Student news
Through Geisinger Commonwealth partnership with TJU, 4 students receive MPH degrees In June, four Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students presented their master of public health (MPH) capstone projects at Thomas Jefferson University. These students took a gap year between their third and fourth years to pursue their MPH, an opportunity provided to them thanks to Geisinger Commonwealth’s partnership with Jefferson. A fifth School of Medicine student presented his capstone project in March. All are members of the MD Class of 2021.
Cynthia Ciccotelli’s presentation, The REACH Study: Measuring Usability and Outcomes of the Merckengage Internet Diabetes Education Tool, explored the utility of an internet-based Type 2 diabetes education tool. She worked with Jefferson faculty on the project.
“My capstone project revolved around foster care. I worked with a Philadelphia foster care agency to analyze the feedback and needs of foster parents, in order to ultimately develop a standardized foster parent training curriculum,” said participant Vanessa Thiel. “Through this project and through my participation in the program, I’ve learned so much. Not only have I learned about different public health issues, but I’ve gained the tools to help assess and tackle the issues, from a more in-depth look at biostatistics to learning about health literacy to learning how to develop effective policy. I’ve learned how to be a more effective patient advocate and I’ve learned how to look at issues from a different lens.”
Vanessa Thiel completed her capstone, Fostering Feedback: Using Focus Groups to Develop a Standardized Foster Parent Training Curriculum, working with Rosemary (Rosie) Frasso, PhD, CPH, associate professor and Public Health Program director, and Steve DiDonato, PhD, a faculty member in the Department of Counseling and Behavioral Health. The project focused on improving the care for foster children.
The dual-degree students were engaged in a number of research and practice endeavors related to their capstone projects:
“We love having these students in our program and look forward to future collaborations,” Dr. Frasso said. “We believe their public health training will be an asset to them and others as they return to Geisinger Commonwealth and move into residency.”
Sahil Pandya presented his project, Caring for Older Adults During COVID: A Rapid Review. He worked with a team from TJU’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College on a project exploring telemedicine.
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Nathan Hoff presented Sleep Deprivation as a Treatment for Depression: Comparison of Mood Ratings and Improving Prediction of Treatment Response. He worked with Jefferson colleagues at Penn on a project looking at sleep deprivation as treatment of depression.
Sean Farrell’s project, completed in partnership with a Jefferson medical student and mentors from the Hepatitis B Foundation, explored the needs of patients with hepatitis B and hepatitis D. He delivered it in March.
“The past year at Thomas Jefferson University was truly amazing, and I’m so excited to begin my pediatric career with this additional education,” Vanessa said.
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D e p a r t m e n t o f M e d i c a l E d u c a t i o n 2 0 1 9 - 2 0 2 0 Ye a r i n R e v i e w
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