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Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM) students from the ��ɫ��Ƶ chapter of Pre-SOMA (Student Osteopathic Medical Association) hosted 30 undergraduate pre-medical students and college graduates taking a gap year for ShaDO Day. ShaDO Day is a part of an annual, national ShaDO Week typically held during the spring semester. During CCOM’s ShaDO Day, the visiting undergraduate students learned more about the field of osteopathic medicine, CCOM’s academic program, and viewed demonstrations in ultrasound and osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). 

Medical students and Pre-SOMA board directors Kathryn Pfeiffer (CCOM ’27) and Susan Westman (CCOM ’27) shared that they did not have family or friends in the medical field to guide them during their journeys to medical school, and they were motivated to help students who might be in the same situation. Kathryn said, “The goal of ShaDO Day is for us to provide an insight into what the day in the life of a medical student looks like and give a little more information on what it’s like to be an osteopathic medical student specifically. We reach out to pre-medical students and are a resource for them.” Susan added that when pre-medical students are researching online, they can get discouraged by seeing seemingly perfect medical school candidates. Susan said, “Being a pre-medical student can be really confusing, and coming to an event is nice to talk to someone, see they’re real, and put a face to the medical students.” Kathryn and Susan advised the students to consider several factors when choosing a school such as location, proximity to a support circle of family and friends, and facilities. They also advised the attendees not to feel pressured with time. 

“Midwestern is a school I’m interested in applying to, so the ShaDO Day seemed like a good opportunity to learn about the school and the admission process,” said Haroon Salahuddin, a senior and biochemistry major at North Central College. He expressed his appreciation for the ultrasound session where the attendees saw the organs in the body including the heart, kidney, and eyeball. They were informed that fluids, such as blood, show up black on an ultrasound, while structures like bones appear as white. The participants were shown where to look for blood in an ultrasound if a patient has an accident where internal bleeding is a possibility. Haroon also shared one of his takeaways from the day was the OMM session. “They use their hands to detect, diagnose, and treat certain physical ailments,” he stated.

The OMM session was led by medical students Lucas Debiase (CCOM ’27) and Jasmine Zhai (CCOM ’27). Lucas said, “I always love doing presentations like this and helping students who will hopefully end up being in our shoes at some point.” Jasmine echoed, “It’s nice showing people something I’m passionate about. OMM is simple, noninvasive, and you can fix so many problems with it.”

Ulyana Awad, a sophomore and biology major from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) also said that the OMM session was informative. “It shows that medication isn’t the cure for everything,” she said. Ulyana shared that she became interested in attending ��ɫ��Ƶ after she attended the White Coat Ceremony of a friend in the pharmacy program, and she plans to apply to the university.

The attendees also listened to remarks from a faculty panel comprised of George Borrelli, D.O., Chair, Clinical Integration, (CCOM); April Brill, D.O., Chair, Clinical Application, (CCOM); Kyle Henderson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Physiology, College of Graduate Studies-Downers Grove (CGS); Lori Marasovich, D.O., Director, Clinical Skills, Clinical Integration; and Michelle Swanson-Mungerson, Ph.D., Professor, Microbiology & Immunology, (CGS). They described their current roles, career paths, and shared that the environment at ��ɫ��Ƶ is encouraging and supportive. The panel also described the collaborative team efforts of the students to help each other achieve their goals, instead of viewing their cohorts as competition. The faculty panel said they take their role in helping students get to the next phase of their career seriously, and that they want to see everyone succeed. Dr. Swanson-Mungerson said, “Once you’re in the door, my job as a faculty member is to help you get to the next step, to get you ready for clinics and boards. It’s a lifting everyone up situation. That’s my philosophy with teaching, and that’s true of the faculty here.”