Release:
PCOM South Georgia Medical Students To Begin Clerkships
After two years of classroom learning and laboratory experience, students in PCOM South Georgia’s inaugural class are entering the clinical world.
Third-year Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine student-doctors will begin clerkships in July 2021. During their third and fourth years, the students, clad in their white coats, train in the core specialties of medicine at hospitals and medical offices under the supervision of physician preceptors, both DOs and MDs. The students are supervised and taught as they examine, evaluate and provide care for patients.
After each four-week rotation, such as family medicine or pediatrics, students take Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Achievement Tests (COMAT) to ensure full comprehension of the subject area. A passing grade in the COMAT combined with their preceptor evaluation score determines their grade and allows them to move forward with their medical education.
Marla Golden, DO, FACEP, is the Associate Dean of Clinical Education and Chair of Clinical Education at PCOM South Georgia. She said without the help of regional physicians and partners, local rotations would not be possible.
“Our clinical partners in South Georgia have such a dedication and commitment to our mission and our area,” she said. “They’re ensuring better health care and better access to health care for the entire population. That’s the main goal and it’s being done beautifully.”
Christian Edwards (DO ‘23) is a Moultrie native who has a goal of remaining in his hometown to practice medicine. He said he wants to keep his roots and family in Moultrie and give back to the community.
“Over the next year I will have the opportunity to rotate right here in Moultrie,” he said. “I was born and raised here, so it really is a privilege to be trained within the community that I grew up in. It would be a huge honor and gift to be able to stay here and offer care to this community. “
Dr. Golden emphasized the importance of PCOM South Georgia students rotating in the area, saying that, “It’s tremendously important to have our students rotate here. We want to recruit, train and retain students in South Georgia. Having these clinical partners and Area Health Education Center partners is critical to our College mission. They both provide preceptors and learning opportunities for our students. We wouldn’t have been able to put our medical school here without them.”
To learn more about becoming a preceptor for PCOM South Georgia, visit https://www.pcom.edu/educate/
About PCOM South Georgia
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) extended its commitment to the Southeast by establishing PCOM South Georgia, an additional teaching location in Moultrie, Georgia. PCOM South Georgia offers both a full, four-year medical program leading to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree and a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences degree. PCOM is a private, not-for-profit institution which trains professionals in the health and behavioral sciences fields. Joining PCOM Georgia in Suwanee in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state, PCOM South Georgia focuses on educating physicians for the South Georgia region. The medical campus, which welcomed its inaugural class of medical students in August 2019, has received accreditation from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 229-668-3110.
