Monday, February 13, 2017

#DOWellness, student-doctors promote spiritual, mental, and physical health

Mon, 20 Feb 2017Asa Keimig | LUCOM Marketing and PR Coordinator

Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) – Student Government Association (SGA) hosted OMS Day of Wellness, a day dedicated to promoting spiritual, mental, and physical health among osteopathic student-doctors throughout the country earlier this month.

OMS Day of Wellness is an annual event sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) and the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP) with a focus on improving osteopathic medical students’ spiritual, mental, and physical health. “This event was designed to encourage osteopathic medical students and DOs alike to continuously develop themselves through mind, body, and spirit activities,” said Shaun Ostrofe, Class of 2019, LUCOM-SGA President. “We hoped to spread awareness of burnout, anxiety, and depression and to end the stigma of seeking mental health care.” Student-Doctors learned continually from posted flyers and events throughout the day about how to incorporate self-improvement initiatives into their daily routine.

LUCOM student-doctor Andrew Slater, Class of 2019, led student-doctors in a time of prayer at the beginning of the day to promote spiritual health. They also spent time to color, wrote encouraging notes, and completed word search puzzles throughout the day to promote mental health.

In between classes, student-doctors spent time sampling healthy recipes, made by fellow classmates, to promote physical health and walked away with new, healthy recipes to add to their cookbooks. They also enjoyed a brief walk around Liberty University’s Center for Medical and Health Sciences to promote physical health.

The LUCOM-Office of Student Services frequently hosts events catered towards the spiritual, mental, and physical health of student-doctors while also providing participation opportunities for faculty and staff as a means of serving as role models. “The advantage of this event is to bring awareness that student health and well-being is a necessity,” said Troy Burnett, Associate Director of Student Services. “Studying can become all-consuming for students and it is important that we take a time out to recognize that personal health should not be ignored.”                     @media all and (max-width: 415px){.slideshow-responsive-wrapper{padding-bottom:100% !important;}}