On March 24, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine recognized two University of Charleston students with a luncheon honoring their successful completion of WVSOM’s pilot “Green Coat” program.
The program offers undergraduates interested in health careers an opportunity to gain exposure to clinical responsibilities in a hospital environment. Students are mentored by regional assistant deans from WVSOM’s Statewide Campus system, along with alumni and other health care professionals.
“The program helps students gain a perspective on whether they really want to go into medicine,” said Lucas Hamrick, a UC senior who has been accepted to WVSOM for the Fall 2014 term. “You’re in a large hospital setting, talking with patients and being on different wards, and that gives you an idea if this is what you’ll be interested in. The program helps to affirm whether or not you enjoy the health care profession.”
Basem Dahshan is another UC student who completed the program. He has been accepted to medical school, but has not made a decision on where he will attend. He said he achieved a better understanding of how a hospital system works during his Green Coat program experience.
“The students get an insider’s view of a hospital scene and all the different layers — from patients, administrators, nurses and doctors. Learning how the hospital works and making health care actually happen is what the Green Coat program has been all about for me.”
The program was developed by WVSOM’s Rural Health Initiative with financial assistance from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. The goal is to inform undergraduates within the state about the need for primary care physicians, particularly in rural areas, and to assist them on the journey to becoming a physician or other health care professional.
Dahshan said the experience made him a more valuable medical school applicant.
“This has been a unique thing to talk about during my interviews and the experiences I gained from the program were something I was able to really draw from. I think I could’ve been considered a less interesting applicant without it,” he said.
Art Rubin, D.O., is assistant dean for the South Central region of WVSOM’s Statewide Campus system.
“WVSOM has a relationship with the University of Charleston through interprofessional education events and the Charleston Area Medical Center has had a long relationship with UC, so it made it easy for us to go to them and attract students for the program,” Rubin said. “We are fortunate we had two outstanding students who have completed the program and we are pleased that both have been accepted to medical school.”
Now that the pilot has proven successful, Rubin looks forward to the Green Coat program expanding into other areas of West Virginia.
“We need to find other hospitals and clinics in regions that have nearby colleges or universities. The program can be developed on a small scale in multiple areas so we penetrate different places within the state. Good examples would be Princeton, Logan, Elkins and maybe the Huntington areas,” he said.
Undergraduates selected for the Green Coat program can expect to work hard, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have fun, as well.
“I think this program was a blast,” Hamrick recounted. “It felt like a lot of time, but it was filled with great experiences.”
