AAMP-Newsletter-JanFeb-2018

AAMP Alumni Admission Mentor Program Volume 11 | Issue | January/February 2018 Partnership Links Long Beach with True Blue St George’s University and California State University, Long Beach, have launched a new academic partnership that will allow qualified CSULB students to gain expedited admission into SGU’s School of Medicine “We are excited to welcome a talented cohort of CSULB students to St George’s,” said Dr G Richard Olds, President of St George’s University “We look forward to working with CSULB to educate the next generation of physicians.” CSULB students of all majors are eligible to apply to the new program, provided they complete the necessary coursework for medical school admission, maintain a minimum 3.4 GPA, and post an MCAT score within five points of the average for last year’s class at SGU St George’s University President G Richard Olds and California State University, Long Beach President Jane Close Conoley inked an agreement that creates a path for CSULB students to earn their medical education at SGU All applications will be reviewed by a newly CSULB, continued on page Help SGU Recruit the Best and Brightest Students St George’s University c/o University Support Services, LLC The North American Correspondent 3500 Sunrise Highway, Building 300 Great River, New York 11739-9002 Featured AAMP Volunteers SGU, Northumbria Celebrate Collaboration Jeffrey Ho, MD Class of 2017 Originally from Markham, Ontario, Dr Ho is a first-year family medicine resident at the University of Toronto He described his SGU experience as “some of the best years of my life,” having met lifelong friends through such organizations as Urban Humanitarian Projects, Iota Epsilon Alpha, and the Christian Student Association After residency, Dr Ho expects to pursue a hospitalist fellowship, and eventually to open his own clinic with a fellow SGU grad As part of AAMP, he enjoys guiding Canadian students who hope to obtain a residency position back home Yalda Safai, MD/MPH Class of 2017 Dr Safai is a first-year psychiatry resident at Metropolitan Hospital Center, a program affiliated with New York Medical College She came to SGU from UCLA, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in psychobiology Dr Safai hopes to enter a forensic psychiatry fellowship after residency, and to open her own practice in Orange County, California To assist AAMP’s efforts, she worked in the call center during her clinical training, and currently participates in info sessions and webinars, conducts student interviews, and serves as a grad mentor Katrina von Kriegenbergh, MD In January, St George’s University and Northumbria University (NU) concluded celebrations to honor their collaboration on the Keith B Taylor Global Scholars Program (KBTGSP) Since its inception a decade ago, the program has welcomed more than 1,800 students An anniversary dinner was held in Northumbria University’s Great Hall, with welcome addresses by Professor Peter Francis, Deputy Vice Chancellor at NU, and Dr G Richard Olds, President of SGU Guests included Baroness Howells of St Davids, President of the Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation and the only Grenadian in the House of Lords Class of 2012 Dr von Kriegenbergh joined a private pain management practice in Los Angeles after completing an anesthesiology residency and pain management fellowship at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center In her final residency year in Lubbock, she served as Chief Resident Dr von Kriegenbergh, who came to SGU from the University of California at Berkeley, enjoys speaking to prospective students about her “amazing experience” during the Prague selective, as well as her time as an RA for married student housing Global Scholars spend the first year of Basic Sciences at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom HELP GUIDE TOMORROW’S DOCTORS AND VETS AAMP volunteers can help in a variety of ways and on their schedule Register at sgu.edu/aamp-form In person SGU hosts information sessions and Face-to-Face programs in major cities around the world Grads can answer questions about the University, life at SGU, and their profession In addition, we can arrange for alums to meet with pre-health advisors at area universities 2 Online W  ebinars include a brief presentation, as well as a live chat Q&A with students, graduates, and admission counselors AAMP volunteers can log on and provide a valuable perspective to interested students By phone Graduates can make themselves available to answer prospective students’ questions over the phone They can also serve as grad mentors, for which they are paired with prospective and accepted students Alumni Volunteer Directory Grads can submit their contact information and biography to this publication to connect with colleagues and prospective students in their area The AVD indicates the breadth of area and expertise of our MD and DVM graduates SGU Establishes Pipeline with Cal State Long Beach CSULB, continued from page created committee within CSULB’s Whitaker Health Professions Advising Office Applicants must also submit to a face-to-face interview with a representative from SGU Students approved by both the committee and the interviewer will be granted admission to the program The program will allow students to finish their medical degrees a semester early Students will spend their final semester of undergraduate studies at St George’s University, after which they’ll be awarded their BA or BSc degree by CSULB They will then complete another year-and-a-half of medical studies at SGU, before moving onto the final two years of graduate medical education at clinical rotation sites in the United States and the United Kingdom “By encouraging CSULB students from all majors and backgrounds to apply to our new program, we hope to admit a diverse and well-rounded group of individuals,” Dr Olds said “We also believe that students will