Xt october 2016 by Xavier University School of Medicine

THE

Vol 6 - Issue No 3 - October 2016

XAVIER N

IN THIS ISSUE

TIMES W

Fall 2016 White Coat Ceremony

T h e We l c o m i n g o f F u t u r e S u c c e s s f u l P h y s i c i c a n s

White Coat..............................1 From the Editors.....................2 Orientation Program...............3 Interview with Dr. Helmy.........4 Town Hall Meeting..................5 Cultural Beliefs Project...........6 Poems.....................................7 Digital Immigrants...................7 First Impressions of Aruba......8 Study Tips................................8 Career Options........................8 Student Stress.........................9 Referral Program.....................10 Movie Activitiy........................11 Restaurant Review..................11

Accreditation & Recognition *

Every student who reaches the white coat ceremony gets a feeling of pride and acknowledgement, the effort and hard work they have put into entering med school is reattributed with the award of the white coat. The main focus of the white coat ceremony at Xavier University School of Medicine is to celebrate the beginning of a medical journey and the transition to becoming a part of the medical team. It symbolizes the vow to offer extensive; empathetic patient treatment. Attending my white coat ceremony, the atmosphere was filled with excitement and anticipation. The night began with an introductory speech of Dr.Dubey. Dean of Basic Sciences, who welcomed the new and returning students, faculty & staff to the ceremony.

Ireland *CAAMP-HP accreditation provisional. **ACCM accreditation provisional.

Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine

Approved by the: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

X A V I E R

Following this we were addressed by, Dr.Gil, Dean of Student Affairs, who announced, congratulated and rewarded the students who had achieved academic honors. The night continued with Dr. Barton, Dean of Pre-Medical Sciences, who talked about the importance of hard work and attendance at all teaching-learning sessions. He provided insight & motivation for the students to be cognizant of the Continued on page 2

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O F F I C I A L

N E W S

P U B L I C A T I O N

From the Editors

White Coat

Dear readers:

fact that the core objective of doctors was to practice good health for the people they served & to excel in achievement. Various certificates for different accomplishments were handed out. After this came the most exciting part of the ceremony from my perspective. All new medical students were presented with a white coat as each student’s name was called out, Dr. Gil & Dr. Dubey helped each student into his or her new coat, whispered words of congratulation & good luck as they did so. Once all students had received the white coat they read the Hippocratic Oath along with Dr. Gil, where each medical student pledged oneself to characterize each patient as an individual and not merely as patients with illness and try to develop a holistic view of patients’ concerns. Following the white coat ceremony students proceeded to take pictures and save the memories for a later date. Following the ceremony a dinner was offered to everyone present. We thank Xavier University for making this a memorable occasion.

elcome to a new semester. September and October has traditionally been the

hottest month in Aruba and hopefully, we are now in the ‘cooling off’ phase and eagerly looking forward to cooler temperatures in the months ahead As usual we have a wealth of reading material for you in this issue. The college events ranging from the town hall meeting with the President, the orientation program for the newly joined students, the welcome dinner and white coat ceremony and the movie activity are all described. We continue with our usual sections on

Continued from page 1

Ms. Pardis Sheikhvatan, MD1

career options, study tips and the restaurant review. Both the editors have been involved with a project exploring how cultural and social beliefs of people can influence their healthcare seeking behavior and a brief description is provided in this issue.

wo students offer their perspective about and first impressions of ‘one happy

island’. ‘Myles‘Mahajan explores ‘Stress and the medical student’ and Adeyemi writes about the impact of the relentless advance of technology on our lives. This issue of Xavier Times has many new contributors and many previous members of the team are now preparing for the clinical phase of study. We wish them the very best of luck! Read on…..

