by Kirsten Brown

Hospital Day is here, when 30 hospitals from all over the country descend upon the campus to compete for OU-COM students. On March 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., representatives from each hospital will have informational booths and kiosks showcasing their medical education programs in the Convocation Center.

Fourteen CORE hospitals and 16 from outside the CORE will contend for prospective students, interns and residents, says Judith Edinger, director of academic affairs. This year’s Hospital Day marks the first time in several years that hospitals outside the CORE system will participate in the event.

This fair is exclusively for OU-COM students.

“There is a registration process,” Edinger says. “The students will get nametags so that people will know who they are.”

“All medical schools do this — at least, all the osteopathic medical schools do,” says Edinger. “It’s a great opportunity for hospitals to talk to first- and second-year students.”

In addition to their booths, says Joanne Bray, M.B.A., coordinator of clinical competency assessment, in the past some representatives have brought students or residents to talk to our students.

“It had been sort of a closed event for just the CORE hospitals,” Edinger says, “and now we’ve opened it up to all the osteopathic hospitals, as well as other hospitals within the state.”

In the past, other hospitals had regularly attended Hospital Day, Edinger adds.

“Then, when we instituted the CORE about a decade ago, we decided to just limit it to CORE hospitals,” she explains. “We began to have it on the Irvine Bricks. But, then we decided to open it up again, and that’s why we’ll be in the Convocation Center, on the outer ring.”

Among those additional hospitals are Toledo Hospital, Providence Hospital, Appalachian Osteopathic Postgraduate Training Institute Consortium, Bay Regional Medical Center, Garden City Hospital, Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, Highlands Regional Medical Center, United Hospital Center, Carilion Medical Center, Aultman Hospital, Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, Ingham Regional Medical Center and Charleston Area Medical Center.

To impress their programs upon the minds of the students, representatives will also be handing out numerous giveaways.

“You can get a year’s supply of pens and sticky pads this way,” Edinger says.

Students who visit all 14 CORE hospitals and receive each hospital’s initials on their registration card will qualify for door prizes.

“The hospitals bring really nice gifts for the door prizes; they’ll get golf shirts —and last year there was even a leather briefcase,” Edinger adds.

Attending CORE and associate hospitals are O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, Southern Ohio Medical Center, Grandview Hospital and Medical Center, Doctors Hospital of Columbus, St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, St. John West Shore Hospital, Firelands Regional Medical Center, South Pointe Hospital, Doctors Hospital of Stark County, St. Joseph Health Center, Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital, St. Elizabeth Health Center, Summa Family Medicine and MetroHealth Medical Center.