sesso says successful surgeons need to be prepared, confident and able to withstand the emotional rollercoaster that comes with the profession. To withstand the stress, he says surgeons need to develop “mental stability” in the operating room.

“The specialty requires both preparation and confidence,” Dr. Sesso, who did both his internship and residency at PCOM in the early 1980s, affirms. “You are leading a surgical team. If a patient starts bleeding, and something goes wrong, you’ve got to remain calm—and reset. It takes mental toughness, and you’ve got to relish making rapid decisions.”

Dr. Sesso’s handiwork with the surgical scalpel is matched by his prowess with a mechanic’s wrench. He has restored a classic airplane and several classic cars. His collection includes a Ferrari, two Lamborghinis, a Corvette, and a 2019 McLaren. Over the years, his collection included a Shelby race car and a US Army tank.

The cars need attention, which means Dr. Sesso has to drive his cars each week around the streets of Ocean City. But now he’s winnowing the Sesso fleet.

“As I get older, I don’t have the time to give the cars the attention they deserve, so I’m selling some of them,” he says. “It’s helping me build a nest egg to retire.”

Still, there’s no date certain for Dr. Sesso to put in his retirement papers. There are still so many PCOM projects in motion, and his love for teaching is still so deep.

Read more about the honorees and view photos from the College’s 121st Founders’ Day at pcom.edu.

Mason W. Pressly Memorial Medal Recipient – PCOM Kathleen E. Ackert (DO ’20)

Mason W. Pressly Memorial Medal Recipient – PCOM Georgia Abdul A. Walters, MS/Biomed ’16 (DO ’20)

PCOM Alumni Association Certificate of Honor Recipient Monique A. Gary, DO ’09, MSc ’05, FACS