Dr. P Ravi Shankar, Faculty Editor Ms. Komathini Jothikumar, Student Editor

www.xusom.com

Orientation: An insight into our journey ahead

Xavier Times team Faculty editor: Dr. P Ravi Shankar

Student editor: Ms. Komathini Jothikumar

Copy Editor: Medical school… At first the desire to get in to an accredited medical school can be both stressful and overwhelming. Then when we finally make it to a good medical school, the majority of us start thinking, “mission accomplished and I have arrived!” But little do we know that getting in to a medical school is just the beginning of a journey full of lifelong learning, and that the real stress is yet to come. As the school year approaches, and we “finally” start to look in to the curriculum and purchase textbooks, we start to develop a feeling of fear. Fear about how the professors at our medical school will be, how hectic our study schedules will be, how we should shape our study habits, how well the school will prepare us for the licensing exams, etc. Then came “orientation day,” the first day of our journey ahead. I think most of us came in with the expectation that the school will simply go through the guidelines stated in the student handbook and frighten us a little more about how hard medical school is. But much to our surprise, the orientation day offered information that will not only help us succeed, if well utilized to be better students, but also to see the caring and dedicated sides of our professors. We started off with a very helpful and detailed presentation on “How to succeed in medical school,” and through this presentation we got to see just how much the staff at XUSOM cares about its students, and how passionate they all are towards teaching their respective courses. This presentation provided all us new students a feeling of satisfaction and belonging. A presentation on “Self-directed learning,” provided

Continued on page 4

www.xusom.com

Dr. Gareth Davey Ms. Kendra Parson

Contributors: Ms. Dilpreet Kaur Kalkat - PM4 Ms. Manpreet Kaur - PM4 Mr. Umair Amer - PM 4 Ms. Riddhi Patel - MD 1 Ms. Pardis Sheikhvatan - MD 1 Mr. Sean Kim - MD2 Mr. Jason Peters - MD2 Ms. Reema Patel - MD2 Ms. Kahmalia Sada - MD 2 Mr. Manesh Mahajan - MD4 Mr. Olawale Adeyemi - MD4 Mr Pouria Mohammadi - MD 5 Ms. Franca Buonanno - MD6 Dr Surekha Bhat Professor of Biochemistry 3

Interview with Dr. Helmy1.Where are you from and what school did you attend? -I am from Egypt and attended The Gulf of English school of Kuwait and studied medicine. I received my masters of neuroscience in Finland, and a PhD in neuroscience 2.What did you major in? -Neuroscience, bachelor’s of medicine and bachelor’s of surgery -Neonatologist for 5 years and then he went back for his basic sciences again. 3.What is your favorite subject and why? -Physiology, because it integrates all the fundamental sciences of life and the study of life and you have to understand things in physiology to understand everything in the body. 4.What do you find fascinating about Neuroscience? - I have always been fascinated about the brain because of the biological and psychological correlation. -As a neonatologist I was intrigued on how the neonatal brain transitioned into the adult brain, and how difficult it is to nurture the highly sensitive period of growth. Also interested in the neurology of the newborn. Babies are mostly the brain and I’m fascinated to see how it’s working via clinical tools, and create an environment to allow them to grow healthy.

Continued from page 3 some amazing guidelines on how to work towards our goal of becoming an MD while always aiming for excellence. To make the orientation day fun, we played a game called “Crossing the river.” Through this game, we were able to blend in with our new classmates, and understand how important it is to work as a team because at the end of the day, we are all working towards the same goal. Over the three days of orientation, the staff at XUSOM conducted various useful activities, three of which are mentioned above. These three days of orientation definitely taught us one very important thing, “KEEP CALM, WORK HARD, AND JUST BREATHE!” Another thing that the orientation provided us with is assurance. Assurance that the staff is always there for you and whole-heartedly wants to see you succeed.

Ms. Riddhi Patel MD 1

5.What made you go into teaching medical students? - Iwanted to work as a teacher and to develop and grow in my profession. 6.How are you finding the island of Aruba? -Laid back 7.What or who inspires you? -Curiosity for the sake of curiosity 8.What study tips and words encouragement do you have for students who are taking on medicine? -Spend at least an hour a day reading what you have covered in the day, don’t let a day go by without reading what you have covered. Expose yourself to the same material over and over again. -Every student has different ways of learning, things stick in your memory if you draw and make notes. 9.What do you like to do in your spare time? -In his spare time, he likes to read, practice yoga, Aikido (Japanese martial arts) nonviolent and non-aggressive. 10. How do you like teaching medical students? - I find teaching medical students interesting, challenging, and interactive 11.What are your accomplishments? - My accomplishments are to love and be loved 12.Have you done/participated in any research? - I have been recognized for my medical research in Birth Asphyxia.

