Program areas at TCMC
Academic program: Geisinger Commonwealth school of medicine (gcsom) offers three separate degree programs: a doctor of medicine (md) program, master of biomedical science (mbs) program and an associates degree in nursing (adn). Gcsom focuses biomedical research and training programs on health issues prevalent in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania, a 17-county region with 1.8 million residents. The region has an aging population, 19.5 percent of residents are older than age 65, compared to 15.1 percent nationally. Moreover, the region has high incidences of breast, lung, colorectal and prostate cancers, as well as high incidences of non- hodgkin's lymphoma, other chronic disease associated with aging, and significant needs in primary care, mental/behavioral health, and community medicine. The school of medicine's total health curriculum (thc), is a four-year, three-phase curriculum that matriculates 115 medical students per class. The first phase is a novel active learning-based, integrated, curriculum that uses the clinical presentation model, within system-based blocks. In this phase, students also gain early clinical experience in the longitudinal clinical experience where students work in local primary care clinics. In the second phase, students are assigned to one of gcsom regional campuses, where they will volunteer at nonprofit agencies and train in medical settings. The regional campuses are the northeast (scranton/wilkes-barre), central (danville), west (lewistown/state college) guthrie (sayre), and atlanticare (atlantic city, nj). In the third phase, students participate in required core clinical curriculum and numerous electives focused on advanced specialty training, research, and medical education teaching. The thc includes the novel systems, society, and humanism in medicine curriculum (sshm) composed of six longitudinal themes that are integrated throughout the curriculum and transform socially responsible students into socially accountable leaders in the healthcare system and their communities. Sshm fosters the development of compassionate and adaptable physicians dedicated to a person-centered approach to improving the health and well-being of the patients and communities they serve. Sshm features the family centered and community experience (fcce), an outgrowth of gcsom's successful family-centered experience. The fcce matches students with families living with chronic illnesses, disabilities or whose lived experience impacts their health. This allows our community members to be our students' educators, and for students to listen and learn from people with lived experiences that have impacted their health or the health of the community. Students also participate in a longitudinal community health intervention project to gain service-learning experience, to investigate and/or solve a community health issue, to make an immediate improvement in the community and to enhance the health of the region's citizens. In addition, md candidates participate in community service. Taken together, students have volunteered more than 50,000 hours to the community since the school's inception. The students organize blood drives and health fairs, tutor local children, collect food and warm clothing for the homeless and complete many other helpful acts that immerse them in and improve the well-being of the community. Since 2020, the abigail Geisinger scholars programs (ags) has provided tuition and fees support and a cost of living stipend for up to 45 students annually in exchange for a service commitment within the Geisinger health system after residency. The goal is to reduce student debt and importantly repopulate regional physician shortages in key specialty areas including family medicine, internal medicine, medical pediatrics, and psychology. In the 2023 md match, -110 students matched into residency programs, 38 students are entering primary care fields and 8 are entering psychiatry. of the 110 students, 16 students matched at Geisinger. Additionally, 14 ags matched and will eventually work as regional physicians. Approximately 53% of the class matched into Pennsylvania residency programs and in addition a large number of Geisinger Commonwealth students will train at leading community-based programs, and many will go to residencies at highly competitive teaching hospitals, including yale, duke, yale, university of Pennsylvania. The mbs curriculum has been designed to provide students with a unique, personal education that will help them to achieve their career goals. A commitment to student-centered learning is combined with individualized career and education planning services. The mbs program is directed toward students who are either seeking to strengthen their credentials for application to medical/health profession school or who want to work in other health and health-related industries. The mbs curriculum provides students an opportunity to advance their scientific knowledge and academic metrics by participating in required and elective basic science courses in disciplines mirroring that of their medical school colleagues. Mbs students also enroll in a course through the princeton review that assists in their preparation for taking a professional school entrance examination. During their course of study, mbs students develop an eportfolio documenting their experiences and accomplishments in clinical/professional development, service, and cultural competence. In 2023, the mbs program enrolled 97 students in the online format depending on the academic quarter and 25 students in the face-to-face format. While many students seeking their mbs degree declared residence in Pennsylvania, 29 other states and the district of columbia were designated as permanent residencies for mbs candidates in 2022. One hundred and eleven mbs students successfully earned their master's degree by the end of 2022. In 2022, Geisinger college of health sciences announced that it would establish Geisinger school of nursing based in lewistown. The new school offers an associate degree in nursing, providing the opportunity to become an rn in just two years. This program provides a solid steppingstone in the pursuit of a bsn for graduates who will be looking to advance their education. Geisinger school of nursing graduates who decide to pursue a bsn after joining the Geisinger family may receive tuition remission. The adn has a theory-guided and evidence-based curriculum, with both clinical and theoretical components. Current lpns may enroll in our lpn to rn program and complete the degree over three semesters. Total nursing school enrollment as of october 2023 is 70 which includes all rn and lpn to rn students in either their first or second year of the program.
