VCOM 2018 Annual Report

Hispanic Outreach in the United States

T he Hispanic Community Medical Outreach (HCMO) organization on VCOM’s three campuses is dedicated to promoting health to the Hispanic community through education and increasing access to care. HCMO’s medical outreach initiatives involve health screenings and osteopathic treatment for Hispanic populations. In addition to community outreach activities, HCMO works to promote cultural awareness on campus by organizing fun social and educational events for students. Guest speaker events, organized by HCMO, provide students with insight into diseases that commonly affect the Hispanic population and how to improve interactions with Hispanic patients.

HCMO also works to encourage preparation for medical outreach trips to Spanish speaking countries by raising money for supplies and gifts in order to support VCOM’s international outreach trips. In order to increase the capabilities of VCOM’s future physicians, HCMO works to improve the Spanish language skills of the VCOM student population by holding regular Spanish classes on campus. This helps students communicate with patients at both local and international outreach events. Additionally, especially fluent HCMO members may assist with interpretation for patients at local wellness events. The members of HCMO on all VCOM campuses take great pride in contributing to VCOM’s mission by helping to prepare globally- minded and community-focused physicians.

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