Interviewed by: Ms. Kahmalia-Kalee Sada, MD2 & Mr. Umair Amer, PM4

www.xusom.com 4

Interaction with the President On the 29th of September, Mr. Ravishankar Bhooplapur (President of XUSOM) accompanied by Mr. Daniel Mosses (Controller) addressed the students on several important issues as well as informing them of upcoming endeavors. • One of the issues discussed was the zero tolerance policy that this school has with bullying. The president clearly stated how students would be dealt with appropriately and he will personally escort them to the airport. • He informed the students on how there are expectations placed on them on when they return for the new semester and that they must be on time in order to register for classes. He went on to mention how Aruba is now enforcing permit policies for the student visa and how students must now address their responsibilities in organizing their papers, regardless of their semester year. • The president mentioned how they are hosting multiple open houses across the US and Canada. • He informed students that part of the auditorium will be used to add two additional classrooms to the current campus. • Mr. Moses then took the podium to let students know that there are options available for financial issues and he is willing to work with the students in order to ensure that their payments are organized.

A question and answer session was then held where the President talked about many of the students’ concerns. Issues addressed during this portion included: • The university achieving Title IV • Residency in both New York and Canada • The upcoming research opportunity that is being funded by a grant • Phase 1 of development for the new campus would begin in December 2017

Ms. Komathini Jothikumar, Student Editor

www.xusom.com

Cultural Beliefs and Health Cultural, social and religious beliefs have been shown in a number of studies to influence health and health seeking behavior of populations. Individual from a variety of nations and cultural backgrounds migrate to the United States and Canada. Doctors practicing in these countries should be knowledgeable about cultural and health beliefs of a diverse population to be able to provide good quality healthcare to and establish an empathetic relationship with their patients. Xavier University School of Medicine admits students from various countries to the undergraduate medical (MD) and premedical program. In the past at Xavier Times we had carried a selection of student bios from various countries in our section ‘Diversity@XUSOM’. Keeping in mind the varied and diverse cultural backgrounds of students at XUSOM and the importance of creating awareness about and the requisite set of skills among students for dealing with diverse populations a cultural beliefs presentation was held on Tuesday, 19th July afternoon in the MD4 classroom at Aruba. The presenters provided a brief overview about their country, its health status and healthcare system, the beliefs of the population about health and how an individual’s cultural and other beliefs can influence their interactions with healthcare providers. If possible, the presenting students also discussed how their beliefs can influence their interactions with healthcare providers in the US and Canada if they had migrated to these countries. The Dean of Basic Sciences, Dr Dubey initiated the proceedings. Among the student who presented were Mr Sanad Alghizzawi who talked about Jordan, Mr. Christopher Iordanou who talked about Greece, Ms. Adebola Adegbite on Nigeria, Mr Biruk Gote on Ethiopia, Ms. Jennifer Tuong on China, Ms. Maria Cristofori on Venezuela, Mr Pouria Mohammadi on Iran, Mr Samir Tohme on Lebanon, Ms. Grace Doan on Vietnam, and Ms. Alyzeh Alibhai on Tanzania. To understand how students involved in the project prepared for the same and how cultural beliefs can influence health seeking behavior a semi-structured interview/and focus group discussions were held with the students who participated.

Dr P Ravi Shankar Faculty Editor

www.xusom.com

Poems by Dr. Bhat

Ocean’s drop

Digital Immigrants

Isn’t it astonishing how technology has moved in leaps and bounds over the decades? It was in my lifetime (I was probably 9 or 10 years old) when we had the black and white television sets, and we were very happy to watch television, which would commence at 4 o’clock daily. How could anyone have predicted that a few years later, we would be watching color TVs, 3Ds and the like… Now that is the case… I mean there are some screens that make the pictures appear so real… WOW! What about photographs? I browse through my parents’ wedding pictures from time-totime, and they were all in black and white! That’s right, they were the “black and white people”! Do you remember the long process involved in “printing” pictures? How amazing it was when we moved to instant Polaroid pictures, remember? Snap and wave in the air, Lord knows why, till the photograph is revealed. Now we can snap photographs that look so real, we can store images without printing them. Technology has gone a long way indeed. I still remember those very chubby cartridges of Coolio and Heavy Ds music that we had to listen to on long journeys. And only a few decades after, we are talking MP3. So much has happened in a short while. But technology like everything else it has its pros and cons. One major pro is communication and networking which encourages globalization. Some of my buddies have been doing an online course for some

