VCOM View Magazine Vol. 12 | No. 1

Alumni & Development

Wythe County Community Hospital

In fact, she was able to do her third- and fourth-year rotations in the very hospital where she now works. It was a full circle for Dr. Farmer in more ways than one. By the time she began her rotations, Jack Davis, MD, was the DSME—director of student medical

case reports, etc.They also serve as a guardian, support system and friend at the core sites.” These dedicated physicians are vital to the success of students. In addition to serving as a support system and role model to students,

medical students who are trying to learn and build clinical knowledge,” Dr. Farmer observes. “He was devoted to making sure the students were given every opportunity to see interesting cases and participate in events at the hospital.” When Dr. Davis retired in 2022, Dr. Farmer jumped at the

education—at Clinch Valley. But that wasn’t the first time she’d met Dr. Davis. She’d met him years before, growing up in Jewell Ridge, because he had been her pediatrician. DSMEs are a critical part of the education VCOM provides. “A DSME is a physician who

“As a DSME, it is my role to be available to the students and make sure they are getting the most out of their clinical rotations. ”

chance to take over this important role. “As DSME, it is my role to be available to the students and make sure they are getting the most out of their clinical rotations,” Dr. Farmer explains. “I want

-Dr. Cortney Farmer

serves at every core VCOM site,” says Sofia Abraham-Hardee, DO, associate dean of clinical affairs and associate professor of pediatrics. “They are responsible for all the third- and fourth-year students at the site. With the help of the site coordinators, they fulfill many of the academic needs for a site such as OMM workshops,

they also recruit preceptors. “They exude compassion for the osteopathic profession, their patients and their community,” Dr. Abraham-Hardee says. Dr. Davis was certainly a role model for Dr. Farmer. “It was through Dr. Davis that I learned how important it is to provide opportunities to

students to gain firsthand medical knowledge and understand what it is like to take care of patients in a medically underserved, rural area where you don’t always have access to every specialist to refer patients.” Dr. Farmer isn’t the only VCOM Virginia alum who now serves as a DSME. Dr. Chase King is a VCOM

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