The Office of Diversity and Community Relations at PCOM's Suwanee, Georgia, location coordinates various community outreach, diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives throughout the year.
PCOM Georgia is proud to partner with the following community organizations and schools in the greater Atlanta area. These organizations also provide volunteer opportunities for PCOM Georgia students and staff. Contact the Office of Diversity for more information.
PCOM Georgia's Office of Diversity partners with the following non-profit organizations in the greater Atlanta area:
Contact the Office of Diversity for more information and how you can get involved.
The PCOM Georgia Opportunities Academy is a summer enrichment program for local high school students interested in healthcare careers. The program is designed to guide underrepresented youth to careers in medicine and science. PCOM Georgia students, faculty and staff lead participants through full days of hands-on learning. Campers explore various medical subjects from cardiology to infectious diseases to neuroscience through interactive labs and guest lectures. Students also gain exposure to different careers in health care as well as learn how to apply to college and professional programs.
PCOM Georgia's Office of Diversity and Community Partnerships proudly partners with local high schools in the Gwinnett County area:
The Office of Admissions, in partnership with other PCOM Georgia academic and administrative departments, provides opportunities for local high school students to learn about careers in health care and science through its Community Outreach and Pathway programs.
STEM Saturday is a pathway program designed to equip high school students around the Metro-Atlanta area with the skills needed to complete research projects and gain knowledge surrounding Medicine. Participants will gain hands-on experience and guidance from experienced researchers and PCOM Georgia student mentors.
The Medical Explorer program is geared toward high school juniors and seniors interested in health care through the Boys Scouts of America. One evening a month during the academic school year, the students meet and learn about a variety of healthcare careers and participate in hands-on activities.
The PCOM Georgia Diversity Diplomat Internship Program provides undergraduate students the opportunity to earn internship hours by assisting with pathway programming and community outreach initiatives at the Suwanee, Georgia, campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The Pathways to Medicine Undergraduate Summer Research Internship is a competitive program that affords underrepresented males in science and psychology majors an opportunity to engage in research at PCOM Georgia. Second and third-year students are matched with PCOM Georgia faculty, students, and staff to be part of medical research teams and experience the intricacies of working in a professional laboratory. Offered eight weeks during the summer, students learn how to formulate research questions and hypotheses, design experiments, record results, interpret data and present their findings as part of an oral presentation.
PCOM's Community Wellness Initiative (CWI) was founded to create educational and health services programming that support health and wellness in communities surrounding the College's locations.
CWI programs and events provide opportunities for PCOM students and staff to engage in patient care, community health education and research.
The Community-Based Research Faculty Fellowship was created by the Office of Diversity and Community Relations in partnership with the Division of Research and the PCOM Library.
Funding is awarded annually to faculty members who engage community-based organizations and PCOM students in collaborative research studies. Preference is given to proposals that focus on inter-professional initiatives and allow multiple students to volunteer with research duties.
Examples of studies and engagement projects include examining vaccine COVID hesitancy in local communities and exploring health services barriers in rural communities.
Hosted by the Office of Diversity and Community Relations PCOM Georgia, this annual event provides an opportunity for first-year underrepresented students to network with students, faculty, staff, and alumni to learn strategies for staying connected and succeeding at PCOM Georgia. Read more.
Hosted by the Office of Diversity and Community Partnerships and the LGBTQIA+ Council, the Lavender Awards celebrates the LGBTQIA+ communities and their allies at PCOM Georgia.
PCOM Georgia's Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Chapter, along with the Office of Diversity and the Diversity Council, hosted their SNMA Awards and Black Tie Gala event on Saturday, February 22, 2020, at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center.
This event awarded key faculty, staff, students and alumni for their hard work and dedication in reaching SNMA’s mission: to address the needs of underserved communities while training students to be clinically excellent, culturally competent and socially conscious physicians.
The awards ceremony was followed by dancing to celebrate the different cultures and backgrounds that make up PCOM Georgia's diverse community.
Our office hosts multicultural scholars and dignitaries to lecture on health-related diversity issues in order to bring insight and understanding to the PCOM community. These lectures and discussions are designed to educate audiences to consider perspectives other than their own – encouraging civil debate, broadening the basis for critical thought and promoting cultural understanding.
Examples include:
Cornell Wright, MPA, Executive Director of the NC DHHS Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, presented "It was all a Dream: The Intersectionality of Culture, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Health Equity." Read more.
Frank Jones, MD, MPH, clinical professor of surgery, hosted the "Making a Way" discussion featuring a panel of physicians discussing their personal healthcare stories of defying odds and pursuing dreams.
Gulshan Harjee, MD, internist and recipient of numerous awards including Outstanding Georgia Citizen of the Year, shared her experiences in medicine with the PCOM Georgia community.
The President's Campus and Community Engagement Award is given to a graduating student in each academic program at PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia, who has made a unique contribution to the College's mission of “educating health professionals to care for the whole person and advance the health of diverse communities.”
PCOM's Employee Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Award is presented annually to one faculty member and one staff member who have exceedingly worked to advance diversity, equity and inclusion at the College. Honorees are nominated by their colleagues.
Any employee or student can nominate a member of the faculty or staff for an award. Complete our Google Form to nominate an employee or student.
View past award recipients:
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