years, and they have never met their tutors and classmates, but it does not feel that way. It almost feels like they know them, yet for some they don’t even have an image. They are thousands of kilometers away, but they are students of the school! The “awesomeness of technology”! I must confess that like every other thing, balance is required. An example that I use for people, to buttress this point, is the volume of blood a human has. This is checked in labs and is called Packed Cell Volume (PCV). When it is low, the individual develops symptoms like weakness, and feels faint and very tired. For some people a blood transfusion is recommended. The patient then feels well. On the other end is the individual with high PCV who feels unwell and presents with headaches and what I like to call ‘alert’ symptoms and he will not feel well except when he donates blood! Technology can be confusing, sophisticated, terrifying, and even difficult! Especially for those of us who saw the “black and white era“. There are studies that have been carried out concerning the effect of technology between different generations. The present generation is referred to as ‘digital natives’. I mean they were born with the iPad! We could look stupid to a ten-year-old when it comes to technical use of technology”, if you know what I mean. A number of ‘digital immigrants’ suffer from ‘technophobia’, which means we don’t understand the technicalities involved with the present day technology and we are afraid to learn. The truth is that education is a lifelong process. As long as we breathe, we will have to learn, unlearn, and relearn. So go ahead, age is just a number. Embrace technology and enjoy life.

Mr. Adeyemi Olawale MD4 www.xusom.com

A cord divine, unseen, unkown, I pull away, it pulls me back. A ‘touch-less’ feel touching the soul, You are in me, and always were? Efforts sincere but we cry, Fights to the core, unite again. You are for the world, and yet my world, Detached from me, yet bonded too! Are we here to hold the world? Or the world, to hold us back? To limits I’m bound, but strange it is, my heart expands in love for you!

EVERY HUMAN - TWO IN ONE An enlightened saint, an outcaste devil, presented me with a gift each; the devil grinned, the saint smiled- his was a wisdom beyond reach. With hope and fear, I opened the black crumpled pack of crueltyit was a mirror, I stared at it, the devil in me stared back at me. With joy and pride, I opened the neat, white pack of spiritual peaceit was a mirror, I smiled at it, the saint in me smiled back at me. Not knowing what to do with them, I placed the mirrors face to face. To know them more, in between them, my mortal body stood in place. I looked in one, and then the other, and thousands of myself I sawthe devil grinned, the saint smiled -his was a wisdom beyond reach!

Dr. Surekha Anandraya Bhat Professor of Biochemistry 7

First Impressions of

Aruba

When a ‘normal’ person looks at pictures of Aruba, or any island, the first thing they think is, “WOW! that’s paradise.” The beautiful blue ocean, the white sand, the colorful buildings, and the clear sky attracts so many people. When we got accepted in XUSOM, the opportunity of living on such a beautiful island got us pumped up and excited to move out. Being from Boston and Canada, we could not wait to leave the cold weather and experience summer 24/7. Who wouldn’t want to be in shorts and flip-flops all the time? So we packed our bags, and got on the flight eagerly waiting to arrive in paradise. Little did we know that there was a big surprise waiting for us once we landed. First, the airport lines were making us frustrated. We just wanted to grab our bags, get to our accommodations, hit the beaches and beautiful sites that we had read about online and seen in pictures. Once we got in the cab, seeing the palm trees put smiles on our faces. However, soon after when we drove on the streets we noticed Aruba is nothing like as portrayed in pictures. The tourist areas (i.e. downtown, Renaissance, High-Rise, beaches) were beautiful. Everything was so lively, vibrant, and of course super clean. Seeing people staring as we walked by or having to communicate with people who don’t really understand English fluently was a big cultural shock for us. The biggest and hardest transaction was leaving behind our friends and family, and having to start fresh. Not knowing the people we would see every day was a bit frightening at first. We were worried whether we would fit in, and if people would even want to be friends with us, since we’re both very shy at first when meeting someone new. However, as soon as everyone started talking to each other within the first few minutes of orientation, things started to feel a little bit better. The people at XUSOM have made the experience a lot better. There’s always someone to talk to, get help from, or just chill around with. Whether the students are from Pre-Med or Med, everyone is basically one big family here. We’re glad that we’ve become a part of the XUSOM family.

