Welcome by WVSOM president

Michael D. Adelman, D.O., J.D., D.P.M. A CONVERSATION WITH OUR PRESIDENT

What are you most passionate about at WVSOM?

The people! I wish that everyone reading this could join me for a day to walk our campus. You’d see our amazing faculty presenting lectures and interacting with our students. You’d connect with our staff, who are competent and dedicated in their work, and you’d meet an incredible student body, who are excited to learn and happy to be at WVSOM. From watching them interact for the first time with our state-of-the art simulators in our Clinical Evaluation Center, to seeing their anticipation as they receive their Statewide Campus rotation assignments for their third and fourth years, and finally, shaking their hand as our graduates cross the stage, we are all about our students! I am honored to be able to witness all of this, knowing that students’ education at WVSOM has prepared them well for their next step as a physician.

Why should the greater community support the work of WVSOM?

WVSOM is one of the top ranked medical schools in the country when it comes to primary care and rural medicine. During the past five years, we have expanded our faculty and facilities while simultaneously increasing applicants and matriculants. In addition, we are graduating more Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine than ever before, and we are receiving more recognition for our outreach initiatives and research at the state and national level. WVSOM and its graduates care about our communities and continuously strive to provide quality health care and education to our patients.

Where do you see WVSOM in five years?

WVSOM is already a leader in important health care initiatives. For instance, our Center for Rural and Community Health developed a curriculum that trains

Community Health Educators, who work with individuals and families to find resources for their health care needs. Our Healthy Children’s Initiative helps to educate elementary school children on healthy lifestyles and nutrition, and our Rural Health Initiative helps educate our medical students on the unique attributes of practicing medicine in rural America. During the next five years, we plan on expanding these programs as well as adding new initiatives to enhance the health care need of West Virginia and the country. Our future is bright and I am honored to be a part of the WVSOM community. It will be exciting to see our achievements over the next five years as we continue to stay on the “cutting edge” of health care and medical education.