VCOM Auburn Yearbook 2020

MESSAGE FROM THE SAMOPS PRESIDENT BuildingTraditions in Military Medicine DENISIA THOMAS, ENSIGN, UNITED STATES NAVAL RESERVE, CLASS OF 2023 T he Student Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (SAMOPS) is a support system for medical students that are in the military, as well as others who are interested in joining. SAMOPS focuses on cultivating self-sufficient, upstanding future military physicians through various military-focused activities and volunteer efforts. SAMOPS students raise the flags at the front of the school every morning. SAMOPS also lowers the flags to half-mast when ordered by the president and the governor. Additionally, SAMOPS holds special flag raising ceremonies when upstanding members of the military community pass away, as well as on 9/11, in remembrance of those that lost their lives. Yearly, we have collaborated with the Student Osteopathic Surgical Association (SOSA) in that organization’s annual surgical conference. SAMOPS members train VCOM students and faculty on effective ways to handle traumatic and urgent situations through one of the largest “Stop The Bleed” training courses in the country. Participants who successfully complete the course are provided with a certificate. This program is intended to provide necessary tools and encourage better- equipped bystanders to assist in a bleeding emergency until professional help arrives. SAMOPS also hosts Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) recruiting events for non-military members, allowing them to learn and explore their options of serving as a physician in the armed forces.

18