Ms. Dilpreet Kaur Kalkat PM4 & Ms. Manpreet Kaur PM4 8

Study Tips!

Going to a Caribbean medical school can be a distraction as many are situated on extremely beautiful and relaxing locations. Ever had that feeling where you just wish you were at the beach instead of sitting at home studying? Well here are a few study tips that can be useful for any medical student and help you better manage your time. • Eat and sleep on time! • Keep up with the material covered at the school • Preview lecture before class so you have an idea on what the topic is • After class, organize your notes and review • Be creative when studying, draw pictures or even write a song! • If you need help, ask! • Do not procrastinate and wait until just before the exam day to study. • Make study groups • Use lecture notes as a guide when using any other secondary sources to help you understand the material better.

Ms. Reema Patel- MD 2

What the future brings … Anesthesiology

Surgery

Anesthesiology is a branch of medicine that is dedicated to the total care of patients undergoing surgery and the relief of pain. It is the discipline within the practice of medicine that specializes in the management of patients rendered unconscious or insensible to pain and stress during surgical, obstetric and other medical procedures. This involves the perioperative evaluation and treatment of patients in specialized care of pain management, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, respiratory care problems, and the management of critically ill and/ or injured patients in special care units. Anesthesiologists are familiar with all medical conditions and their implications. They have experience of giving anesthetics for all surgical procedures. They provide care to patients of all ages, from neonates to the elderly.

Surgery is a medical speciality that uses operative techniques on a patient to investigate and/ or treat a pathological condition such as a disease or an injury. This is to improve body function or appearance, or to repair unwanted ruptured areas. The word ‘surgery’ is very broad, as there are lots of different types; elective, exploratory, cosmetic, amputation, reconstructive, transplant, laser, laparoscopic, and even microsurgery.

Fun Fact : Anesthesiologists give more intravenous drugs than all of the other types of physicians combined.

Becoming a surgeon is a very lengthy process including three to ten years of residency depending on the type of speciality chosen, though a general surgery residency is five years.

Ms. Franca Buonanno MD 6

www.xusom.com

Stress and the Medical Student

Stress is a part of all our daily lives. It can manifest in different forms depending on the person. For a medical student, an impending NBME system exam can elicit a stress response, whereas, for a professor, the act of planning for your lectures that week can cause stress. Regardless of what is causing the stress, it boils down to similar signs and symptoms that can be seen across the board by anybody looking for them. Stress is defined as a state of mental or emotional strain, or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. While this is an accurate definition of stress, it does not represent the whole picture. Dr. Hans Selye in the 1930s subdivided stress in to eustress and distress. He defined eustress as a positive stress, and distress as a negative stress. This partitioning implies that stress is actually good in some forms and bad in others. Positive stress means that there is a stimulant, for instance an impending NBME that pushes one to work harder (a positive action) to obtain a better grade. Similarly, the NBME can prove to be a negative stressor (distress) if the material piles up and becomes overwhelming, eliciting a state of panic and fear to the point that the student gives up studying altogether. Eustress motivates one to do what needs to done, be it an assignment, or study for an upcoming test. Distress, on the other hand, lends itself to a state of panic, and can be counterproductive. This connects to the next point: Productivity. Eustress leads to productivity while distress the opposite. One would imagine that only eustress is all you need, but this is not the case. You need a balance of both. A ratio of both eustress and distress tells you when you need to take a break and relax. Too much work and no play will lead to a very unhappy individual and, ultimately, failure. The imbalance of eustress and distress can even lead to some really bad results such as dropping out of medical school, having a mental breakdown, or, in extreme cases, suicide, as some medical school horror stories mention. With all this talk about stress, it’s important to consider how to keep it low and manageable. There are several ways to go about doing this, despite living on an island. The number one tip, I can’t stress more than any other, is adequate sleep. Contrary to what Dr. Gil said about missing your bed, it’s extremely important you get enough sleep. For someone not in medical school, adequate sleep would be 8 to 10 hours daily. However, given our position, and how much work we students need to get done, 5 to 6 hours is the bare minimum needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle; just ask Dr. Rose or Dr. Holtzman. They’ll vouch happily for the importance of sleep! Sleep is also important for memory consolidation and retention. Sure you can pull that all-nighter for your test, but will that time really make all the difference? Is it really worth a few hours of study to take your test while being extremely sleepy? You want your brain to be at 100% for that test, and sleep is the way to go. In order to have adequate sleep, you will have to start practicing the art of flexible time management. This is the utmost key to success in medical school as well as life in general. A common-sense approach to time management suggests you work between time A and B on histopathology. Many people panic when they reach the end of that time slot and realize they have another 5 or 6 pages to learn. www.xusom.com