value how this program allows them to complete their medical degrees, and start their careers as doctors, a semester faster than the conventional medical school track.” Top: Administrators from St George’s University and California State University, Long Beach gather for the official signing in Long Beach on February Bottom: A birdseye view of the CSULB campus GET YOUR CME CREDITS IN A Tropical Paradise THE ART OF MEDICINE IN 2018 MARCH 18–25 Radisson Beach Resort | St George’s, Grenada Combine vacation time with earning CME credits in Grenada at the St George’s University School of Medicine Alumni Association Continuing Medical Education 2018 Conference Presenters: G Richard Olds, MD—President of SGU Michael Gerardi, MD—Previous President of ACEP …and others to be announced Credits: 16 CME credits certified by ACEP Sponsored by the SGUSOM Alumni Association For more information and to register, visit sgualumni.org Accreditation Paves Way to India St George’s University was recently recognized as an approved university by the Medical Council of India (MCI) The accreditation will enable SGU graduates to practice in India, paving the way for Indian medical students to study at SGU and return home to practice medicine as fully trained doctors St George’s University has a proven record of recruiting international students who go on to practice medicine in their home countries, often in areas where physician numbers are low Approximately percent of all practicing doctors in the United States are graduates of SGU, with that figure rising to around 15 percent of the physician population in Trinidad and Tobago, and 20 percent in Botswana It is hoped that SGU will be able to make a similar contribution to the medical workforce throughout India “I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Medical Council of India for supporting us as we achieve this important milestone,” said Dr G Richard Olds, President of St George’s University “This recognition will enable us to fulfill our commitment to accept students from India and help us return them as worldclass doctors I look forward to welcoming them to our campus in Grenada.” SGU students benefit from joining an institution with significant links to the Commonwealth In 2019, the University will host the annual conference of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth, with the theme of “investing in student success.” Spring 2018 Schedule of Events Our Spring 2018 event schedule is always growing, and we encourage our graduates to help us attract the best and brightest medical and veterinary medical students to SGU Please email Joshua Fein at jfein@sgu.edu if you’re interested Also, be sure to check sgu.edu/infosession for more events as they are added to the schedule 3/1 Austin, Texas 3/21 Boca Raton, Florida + 4/24 New York, New York + 3/3 Manila, Philippines 3/22 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 4/26 Washington, DC * 3/7 Atlanta, Georgia 3/29 Boston, Massachusetts 5/1 3/8 Montreal, Quebec 4/3 San Diego, California * 5/10 Toronto, Ontario + 3/10 Busan, South Korea 4/4 Fresno, California 5/16 Vancouver, British Columbia + 3/11 Seoul, South Korea 4/4 Dallas, Texas *F  ace-to-Face: Short presentation with 3/14 Singapore 4/5 San Francisco, California + 3/15 Denver, Colorado 4/10 Albuquerque, New Mexico 3/15 Ottawa, Ontario 4/11 Edmonton, Alberta 3/17 Bangkok, Thailand 4/12 Tucson, Arizona 3/21 Jersey City, New Jersey + 4/12 Victoria, British Columbia Stay Connected with SGU Halifax, Nova Scotia prospective student meet-and-greets and applicant interviews +M  atch Tour: Short presentation and Q&A session featuring recently matched grads, including from the Class of 2018 facebook.com/StGeorgesU instagram.com/StGeorgesU twitter.com/StGeorgesU youtube.com/StGeorgesU In Memoriam: Arnold P Gold Dr Arnold P Gold encouraged all the aspiring physicians with whom he connected to strive to achieve the “gold standard of health care”—compassion, collaboration, and excellence in medicine—goals that St George’s University has for its students as well The father of the White Coat Ceremony and ambassador for humanistic patient care, Dr Gold passed away on January 23, 2018, at the age of 92 “Dr Arnold P Gold holds a very special place in American medicine,” said Dr John Cush, MD SGU ’81, Director of Clinical Rheumatology at Baylor Scott & White Health in Texas “At a time when the science and technology of medicine were changing most, he put his efforts on reminding educators and trainees alike that humanism was as important as the science.” “Dr Gold was a true role model for any physician who practices medicine, and he and his wife, Sandra, are true embodiments for care, compassion, and kindness to the nth degree,” added Dr Vishnu Rao, Dean of Students at SGU The SGU community is reminded of Dr Gold’s influence at the bi-annual White Coat Ceremonies, which he helped bring to SGU in 1996 His contribution came full circle in January 2005 when both he and Sandra delivered the SOM White Coat Ceremony Dr Gold was a world-renowned pediatric neurologist and professor at Columbia University for more than 50 years, yet his impact stretched far beyond the city limits In 1988, he co-founded the Arnold P Gold Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that empowers medical students and doctors to sustain a human connection with their patients Such care was the basis for launching the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS), which recognizes senior medical students for their humanistic and altruistic efforts during their medical education In 2005, Dr Cush worked with the foundation to establish an SGU chapter of the GHHS “Dr Gold’s passing loss is a grand opportunity to extol his contributions to medicine, such that they can be emulated by other mentors and those who benefitted from his influence,” Dr Cush said The GHHS induction ceremony is held annually in New York City over graduation weekend