VCOM - Auburn 2018 Yearbook

David McGregor, President; Hal Marmolejos, Vice President; Luke Shope, Secretary; Charlie Bergdolt, Treasurer; Paul Brisson, MD, Faculty Advisor SAMOPS Student Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons

T he Student Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (SAMOPS) at VCOM- Auburn is dedicated to serving rising military osteopathic physicians. The organization meets this goal by helping to further medical education and deepen the commitment to serving the men and women of the U.S. armed forces today and in the future. SAMOPS co-hosted an event where Chris Sigler, a former U.S. Army soldier that was deployed to Iraq, spent an afternoon with VCOM students and faculty discussing his struggles with PTSD and how it affected his lifestyle and family. A large number of students and faculty came to hear Sigler’s experiences and learned how they could be more effective as physicians in recognizing and treating PTSD. At the VCOM-Auburn Surgical Conference, SAMOPS members worked with SOSA to help provide hands-on training and life experiences in the control of hemorrhage in emergency situations and how to properly cast a broken bone properly. Live training scenarios were incorporated to

simulate applying a tourniquet to control bleeding in a distracting environment. VCOM students, faculty, staff and friends participated in a five mile bike ride around Auburn in remembrance of Memorial Day. Participants rode to the City of Auburn Veterans Memorial, where SAMOPS President David McGregor gave a speech that highlighted the sacrifices that are made by the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, along with their families. After the visit to the Memorial, participants biked to a local coffee shop to have breakfast and enjoy fellowship with each other. In addition to defending the freedom of the United States, SAMOPS members at VCOM- Auburn are working hard to better themselves as future physicians. They are also working to educate community members not only about the armed forces, but also about VCOM-Auburn and the Osteopathic profession.

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