Student affairs: the student affairs team supports Geisinger college of health science's (gchs) institutional mission and values by fostering students' academic, professional, and personal growth, and holistic well-being. Gchs admits academically successful, passionate, innovative, and community-minded students with aptitude for biomedical sciences and a sincere commitment to improving the quality of healthcare. The division of student affairs (dsa) provides a range of academic, career, engagement and well-being offerings to enhance the interpersonal and educational experiences of all gchs students. Through engagement offerings, the dsa promotes participation in social, cultural, and intellectual life at gchs. The dsa is the principal advisor to student groups, the dsa also works with students for wellness programming, and academic and career advising. During the 2023 calendar year, the dsa expanded beyond the school of medicine to include support services for the school of nursing and the school of graduate education. Through this reorganization, the dsa made significant contributions to holistic student support and programming. Enhancements include a reorganization of student health services with a new office of student psychological services and hiring a director of student psychological services (sps). Sps services are available to all gchs students, including teletherapy and telemedicine. The dsa now provides accessibility services, orientation, and student engagement services to students from the school of medicine, the school of nursing and the school of graduate education using a holistic student support model. Additional highlights and accomplishments over this past year include: (1) the successful launch of a mentoring platform, Geisinger connect, to promote relationship building across students, alumni, and faculty, (2) the first annual Geisinger family day providing families an opportunity to develop a better understanding of the medical student experience, (3) enhanced required standardized test preparation program to support student retention and success, and (4) expansion of telehealth and teletherapy services to nursing and graduate students, (5) implementation of a proactive well-being monitoring and suicide prevention program for students in all three schools, and (6) the first well-being assessment offered to medical and nursing students. Geisinger Commonwealth school of medicine community service summary december 31, 2023 cost of research activities 393,221 community health, education, and outreach 107,558 cash and in-kind contributions 21,301 value of volunteer hours 6,800,830 ---------- total community benefit activities 7,322,910 ==========
Research programs: gcsom's research mission is to improve the health and well-being of its 17 -county community through the collaborative discovery and dissemination of knowledge gained through research, technology development, community engagement and education. Because it is our vision to be in service to our community, we strive to be a catalyst for strategic research partnerships, to be a leader for advancing biomedical research and to be a keystone for improving health outcomes through translational research. We incorporate values of collaboration, integrity, innovation, translation, and engagement. At gcsom, students have the opportunity to conduct research under the mentorship and guidance of distinguished faculty. Research projects developed by faculty research mentors include translational scientific research in the laboratory setting or public health, community, and clinical research in the clinical or community setting. These are positions for which students do not need substantial experience, yet these research activities and the mentors who guide them provide unique and rich educational opportunities. Gcsom has multiple, organized research opportunities, including the summer research immersion program for medical students entering their second year and the medical research honors program for students who want to explore an area of research interest in a scholarly manner throughout their four years of medical school. This year 85 medical students completed our summer research immersion program. Currently, 51 medical students are participating in our medical research honors program, and this year we will graduate our first cohort of 11 students from the program. Across both programs, 99 faculty members representing multiple disciplines and research focus areas have provided mentorship to our students. Scholarship is a fundamental aspect of these programs, as students are encouraged to write abstracts, present posters, and publish their findings. Gcsom's student research journal, scholarly research in progress (scrip), is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed publication showcasing the research and scholarly accomplishments of our students. Since its launch in 2017, scrip has published 186 original articles authored by medical and graduate students using a single blind, peer-review process by faculty. This process provides student authors an opportunity to improve their research to a publishable level while simultaneously supporting development of their scientific writing skills and confidence. This year, our medical students published 26 original articles in our scrip journal; further, they authored or were co-authors on 93 external, peer-reviewed publications. Additionally, 60 students presented their research findings at 40 national and 5 international conferences.