VCOM - Carolinas 2016 Yearbook

SOSA Student Osteopathic Surgical Association

Jordan Lakin, President; Elizabeth Ullrich, Vice President; Paige Bell, Treasurer; Robert Brigman, Secretary; Grant Bludorn, National Liaison

S OSA is the official student organization of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS). It was established to provide a means for students interested in surgical specialties to participate in the activities and governance of the ACOS. The VCOM–Carolinas chapter works hard to provide educational experiences for its members. Throughout the year, SOSA had many opportunities for members to get real, hands-on experience and learn from the experiences of guest lecturers. General surgery residents from Spartanburg Regional Health System (SRHS) visited to discuss the general surgery specialty. Following this panel, they collaborated with students on a monthly case- study round table discussion.

SOSA was able to provide members with many other learning experiences this year. Lectures were given by SOSA’s clinical chair, Dr. Richard Orr, a surgical oncologist; Dr. Kristine Lombardozzi, a trauma surgeon at SRHS; and Dr. Chris Lombardozzi, a pediatric emergency medicine physician and the Chief Medical Officer at SRHS. The organization presented a “Women in Surgery” panel featuring female surgeons in the field of general surgery, urology, gynecology, and orthopedic surgery to share their experiences. SOSA was also able to host multiple suture clinics and anatomy tutoring sessions for first year students, and worked with administration to purchase

a portable laparoscopic trainer to give members have hands-on experience with laparoscopic techniques.

In the fall, SOSA brought in Richard Forrest, MD, an

anesthesiologist at SRHS, as a guest speaker, and collaborated with the Sports Medicine student organization to bring in Michael Hoenig, MD, an orthopedic surgeon, for a hands-on skills lab in fracture repairs using an open reduction internal fixation technique. Overall, this year has been full of events that facilitated both knowledge and experiences in the field of surgery, while also engaging with surgeons in the local community.

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