On Saturday, June 4,
2005, at 10 a.m., the college's commencement exercises were held
at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. The
graduating Class of 2005 was the 26th for the medical
school.
It was the first
time presiding over the OU-COM graduation for Ohio University
President Roderick McDavis, Ph.D. The college’s graduation is
held a week earlier than the university’s other commencement
exercises.
“This is my first
year as president of Ohio University,” said McDavis, “and I am
especially proud that our university has a college of
osteopathic medicine with an impressive emphasis on primary
care, family medicine and problem-based education. OU-COM
consistently ranks among the top medical schools in the nation
for the percentage of its graduates who enter family practice
and other primary care residencies.
“This commencement
is part of a very special year — the 130th
anniversary of the founding of osteopathic medicine — and now in
its fourth decade, the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Ohio
University, already firmly established as a national model for
producing primary care physicians. The college is becoming a
major force in the forefront of research that will have an
undeniable impact upon the whole medical profession.”
McDavis took note of
the importance of the international programs available for COM
students.
“I also am impressed
by the commitment of OU-COM faculty and students show to
traveling abroad and serving those desperately in need of
quality health care. While expanding their knowledge, your deep
concern for the individual is reflected in the care you provide
to an African villager, just as it is in the care you provide to
those living in Southeastern Ohio,” he said.
Ninety-six
participated in the graduation — 55 males and 41 females — which
included 24 minority students.
Among those on stage
with McDavis were Jody Gerome, D.O. (’05), a
representative of the Class of 2005; Jeffrey Stanley, D.O.
(’82), president of the Ohio Osteopathic Association;
Thomas Anderson, D.O. (’83), president of the OU-COM Society
of Alumni and Friends; and OU-COM Dean Jack Brose, D.O.,
each of whom addressed the class and commencement speaker Thomas
Moyer, J.D., chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.
“Please remember,
education is a lifelong activity,” said Anderson. “Embrace this
exit as an entrance to opportunity. Throughout your career, you
will have many opportunities to learn from your patients,
colleagues, friends and family.
“The future of
osteopathic medicine is poised to face the challenges of this
young millennium. And, it is you and your classmates who will
carry forward the rich traditions of this college. I am
confident that you will utilize the distinctive osteopathic
philosophy that emphasizes the total person.”
President McDavis
introduced Dean Brose, who addressed the audience concerning the
meaning of the graduation for him.
“This is a day of
great pride for OU-COM and our profession,” said Brose. “And,
this is a very special day for me personally.”
“Our students in the
Class of 2005 started in Athens when I became dean.”
“They fought past
that incredible obstacle,” he said humorously, “and, today, I am
pleased to report that OU-COM’s faculty, staff and
administration are very proud of them.
“Today, I can truly
appreciate the incredible pride that our audience members feel,
because my own son is one of our gradating physicians.”
Brose described the
college’s status among Ohio’s seven medical schools and the
impact on health care it has had state and nationwide, including
the research contributions of its scientists.
Brose admonished the
graduating class about the value of character, which knowledge
cannot be a replacement for, he said.
“The information in
your head is remarkable,” he said, “but it is no substitution
for the content of your heart. Your knowledge and medical
ability will be assumed. But you will be judged by your concern
for others and your commitment to your community.”
After an
introduction by President McDavis, Chief Justice Moyer delivered
his address. Moyer has a long, distinguished career as a lawyer
and judge and has served as president of the Columbus Bar
Association and on the board of several universities. In 1991,
he received the Ohio Bar Medal, the Ohio State Bar Association’s
highest award.
“It is an honor to be invited
once again to address the students and faculty at the college of
osteopathic medicine. It was about a year ago that I was invited
to speak at the White Coat Ceremony,” said Moyer.
“I always wanted to be a doctor
growing up, even though I was in a family of lawyers. I came to
Ohio State undergraduate school, but after two quarters of
physics and basic fundamental math, I decided, ‘I’m not going to
be a doctor.’”
He said he wanted to offer a few
words about the profession the graduates were entering and the
importance of their decisions to become physicians in this day
and age — not an easy decision, he said.
He drew upon the example of W.
Mark Felt, who recently revealed himself as Deep Throat, the
shadowy, anonymous figure of Watergate notoriety principally
responsible for exposing the crimes of President Richard Nixon,
which led to his resignation from the Oval Office. Felt, he
said, was someone capable of making decisions “not easy.”
Regardless of how Felt will be
judged, said Moyer, what he did was “an enormous act of
courage.” Felt met a great challenge, and as doctors their
challenges will be greatly magnified.
“With your diploma, you are
handed a higher set of expectations. You are now a leader of
your community. Your success as a professional will be
determined in large measure by the honesty and respect you
afford your patients.”
