Geisinger Commonwealth School Of Medicine

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 can 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 101 medical students completed our summer research immersion program. Currently, 49 medical students are participating in our medical research honors program, and this year we graduated our first cohort of 11 students from the program. Across all programs, 113 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 197 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 10 original articles in our scrip journal; further, they authored or were co-authors on 55 external, peer-reviewed publications. Additionally, 45 students presented their research findings at 34 national and 1 international conferences.

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. The dsa provides services to each school of the college including the school of medicine, the school of nursing, and the school of graduate education. During the 2024 calendar year significant plans were completed for expansion in all three schools including increase in the md class size and an additional graduate degree program both to launch in 2025. The dsa made significant contributions to holistic student support and programming of the college. In addition to the academic, career, engagement, and well-being offerings noted above the dsa provides accessibility services, orientation, and student events and activities 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 application to the first scholars network, (2) enhanced peer tutoring support for the md clinical year students, (3) enhanced required standardized test preparation program to support student retention and success, (4) expansion of first-generation student support services to the school of nursing students, (5) support by our new director of student well-being for the successful application by the school of nursing students for a pennsylvania department of education well-being grant, and (6) the successful search for a new associate dean of medical student affairs who began in december 2024. Geisinger commonwealth school of medicine community service summary cost of research activities $ 305,709 community health, education, and outreach 245,116 cash and in-kind contributions 20,909 value of volunteer hours 7,945,157 total community benefit activities $ 8,516,891