by Michael Weiser

On Saturday, Aug. 13, Ohio University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine welcomed a new class of medical students, the Class of 2009, at its 30^th Convocation Ceremony. Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O., vice president of health sciences and medical affairs at the New York Institute of Technology and dean of the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine delivered the keynote address at the ceremony, which took place at 11 a.m. in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium on the university’s Athens campus. Ross-Lee served as OU-COM Dean from 1993 to 2000.

“Today is special because we gather — as we do every year — to extend a hearty welcome to the entering first-year class,” said OU-COM Dean Jack Brose, D.O.

“Our welcome is designed to share with each new student a glimpse of some of the many possibilities and potential impacts that his or her chosen career can have on the citizens of our state and nation.”

Dean Brose introduced the podium speakers, including Roderick McDavis, Ph.D., the 20^th president of Ohio University. McDavis is the second alumnus to head the University and its first African-American president.

Also present on the stage was David Bitonte, D.O., president of the Ohio Osteopathic Association (OOA); Thomas Anderson, D.O. (’83), president of the OU-COM Society of Alumni and Friends; Peter Dane, D.O., associate dean for pre-doctoral education; Keith Watson, D.O., associate dean for graduate medical education; Celeste Wallace, D.O. (’02), assistant professor of pediatrics; Mary Healey-Sedutto, Ph.D., founder and executive director of Hope for a Healthier Humanity; Kathleen Rice, R.Ph., president and chief operating officer of Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital; George Dunigan, director of governmental relations; John Schriner, director of admissions; and Eric Beck, second-year student.

McDavis welcomed the Class of 2009 to the University and praised the college’s national achievements in primary care and family medicine. He also spoke of the college’s leadership in problem-based education. “The problem-based approach is clearly a major wave of the future. What OU-COM does today will be the model for what others do tomorrow.”

“OU-COM is also noted for its international perspective. Each year faculty and students travel abroad to places to serve those in need and to expand their own medical knowledge. Their deep concern for the individual is reflected in the care they provide to an African villager, just as it is in the care they provide to those who live in Southeastern Ohio,” said McDavis.

He pointed out that the college’s Centers for Osteopathic Research and Education (CORE) provides “a seamless transition from predoctoral to postdoctoral education to a lifelong path of education in osteopathic medicine.”

The class, he said, had chosen well and was embarked on an exciting journey of discovery at a medical school that “offers an extraordinary environment for learning and professional development.”

The Class of 2009 is comprised of 108 students, 64 females and 44 males. Nearly one out of three (32 of 108) of the class is a minority student. Also, eight of the class are from Southeastern Ohio. The class is 87 percent Ohio residents and 59 percent female.

OOA President Bitonte took the podium next on behalf of the state association.

Reflecting upon his own entrance to osteopathic medical education, he acknowledged the excitement, apprehension, pride and fear that they all must be feeling at this ceremony. He assured them that their choice was a wise one.

“In four years, when you graduate from OU-COM,” he said, “I can assure you that you will find that your education here was superb and better than most other medical schools in the country.”

Bitonte reminded the students that they were now beginning a career of lifelong learning. “You will forever be an osteopathic student, part of the osteopathic profession.”

“The Ohio Osteopathic Association exists,” he said, “to maintain the highest standards of osteopathic care and education. We exist to protect the rights of our patients and the rights of our physicians to practice medicine. We are also committed to you now and throughout the spectrum of your professional career.”

He informed the students that the white coats they would be receiving later in the program had been provided by the Ohio Osteopathic Foundation (OOF), and the copy of “A Second Voice, A Century of Osteopathic Medicine in Ohio” that they had received upon their arrival had been provided compliments of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations.

“Finally, it’s my pleasure to present to you, the students, and to OU-COM, a check in the amount of $194,170 from the Ohio Osteopathic Foundation.” The gift, he said, was the result of the OOF Loan Challenge Match.

Anderson spoke next, bringing greetings from the Society of Alumni and Friends.

“It is my pleasure today to welcome the members of our 30^th entering class,” said Anderson. “As a member of the Class of 1983, I know from personal experience that the road these young men and women have chosen is a challenging one.”

“Although the road before them appears long, the alumni of the college will be there to help each student successfully earn his or her doctorate in osteopathic medicine. As president of the board of the OU-COM Society of Alumni and Friends, I, along with other alumni association members, stand ready to answer your questions and give you guidance.”

Brose then introduced the ceremony’s keynote speaker, Dr. Ross-Lee. He noted some achievements from Ross-Lee’s impressive career, which included her achievement of becoming the first African-American woman to become dean of a college of medicine, that being OU-COM.

Ross-Lee welcomed the incoming class of 2009 as the next generation of OU-COM alumni on the first step of their journey to become osteopathic physicians.

Invoking the significance of receiving their white coats, Ross-Lee said, “This occasion marks your first step towards attaining the professionalism that being a physician requires. Today you are publicly acknowledged as an osteopathic medical student aspiring, and soon to become a full-fledged osteopathic physician.”

“However,” she continued, “the ‘soon,’ from your perspective, is really relative.”

To the laughter of the crowd, she laid out the true nature of the path that they had embarked upon. “Over the next four years, in fact, … probably over the next seven, eight or nine years, … in fact, for some of you, it is ten years or more, you will hear many times that the practice of medicine is an awesome responsibility.”

