VCOM Auburn Yearbook 2019

MESSAGE FROM THE SAMOPS PRESIDENT Building Traditions in Military Medicine DAVID AXFORD, ENSIGN, UNITED STATES NAVY RESERVE, CLASS OF 2022

T he VCOM-Auburn Campus has become a beacon of military pride in the landscape of medical schools. Our chapter of the Student Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (SAMOPS) has started, and continues, unique military-focused activities that display the quality of the veterans and future military physicians at VCOM. Every morning, SAMOPS students raise the flags at the front of the school and are in charge of lowering the flags to half-mast when ordered by the president and the governor. To accentuate our commitment to this symbol, we have also started conducting special flag raising ceremonies in memory of those lost on 9/11. Furthermore, SAMOPS has established a dedicated shelf in the library where military memorabilia are exhibited. We have also hosted Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) recruiting events for our non-military classmates, so they may explore the opportunities of serving as a physician in the armed forces. A ubiquitous concept held across all branches of the military is preparedness. SAMOPS at VCOM- Auburn brings that idea to the campus by taking responsibility for one of the most basic procedures in medicine: hemorrhage control. We have partnered with SOSA to host

one of the largest Stop the Bleed courses in the country at the College’s yearly surgical conference. No one wishes to deploy tourniquets or hemostatic gauze in an emergency, but we have made it our charge to prepare our classmates to tackle such difficult scenarios. Current first year medical students are working diligently to develop custom trauma kits to present to classmates, with the goal of all VCOM-Auburn students being prepared for emergencies. Future goals of the chapter include partnering with local veteran groups, honoring military medical personnel and fundraising for non-profits. The Armed Forces of the United States serve as stewards of world peace. The military students at VCOM-Auburn are eager to meet the call to honor this great nation inside and outside of active duty service. Our members are among the most dedicated and hardworking students at VCOM. As president of SAMOPS, I am constantly impressed by our students’ ingenuity, selflessness and achievement. I am honored to serve in the Navy, and it is an honor and pleasure to belong to the VCOM- Auburn SAMOPS family. Not only will our students show excellence as their careers develop, but I know they will make VCOM proud as a pillar in the military medical community.

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