Population Health

The Office of Population Health was established to support WCUCOM’s mission to educate and train graduates who are committed to serving the unique healthcare needs of all individuals, with special attention directed to the medically underserved and other diverse populations including vulnerable people. As a part of this mission, the Office of Population Health will work closely with a wide-range of strategic partners to promote population health initiatives, scholarly activity, and research in an effort to improve the health of individuals, populations, and communities in the state, region, nation, and across the globe.

CAST

Child Advocacy Studies Training (CAST) is a nationally recognized curriculum to train students how to effectively address child abuse and neglect in real world applications through Multidisciplinary Team coordination.

WCUCOM is the first osteopathic medical school in the country (and 2 nd of all medical schools MD or DO) to offer the CAST curriculum. All first year osteopathic medical students participate in a required CAST didactic lecture and problem-based learning simulation facilitated by a multidisciplinary team of faculty and community members. Additionally, students have the opportunity to participate in a 2-hour observation at a local children’s advocacy center (CAC), where they are able to gain first-hand experience through their interaction with a multidisciplinary team at work.

All fourth year medical students have the opportunity to participate in a 4-week CAST elective to further enhance their knowledge as it relates to child maltreatment and child advocacy skills.

Project FORECAST

Project FORECAST is a unique educational experience that’s designed to help current and future child-serving professionals make better decisions in situations involving childhood trauma. Our interactive trainings simulate real-world scenarios and can better prepare participants for the complex challenges of trauma-informed care.

Project FORECAST simulations were designed by some of the nation’s top experts in child advocacy and are based on real-world situations child-serving professionals encounter. Led by certified facilitators, participants will role-play, observe, and see the impact of their decisions in real-time.

Project FORECAST aims to develop training partnerships between universities with Child Advocacy Studies (CAST) programs and their local workforces. Together, we can increase retention of current professionals, better facilitate transitions into the workforce, and improve the competence of those entering a child-serving sector.

Click here to schedule a Project FORECAST Simulation. 

Zero Abuse Project

Zero Abuse Project is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to transforming institutions in order to effectively prevent, recognize, and respond to child sexual abuse.

Curriculum in IDD Healthcare

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have a number of unique health challenges that practicing physicians and other healthcare professionals are sometimes unprepared to address. WCUCOM is proud to be the first medical school to incorporate the Curriculum in IDD Healthcare into required training for all first year students.

The Curriculum in IDD Healthcare was created and delivered by a physician for physicians and other clinicians to serve as a comprehensive IDD training curriculum. The curriculum’s six e-Learn modules provide physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and physician assistants with pertinent, practical information that can be put to use immediately in their practices to improve outcomes for those with an intellectual development disorder and/or intellectual disability characteristics.

Read more: People with IDD at risk of harm from untrained clinicians

Choosing Wisely STARS

WCUCOM is proud to be the first osteopathic medical school in the country to be accepted into Choosing Wisely STARS (Students and Trainees Advocating for Resource Stewardship), which aims to catalyze grassroots, student-led initiatives to advance health care value in medical education.

The program is built on Choosing Wisely, launched in 2012 by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation to promote conversations between clinicians and patients to help patients choose care that is supported by evidence, not duplicative of other tests or procedures already received, free from harm, and truly necessary.

Choosing Wisely STARS is supported by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation, Costs of Care, and the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School.

STARS UNITE

STARS UNITE 2021 builds upon the successful STARS program for medical students, which has engaged hundreds of medical students from across the U.S., to bring together interprofessional clinical teams that will improve care delivery through co-developed, sustainable solutions to improve patient affordability and equity.

Mississippi currently ranks last, or close to last, in almost every leading health outcome. It is critical to transform our care delivery using a novel approach focused on advancing health care value. WCUCOM is proud to have been selected to participate in the first cohort of the STARS UNITE program.

WCUCOM has created a diverse team with representation from all the health professions programs at WCU including the College of Osteopathic Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, and Physical Therapy Program. Within these programs, a wide-range of clinical learning environments exist throughout the state.

Our STARS UNITE team is working collaboratively to design a project that can be implemented across the WCU health professions programs with a goal of improving patient outcomes through increased care equity and affordability.

STARS UNITE is supported by the ABIM Foundation and the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation.

Tar Wars

Tar Wars is a tobacco-free education program designed to teach children about the short- and long-term health effects of tobacco use and vaping. It also seeks to provide children with tools to make positive decisions regarding their health and promote personal responsibility for their wellbeing – including being tobacco free.

WCUCOM is proud to partner with the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians Foundation to bring Tar Wars to elementary schools in Mississippi thanks to a grant from the Mississippi Department of Health’s Office of Tobacco Control.

The Tar Wars program, which is owned and operated by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), is consistent with the guidelines for youth tobacco prevention programs set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Click here to schedule a Tar Wars presentation

Stanford Medicine Tobacco Prevention Toolkit

The Stanford Medicine Tobacco Prevention Toolkit is a research-informed and validated set of curriculums to help prevent students from starting or escalating use of any tobacco product. Its theory-based and evidence-informed resources created by educators, parents, and researchers are aimed at preventing middle and high school students’ use of tobacco and nicotine.

WCUCOM is proud to present the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit curriculum to middle schools and high schools in Mississippi.

Click here to schedule a Tobacco Prevention Toolkit presentation

Enrich MS

WCUCOM is proud to partner with Enrich MS, whose mission is to provide a community supported youth enrichment education program committed and dedicated to engaging and informing youth, parents, schools and community partners.

Enrich MS is already making a substantial impact in communities across the state towards prevention for a variety of issues affecting our youth today. Enrich MS has a clear vision and specific strategies to greatly reduce vaping, educate on the dangers of substance abuse, suicide prevention, social media use, and a variety of other youth related issues. 

Schools Against Vaping

WCUCOM is proud to support the work of Schools Against Vaping (SAV), a national education advocacy program designed to help combat the vaping epidemic on school campuses. SAV has successfully networked with public and private schools across the state of Mississippi in an effort to provide critical resources that can be used to fight the vaping epidemic that is threatening the health of students in our communities.

At WCUCOM, we strive to educate and train our graduates to meet the unique healthcare needs of a diverse global society.  WCUCOM proudly offers a Global Health Track in partnership with the Institute for International Medicine (INMED) to educate students regarding health challenges around the world.

The Global Health Track provides motivated students with a distinctive opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills in the areas of cultural competency, global disease, and international healthcare systems. A goal of the Global Health Track is to provide mentorship to students interested in pursuing global health involvement in their future careers.

Global Health Track students will be given the opportunity to travel abroad to apply their knowledge in a clinical setting where they will experience both the difficulty and reward of caring for individuals in a global arena. 

Institute for International Medicine

WMCareyU WMCareyU WMCareyU