“Your future patients and colleagues will expect you to be well-trained, competent, caring and reflect the highest of personal and professional integrity,” she explained.

She offered sage advice to meet those expectations. “First, that you understand the science of medicine; second, that you attain the skills necessary to deliver on the art of practice; and, third, as an osteopathic physician, that you appreciate and incorporate the power of touch in the care that you deliver.”

Ross-Lee assured the class that they were “selected” for admission to OU-COM beyond simply the achievement of high MCAT score or grade point averages. “You were selected because of your personal integrity, your desire to serve, your maturity and your competence and your commitment to the profession of osteopathic medicine.”

She let the students know that they did not have to “survive” medical school. Rather, she predicted that they would thrive in this environment. “You were chosen because you have the ‘right stuff.’”

Ross-Lee ended her address by reciting the Desiderata by Max Erhmann.

The Phillips Medal of Public Service Ceremony then began.

The Phillips Medal of Public Service was first awarded by OU-COM in 1976. The award was named for Jody Galbreath Phillips and her husband, the late Wallace Phillips, to acknowledge their generosity and contributions to Ohio University, to higher education and to the people of Ohio.

The honor is given to outstanding individuals for medical practice exemplifying the best traditions of the osteopathic profession; administration exemplifying the best tradition of humane, concerned administration and public involvement; and for public policy leadership exemplifying the best traditions of democratic concern for the public good and the public welfare.

Brose provided the audience with a description of each recipient’s accomplishments as they received the medal.

Keynote speaker Ross-Lee was one of three recipients of the Phillips Medal. In addition to Ross-Lee, this year’s recipients of the Phillips Medal were Healey-Sedutto and Rice.

McDavis presented Ross-Lee her medal for, as noted by Brose, her role as the third dean of OU-COM (1993-2000) and the first African-American woman to head a medical school. After leaving OU-COM, she went on to become vice president of health sciences and medical affairs at the New York Institute of Technology and dean of the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she now serves. A pioneering presence in medical education, Ross-Lee was a driving force behind the creation of the CORE — the nation’s first Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training Institute — and established OU-COM’s innovative curricular tracks, the Patient Centered Continuum and the Clinical Presentation Continuum. She is a diplomate of the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians and a fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. The first D.O. to complete the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship, serving as legislative assistant for health for Sen. Bill Bradley in 1990 and 1991, Ross-Lee has subsequently focused much of her energy on health-care issues surrounding vulnerable and underserved populations .

Dunigan presented the award to Healey-Sedutto, founder and executive director of Hope for a Healthier Humanity Foundation and founder and C.E.O. of the Pan American Catholic Health Care Network. She served as president and C.E.O. of the Catholic Health Care System and the director and secretariat of health for the Archdiocese of New York. As chief health-care advisor to Cardinal John O’Conner, she led medical and relief missions to regions suffering from natural disasters. Her work targets the health-care needs of many Latin American countries. Her humanitarian efforts have helped to improve the health status of thousands of people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Watson presented the honor to Rice, president and chief operating officer of Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital, is a member of the board of trustees of the OOA and the CORE board. As a member of the CORE board, she has provided invaluable leadership in furtherance of osteopathic medical education. She has been a leader in national osteopathic organizations, including the Foundation for Osteopathic Health Services and the American Osteopathic Association Council of Teaching Hospitals. She also serves on the Akron Roundtable, Cuyahoga Falls Rotary, Area Agency on Aging and helps direct the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland. In 2004 she received the OOA Meritorious Service Award.

The Aug. 13 Convocation also included the school’s White Coat Ceremony, during which the members of the Class of 2009 received their white coats and was officiated by Dane.

Dane explained the meaning and purpose of the White Coat Ceremony. “The bestowing of a white clinical coat to new members of our profession represents a rite of passage that establishes a contract for professionalism and empathy in the practice of medicine.”

“At OU-COM,” Dane continued, “it also highlights the importance we place on early exposure of our trainees to clinical medicine, which they will experience within a few short weeks as they begin spending time with physicians and other health-care workers in a real-time setting of health-care delivery.”

As an emergency physician, Dane assured the audience that the various emotional and physical responses that they were experiencing at the ceremony were most likely due to feelings of pride and not the onset of an acute illness. He then introduced Beck.

Beck recounted his experience from last year’s ceremony and offered words of encouragement to the incoming class.

He explained the significance of the waist-length coats that they would receive. “Student physicians retain that waist length coat until graduation; they then earn the right to wear a full-length physician coat.”

He continued, “The white coat is a symbol of humanism and professionalism. This includes altruism, compassion, accountability, scholarship, duty, service, honor, integrity and respect.”

Finally, he informed them, “The pledge you will recite is a statement of your intent to settle for nothing less than that which is reflective of professionalism.”

Schriner then introduced the members of the class. They then crossed the stage to be welcomed into medical school by Dean Brose.

Dane then led the class in a recitation of the Student Pledge of Commitment.

“We hope that each one of you will find the next four years to be rewarding and successful,” he said. “Although the program is rigorous, and the demands are many, we will, as I said earlier, give you every bit of assistance we can to help you make it through.”

At the end of the white coat ceremony, Brose closed the convocation and invited the students and guests to enjoy a light buffet lunch and refreshments in the Baker Center Ballroom.