In flexible time management, you go with the flow. You haven’t finished the chapter? Well you can either move on to the next topic or keep going until you finish it. I tend to do the latter; I don’t move on until I’m done, but even then, I don’t freak out about what’s left to do - it all gets done eventually. Time management is all about self-discipline which only comes with age and practice Along with time management, make sure you schedule breaks for yourself. An analogy I love to use is that of a sponge. If a sponge is dry, its ability to soak up water is great, but a wet sponge soaks up no water. The brain is effectively the same way. If you over saturate it with information, it will not be able to hold any more. Breaks allow you to wring out your sponge, so to speak, and to continue to study. Again, Dr. Rose can attest to that as well. Ideally, 45 minutes of work then a 15 minute break. Rinse, lather, repeat. Diet, exercise, and, of course, adequate hydration, all play a role in stress. Improper diet such as processed food and junk food can really mess with you as a person, and can lead to many issues. Some of these can be psychological (you don’t like how you look anymore) or physical health effects. These health effects include heart problems, weight gain, sluggishness, and more. The ease of access to fast food is another issue. It’s easy to fool yourself into thinking fast food is “fast”. But when you take into account the travel time, waiting in line, waiting for food preparation, taking it home, eating it, and letting it go down a bit, you have lost about 2 hours or so. Home cooked meals will always be healthier and faster than anything you could get at Taco Bell or Burger King. While the island is limited, it’s not impossible to find good healthy food to eat, as long as you’re willing to pay a bit more and want to actually be healthy. Meal planning is another great way to ensure a healthy diet. Searching the internet, such as Tasty (Facebook page), or googling around for new foods, is a great way to get a healthy and delicious meal. I know I get help daily with new meals and I always try to cook something new. It becomes a hobby and can aid in stress relief. Exercise is also relatively easy to do, especially on the island. For one, we have the ocean to swim in! If swimming isn’t your thing, there are also several affordable gyms on the island (Le Cabana and My Fitness, to name a few). The aforementioned have decent rates for students, and are fantastic gyms. If the gym isn’t for you, you can do yoga at home; it’s extremely easy to learn and it helps with breathing as well as a full body workout. If this is not your cup of tea, then just take a walk. Walk around your apartment, or block for 10 to 20 minutes a day. Combine that with lots of water a day and you’re well on your way to managing stress as well as being much healthier. Water helps so much, especially on this island which is extremely hot. It’s very easy to get dehydrated in Aruba, so always keep sipping. Lastly, schedule time for just yourself. Find time to put all the books away, stop thinking about medicine, and enjoy yourself. I will give the books a rest and hop on to my PC and just play video games until bedtime. It’s important to find that balance of work and play or else you’ll lose your sanity, or what little you have left of it.

Mr. Manesh Myles Mahajan, MD4 9

Want $500 oﬀ of Your Next Semester? Refer a friend or family member to Xavier and receive a $500 tuition discount on your next semester’s bill! *

United States:

Houston, TX November 8th: (5:30-7:30)

Fort Lauderdale, FL October 20th: (5:30-7:30) Renaissance Fort Lauderdale-Plantation Hotel:

Homewood Suites by Hilton Houston-Stafford Dallas, TX November 9th: (10:00-1:00) InterContinental Dallas

Chicago, IL October 25th: (5:30-7:30) Chicago Marriott Oak Brook

Canada:

Arlington, VA October 25th: (5:30-7:30)

Vancouver, November 1st: (5:30-7 :30)

DoubleTree by Hilton Washington, D.C.-Crystal City

Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport

Baltimore, MD October 26nd: (6:00-8:00)

Calgary AB, November 2nd: (5:30-7:30)

Hotel Indigo Baltimore

Best Western plus Suites

Cincinnati, OH, October 27th: (5:30-7:30)

Winnipeg, Novermber 3rd: (5:30-7:30)

