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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.”
News for the week
of Oct. 11– Oct. 16
News for the week
of Oct. 4– Oct. 9
News for the week
of Sept. 27 – Oct. 2
News for the week
of Sept. 20 – 25
News for the week
of Sept. 13 – 18
News for the week
of Sept. 6 – 11
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