Citing the code of ethics of the
American Osteopathic Association, he said, that
physician-patient relationships must be founded in mutual trust,
cooperation and respect. “Those are not,” he said, “relative
standards. They are not negotiable. They are constant principles
that have guided your profession since the very beginning.
“Trust is a bedrock principle of
your profession.”
Trust in the goodwill and
honesty of those affect our lives so dramatically is essential,
he said.
“In that sense, the profession
of medicine and the profession of law are no different.” Judges
have to render decisions that sometimes will not be liked by
parties in conflict, he said, but nonetheless the system is able
to function because of trust.
In the future, he said, the
legal system and medical profession will depend more and more on
trust because of the growing intersection of science and law,
which is being accelerated by technological advance. Science, he
observed, stands in the center of modern life, but it is in the
courts that issues of life and community must go in hope of
being settled.
“It is judges who determine
which scientific facts and compositions form the basis of very
important courtroom decisions.”
Thus, he said, the explosive
advances of the life sciences, genetics, biomedicine and
biotechnology require more resource education to be made
available to the judicial system.
Ohio, he said, is positioned to
be in the forefront of judicial education, which should, in
turn, also have a beneficial economic impact upon the state.
Quoting U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Steven Breyer, Moyer said, “The practice of science
depends on sound law. … It is equally true that law itself
increasingly requires access to sound science.”
Concluding, he said, society is
more dependent on technologically advanced knowledge as it moves
forward. Science and the courts are called upon to address the
issues that arise because of the application of such knowledge.
As such, liability, privacy,
access to health-care and patient rights issues are a part of
today’s and tomorrow’s court docket, he said.
Singling out the members of the
Class of 2005, he said, “You and your colleagues will be called
upon to shape … these debates. You will carry a civic
responsibility throughout your lives. And also (a
responsibility) to contribute to civic discussion by providing
expert testimony, writing journal articles and participating in
symposiums.”
“The link between science and
law which Justice Breyer observes,” he said, “will be given new
strength by your active contributions.”
“We — you and I,” he told the
graduates, “because of our education, our advanced knowledge and
our experience have a responsibility to give new meaning to our
experiment in democracy.”
University Provost
Katherine Krendl, Ph.D., presided over the conferral of degrees
to the Class of 2005. Brose hooded the graduates as they
received their doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) degrees.
Graduates earning
outstanding student awards were Jason Patrick Cappuzzello,
D.O. (’05), Osteopathic Heritage Award; Manisha Marie
Nanda, D.O. (’05), Dean’s Award; Walter Christopher
Coats, D.O. (’05), Family Practice Award; Danielle June
Williams, D.O. (’05), Specialty Medicine Award; Jody
Michelle Gerome, D.O. (’05), Obstetrics and Gynecology
Award; Elizabeth Ann Zmuda, D.O. (’05), Pediatrics Award;
Matthew Lowe, D.O. (’05), Geriatric Medicine/Gerontology
Award-Ohio Department of Aging; Isabelle Escaņo Lane, D.O.
(’05), Social Medicine–Medical Humanities Award and the
Student D.O. of the Year Award; and Mark Edward
Brauner, D.O. (’05), Biomedical Science Award.
Receiving the Donna
Moritsugu Award, which is given to a medical student’s spouse in
recognition of his or her support, was Amy Paulson, the wife of
Toby Paulson, D.O. (’05).
The Centers for
Osteopathic Research and Education gave awards to outstanding
students its 11 hospital sites. Award recipients were Mark
Edward Brauner, D.O. (’05), St. Vincent Mercy Medical
Center; Gregory St. Aubyn Johnson, D.O. (’05), Firelands
Regional Medical Center; Stephanie Ann Sieg, D.O. (’05),
St. John West Shore Hospital; Edward Crist Stevens, D.O.
(’05); St. Joseph Health Center; Kevin Michael Nasky,
D.O. (’05), Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital; Kellie Jo
Zaylor, D.O. (’05), South Pointe Hospital; Sarah Ann
Barber, D.O. (’05), Doctors Hospital of Stark County;
Adam Michael Peterik, D.O. (’05), Doctors Hospital of
Columbus; Jody Michelle Gerome, D.O. (’05), O’Bleness
Memorial Hospital; Safet Osman Hatic II, D.O. (’05),
Southern Ohio Medical Center; and Manisha Marie Nanda,
D.O. (’05), Grandview Hospital and Medical Center.
Concluding the
ceremony, Brose led the new osteopathic physicians in reciting
the Osteopathic Oath. An on-the-Green reception followed.
- 30 -
News for
the week of May 30 – June 4