Hilton Garden Inn

Victoria Inn Hotel and Convection Centre

Plainview, NY October 27th: (5:30-7:30)

Montreal, November 8th: (5:30-7:30)

Holiday Inn Plainview

Sheraton Montreal Airport Hotel

Jersey City, NJ, November 5th: (10:00-1:00)

Ottawa, November 9th: (5:30-7:30)

Courtyard Jersey City

Radisson Hotel Ottawa Parliament Hill

Detroit, MI November 5th: (10:00-1:00) Hotel St.Regis

“Cultivating Great Minds for Primary Care Medicine”

*Tuition discount is applied once the student who is reffered has paid for their rst semester in full and withdrawl date has passed. Reffered student must indicate who reffered them on their application. Only one student will be given tuition discount for reffered student.

www.xusom.com

Movie Activity: Long Time Companion This film was perhaps one of the first to put a script on screen about the AIDS epidemic. Longtime Companion follows a group of closely tied circle of friends, and the movie was based on the first mention of the disease in the New York Times in 1981. First referred to as “GayRelated-Immune-Disorder”, the audience watches the effect of the disease as it devastates the lives of the protagonists. The mind set in this movie gives reality to the “It-couldn’t-happen-tome” mentality. The film starts in the early 1980’s and slowly progresses to 1989, and during that time, a group of men and a woman confront the spread of AIDS. Personal trainer Willy (Campbell Scott) watches the epidemic grow, advocating for awareness. Willy’s friend John (Dermot Mulroney) is the first to be infected, but soon it becomes clear that a pandemic is underway within the community. Willy, the boyfriend Fuzzy (Stephen Caffrey) and his adopted sister, Lisa (MaryLouise Parker), look on as their friends and loved ones succumb to the disease. The mentality that we perceive from the acting gives a strong impression of the thoughts and feelings of the characters. As each year progresses, the audience too, follows this group of friends and the progression of the devastating disease. What we can learn about this phenomenon is that, we have increased awareness of this disease and the LGBT community can be better understood and not misidentified. On Wednesday September 21, 2016, the MD students of Xavier University gathered in the auditorium to share and discuss the issues demonstrated in the film: Longtime Companion. Following a brief ceremony for successful completion of the Medical Humanities module and sharing medical practices across diverse nations around the globe, the students were divided into groups, each with a question to address. Group leaders were assigned to orchestrate the development of the group by addressing their topics. After a 30-minute preparation, the students returned to share their responses among colleagues and faculty. There was an eclectic array of topics presented and even larger spectrum of feedback provided by each group. The presentations were even highlighted with visual displays and a performance skit, re-enacting the difficulties people may have with diseases and the support they may also receive in difficult situations. The experience challenged many students to combat their fears of public speaking, but some groups were able to get everyone involved to help alleviate and disperse the attention, and thus “take the pressure off”. We enjoyed the activity and look forward to week 5.

Mr. Sean Kim. MD 2 & Mr. Jason Peters, MD 2

Restaurant Review If you are looking for a late night authentic Italian style pizza, then look nofurther than our very own Slice pizza located behind Juanchis beside the Sand bar. The prices are very reasonable, you could get a large pizza for only 11 dollars which is very friendly to student budgets. If you decide to give this place a shot, make sure to try the vegetarian pizza as well, it will definitely be worth it. In addition, you could perhaps go to sandbar with a few of your friends and have a good time and also have a great pizza at the end of the night.

Name: +297 Address: J.E. Irausquin Blvd 374, Noord, Aruba Phone: +297 587 8787 Website: http://www.297restaurant.com/

www.xusom.com

Jordan Campus

Aruba Campus

“Cultivating Great Minds for Primary Care Medicine”

North American Admissions Office 1000 Woodbury Road, Suite 109 Woodbury, New York 11797 USA TEL: 516-333-2224 FAX: 516-921-1070 info@xusom.com | www.xusom.com

Aruba Campus Santa Helenastraat #23 Oranjestad, Aruba Dutch Caribbean TEL: 297-588-7766 Fax: 297-588-6222

Jordan Admissions Office Al Husseini Building Office 614 Zahran Street between 7th & 8th Circle Amman, Jordan 11183 TEL: 962 (61) 586 1313 | FAX: 962 (61) 586 1317 info@xusom.com | www.xusom.com/jordan