• Aug. 11-15            Orientation
• Aug. 16                  White Coat Ceremony/reception
• Aug. 18                  First day of classes
• Aug. 29                  Blood Drive
• Sept. 1                   Labor Day holiday
• Sept. 12                 United Way Day of Caring

White Coat Ceremony and reception Saturday

OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine student doctors will receive their medical student white coats at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, as the final step in their medical school orientation. The OSU White Coat Ceremony will take place at Tulsa Community College – Van Trease Performing Arts Center for Education, 10300 E. 81st St. 

Speaker is Dr. John Fernandes, (photo) dean of the OSU medical school. The ceremony is open to the public.  College officials will cloak each student with a white coat provided by the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association. The traditional ceremony emphasizes the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and focuses on the true meaning of the art and science of medicine.  There will be a reception hosted by the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine Alumni Association on the OSU-CHS campus after the ceremony.

CME primary care update Nov. 21-23

OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine Office of Continuing Medical Education offers the most current knowledge and developments in the field of medicine to osteopathic physicians and related professionals.  It is a fully accredited American Osteopathic Association sponsor, offering both 1A and 1B CME credit through live conferences, the CME media loan program, and has new web-based programming coming soon.

The 25th Annual Primary Care Update is scheduled for Nov. 21 – Nov. 23, at the DoubleTree Hotel-Tulsa Downtown.  The conference features lectures and hands-on activities with emphasis on situations encountered by the primary care physician daily.

For more information about the conference or any of the educational opportunities available through the Office of Continuing Medical Education, contact Rob Robinson, program coordinator or Cyndi Canning, program specialist at (918) 586-4615 or (918) 586-4617 or (800) 274-1972.

Human Resources launches OSU Pride University

OSU Pride University is an opportunity for employees to learn about OSU’s history and organizational strategies while learning skills for self improvement. Employees will be able to apply these concepts to their everyday work while developing their personal and professional goals. Attending OSU Pride University is voluntary and each program has a completion time. Employees may enroll in programs through the training website, one program at a time. Program enrollment requires supervisor approval and each program must be completed before enrolling in another program. Upon completion of each certificate program the employee will receive a monetary incentive. 

Career Development Program: Guiding education paths

Medical students need residency matches to continue their education and making the right choice is crucial. Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Career Development Program helps make a sometimes bewildering process smoother.

Launched in January 2007, the program guides students on their educational path. After its first 18 months, program director Terri Blevins sees positive results. One reason, she says, is its “great web page,” an important resource for students involved in the process. (www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/college/clinical/career/index.cfm).

“We get compliments on it,” says Blevins, an experienced academic counselor with a master’s degree from the University of Iowa in post-secondary student development and counseling.  She also is a qualified therapist and is completing requirements for a Ph.D. in sociology.

First-year medical students can explore self-assessment through the Careers in Medicine website. The Myers-Briggs Personality Test also is available.  “Matching strengths, interests and values with available career choices is easier with these tools,” Blevins says. She helps students find the tools and resources they need. “Then, they do it,” Blevins says. Guidance is offered in working with the electronic residency application service and applying to match service for placement.

Hands-on experience also helps students choose careers. This summer more than 40 students took early clinical experiences, shadowing in five different areas over five days, and hearing physicians discuss career topics. Student Trey Thomason says the experience is motivating.  “You can’t tell what you like from books,” he says. “And when you see cases, it sticks in your mind.”  An additional 15 students took part in the OSU Center for Rural Health-Area Health Education Center summer rural externship. They lived in rural Oklahoma locations for a month to shadow physicians and other health professionals, and volunteer in the community.

An OSU “I Do”

	Pistol Pete helps Ryan Miller and Bavette Leeper, both ardent OSU fans, cut a cake at their wedding send-off in Founders Hall.

Of course he didn’t know it, but Ryan Miller’s first day on the job at OSU Center for Health Sciences also was the day he met his future wife.

Bavette Leeper conducted his new employee orientation and gave him a campus tour. It turned out to be a match made in Cowboy Country. Ryan is director of the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine Alumni Association and his office is filled to bursting with OSU-branded items. Bavette is director of research operations and graduate studies for OSU Center for Health Sciences.

Ryan and Bavette were married July 25. But back in 2002, she was working in human resources, and he was a new hire who recently earned a degree in business from OSU. “My first impression was ‘he’s cool,’ but I thought we came from two different worlds,” she says. He loved drag racing, playing in a band and hanging out.  She had a young child, a full-time job and was focused on earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Ryan says he visited her office frequently, ostensibly to raid the candy bowl.  But he cheerfully admits he really just wanted to talk to her. Who knew?  Everyone.

“We ‘cat and moused it’ for a while,” Bavette says. “But everyone around us knew there was an attraction.  They say they knew it before we did!”  That included the late Paul Koro, D.O., then acting president and dean and Sandy Cooper, director of human resources. They both gently cheered the couple on. “Dr. Koro encouraged Ryan and I knew Bavette was interested,” Sandy says. Ryan and Bavette spent time as “just friends” for several months and then Bavette invited Ryan to dinner for his birthday. “You mean at night, when the sun goes down, like a date?” Ryan asked.  He couldn’t accept the invitation (a car show beckoned) but the spark was ignited. They began seeing each other. When Bavette worked for a time at OSU-Okmulgee, Ryan noticed.  “I started to realize I kinda missed that girl,” he says. 

Ryan proposed early this year at the Houston Raceway Park starting line. “It was romantic. It was the place Bavette saw her first big race,” he says. Besides, when he had to kneel down to help her with a broken flip-flop, it was the perfect opportunity to pop the question. He had the ring in his pocket, just waiting for the right moment. And here he was, on bended knee. So he asked her. Right there on the starting line. After screams, hugs and kisses she said yes, and then said it “about a hundred more times,” Ryan says. The couple was congratulated by OSU friends at a send-off before they departed for their destination wedding in Orlando.

SAC elects officers

Staff Advisory Council elected new officers for the 2008-09 terms.  David Barron was re-elected president and Chad Landgraf was re-elected vice president. Secretary is Sandra Hale and Cathy Ramsey is treasurer. 

Committee chairs include Jean Keene, Policy and Benefits; Dennis Adams, Rules and Procedures; Charlotte McNutt, Awards and Recognition; Sarah Quinten and Briá Taylor College and Community Relations co-chairs, Rebecca Nida, Communications and Reneé Williams, Fund Raising. Serving as SAC members are Tina Barnaby, Percy Brown, Bill Childers, Tammy Foreman, Johnathan Franklin, Leisa Gilliland, Alice Gottschalk, Sandra Hale, David Juergens, Austin McCoy, Vicky Pace, Shontay Patterson, Karrie Raby, Lisa Riggs-Jenkins, Tim Smith, Shannon Spoor and Cynthia Testa.

Grants, publications for Center for Rural Health

The OSU Center for Rural Health has received two grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration (US Department of Health and Human Services), and has completed two informational publications.

• Awarded a three-year grant for Pre-Doctoral Training in Primary Care in the amount of $542,958.  The grant will allow the Center for Rural Health to enhance and expand rural medical education in Oklahoma.
• Awarded a one-year State Office of Rural Health grant in the amount of $147,700.  The grant will help support the ongoing activities of the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health.
• Collaborated with the Health Resources and Services Administration to co-host two grant technical assistance workshops for rural stakeholders.
• Published the 2008 Edition of State of the State’s Rural Health.  This year’s edition focuses on Workforce Issues: Physicians & Hospitals.
• Published its first Oklahoma Rural Health Brief on the Medicare reimbursement rate cuts and how Medicare Advantage plans have penetrated rural Oklahoma