by Brooke Bunch

OU-COM’s third Research Day, held Oct. 1 in conjunction with the third Continuing Medical Education Conference and All-Class Reunion, was the most successful yet according to Jack Blazyk, Ph.D., associate dean for research and grants.

“This year marked the most participation ever,” he said. “Research Day has grown considerably over the past two years. It’s becoming a widely known event.”

Forty-four posters adorned Irvine Hall Friday for Research Day, an event Blazyk says gives students an opportunity to share the research they’ve worked months — some even years — to achieve.

“A number of our students do research but may never get a chance to communicate their results,” he said. “This way we make sure their results see the light of day.”

The first place recipients were fourth-year students Melissa Gasaway and Alicia Parks, a research duo sponsored by the Research and Scholarly Affairs Committee.

The two received a $200 prize for their project, “Clinical Guidelines: What Difference Do They Make?”

The posters were judged by a panel of six members of the Research and Scholarly Advancement Committee on 10 criteria: adherence to poster guidelines, presentation, innovativeness, organization, clarity of objectives, technical soundness, importance, understanding of the subject, creativity and overall impact. Judges rated each criterion on a 1 to 5 scale, with 5 representing “excellent.”

For Gasaway, a family medicine fellow and recipient of the Research and Scholarly Advancement Fellowship Program in family medicine, and Parks, currently working on rotations at Grandview Hospital and Medical Center, the research examined the treatment of viral versus bacterial pharyngitis (sore throat). The former is unresponsive to antibiotics, however since the two remain similar, what often results is the unwarranted use of antibiotics in the treatment of viral pharyngitis.  So in response to this alarming trend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed clinical guidelines to aid physicians in differentiating between the two for treatment.

Gasaway and Parks developed a research study to determine the actual usage of the guidelines when prescribing treatment for pharyngitis.

Robert Gotfried, D.O., associate professor of family medicine, advised Gasaway and Parks throughout their research.

Blazyk noted the importance of encouraging research early on in the D.O. profession.

“We’re sparking an interest in research now, so once they become practicing physicians they can continue to practice research, which ultimately leads to new developments in medicine,” he said. “If we want to make advancements in medical care, research is never-ending.”

“We need to constantly challenge ourselves,” said Gasaway, “to analyze our decisions and search for ways to improve the healthcare that we provide to our patients.”

“There are so many gray areas in medicine and research provides the one venue through which these gray areas can become more solid, black and white. In the osteopathic profession we need to conduct research at all levels in order to foster the growth of our profession.”

Blazyk said Research Day will be a continuing force in inspiring future osteopathic physicians.

“It’s been successful so far,” he said. “We hope it keeps going.”