Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021 - 37

mEdiCal rECord FEaturE
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Skills for Success
A health career pipeline
by Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH, BDS, FAAFP, FASAM
Founding Medical Director of Research, Fran and Doug Tieman Center for Research, Caron Treatment Centers
Professor, Dept of Psychiatry, Drexel University College of Medicine
M
any students are interested in
healthcare but lack awareness of
all the opportunities available
to them. With the appropriate guidance
and education, their perspectives can be
broadened significantly.
The Skills for Success program,
conducted from May through July 2021,
provided local high school and college
students with the opportunity to learn
about a wide range of healthcare professions.
Participants were also paired with mentors
from their professions of interest for oneon-one
mentoring.
Career talks were offered in a live,
virtual format in group sessions via Zoom.
Presenters included experts in addiction
medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology,
emergency medicine, nursing, physical
therapy, dentistry, pharmacy and psychology.
The program also featured three Mental
Health First Aid (MHFA) training sessions
which drew participants from New Jersey
and Pennsylvania. The MHFA trainings
were organized by Brenda Marshall, EdD,
PMHNP-BC, a co-recipient of the Citizen
Diplomacy Action Fund grant through
which the program was funded.
Public health success stories from the
past were highlighted and research concepts
were introduced in the context of the
ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Core concepts
in public health, including definitions of
terms such as " endemic, " " epidemic, " and
" pandemic " were discussed. Participants also
learned about " prevalence " and " incidence, "
indicators of disease burden and risk. The
various challenges currently facing the
US health care system were discussed in
a session led by Dr. Peter Schwartz, who
also presented on the specialty of obstetrics
and gynecology. Dr. Anthony Donato
spoke about practicing internal medicine
and healthcare for the homeless, " Street
Medicine. "
Students were challenged to identify
problems in their local communities and
to develop proposals to address them.
One participant designed an educational
brochure addressing vaccine hesitancy for
distribution in various locations, including
doctors' offices. Another participant
proposed an educational intervention to
address substance use among teenagers.
Participant feedback
A.H. shared:
" The Caron Skills for Success Program has
been tremendously useful in deciding my career
trajectory. Featured each week were one to two
healthcare professionals presenting on anything
from nursing to ophthalmology, psychiatry,
and beyond. The lectures were intimate and
informative, and questions were responded
to deftly. Each week brought new specialties,
exciting opportunities, as well as invaluable
information. Best of all, this program was
freely available. I would highly recommend
The Caron Skills for Success Program for
anyone considering a career in healthcare. My
only recommendation: this program should
have been better publicized! "
M.J. had this to say:
" Thank you again for opening my eyes to so
many opportunities. I'll be forever grateful. "
Special thanks to Lucy Cairns, MD,
and all the health professionals who served
as speakers and mentors. Special thanks
also to Cory Trevena and Alice Lu, both of
Caron Treatment Centers, for their efforts in
recruitment and coordination.
Skills for Success speakers
Regine Ghoubrial, Pharm D (Pharmacy)
Kasey Pierson, MD (Ophthalmology)
Megan Marshall, MD (Recent graduate,
starting combined Internal medicine/
Pediatrics residency)
Peter Schwartz, MD (Obstetrics/
Gynecology)
Eve Kimball, MD (Pediatrics)
David Arena, Psy.D, JD, MBA, MA,
Med, LPC (Psychology)
Anthony Donato, MD (Internal
medicine)
Maria Braun, MD (Family medicine)
Melody Mafa, DMD (Dentistry)
Kristen Sandel, MD (Emergency
medicine)
Jared Johnston, DPT (Physical therapy)
Skills for Success mentors
William Santoro, MD
Lee Radosh, MD
Sahithi Gosala, MD
Ray Truex, MD
Gregory Emkey, MD
Daniel Forman, MD
Michael Smith, MD
Stephanie Gill, MD, MPH
Adrienne Salaneck, CRNP, MSN
Wei Du, MD, MS
Laura Vedder, PA-C
Romain Jensen, OTR/L
The Skills for Success program was
funded by the US State Department
through the Citizen Action Diplomacy
Fund, a funding mechanism for
community projects that is available to
alumni of the Fulbright and other State
Department - sponsored international
exchange programs. Dr Simoyan was a
Fulbright specialist scholar from 2012
-2014.
F ALL 2021 | 37

Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021

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