Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences Joplin Campus

As the University expands its program offerings, evolving into a more comprehensive health sciences university, the institution’s overarching name advances, too. Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB) is now Kansas City University (KCU). To learn more about this brand update, please visit https://kansascity.edu//kcumb-updates-name-to-kansas-city-. Please note, all updates surrounding students, faculty and staff will be shared only to https://www.facebook.com/KansasCityUniversity as of Nov. 16.

Using online depression screening tools from reputable organizations can help us see how we’re coping and functioning, Dr. Cindy Schmidt, director of Scholarly Activity and Faculty Development and assistant professor of Behavioral Health, explains in Medical Daily. If you are at all concerned about your mental health, it’s time to get an opinion from a professional.

Did you know that the number of osteopathic physicians practicing medicine is at an all-time high? Learn more about DOs in American Osteopathic Association's 2019 Osteopathic Medical Profession Report: https://osteopathic.org//uplo/OMP2019-Report_Web_FINAL.pdf

Thank you to the J. E. and L. E. Mabee Foundation for awarding KCU a $2,000,000 challenge grant for the planned College of Dental Medicine in Joplin. To receive the grant, we must reach our philanthropic goal of $40,000,000 by October 13, 2021. To help KCU achieve this financial goal and to learn more, please visit https://www.kansascity.edu/progr/college-of-dental-medicine.

"If you haven’t already voted, there’s still time to make your voice heard! Regardless of the results, I urge all members of our communities to practice compassion and civility toward one another in the days to come." - Dr. Marc B. Hahn, KCU president and CEO Please visit the following link to read "Message from the President: Remain United in Civility, Decency and Compassion." https://www.kansascity.edu//message-from-the-president-civ

Congratulations to KCU-Joplin researchers on the article published by MDPI, Associations between Pregnane X Receptor and Breast Cancer Growth and Progression. To learn more about their work, visit https://www.kansascity.edu/research/research-projects.

JOB AD: Assistant/Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at KCU Joplin Campus at Kansas City University in Missouri.

Who are Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine? DOs are fully licensed physicians who practice a whole-person approach with hands-on care. Learn more about Osteopathic Medicine physicians at the link below.

Congratulations to the KCU osteopathic medicine students recently inducted into The Arnold P. Gold Foundation Gold Humanism Honor Society. New members of the society are peer-nominated. The society recognizes those in medicine who demonstrate compassionate patient care while serving as role models, mentors and leaders in medicine. Most recently, 21 students from the Joplin campus and 39 students from the Kansas City campus joined this esteem society. Please join us in congratulating them on this achievement.

Michael Brown, DO, president of the Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (MAOPS) articulates similarities between allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) physician training in a recent The Joplin Globe Letter to the Editor: We both train in similar ways, including attending four years of medical school followed by three to seven or more years of postgraduate training depending on the specialty we choose. Both DOs and MDs train in residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education - ACCME. We both must pass board examinations to be licensed. Thank you for your insights, Dr. Brown. To learn more, please visit the link below.

Dr. Jared Nichols, assistant professor of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at KCU-Joplin has been awarded the American Osteopathic Foundation State Emerging Leader Award. This award highlights osteopathic physicians in their first six to seven years of practice whose leadership, passion and dedication to osteopathic medicine sets them apart. Congratulations on this achievement, Dr. Nichols.

, . . Ulysses Fernandez-Miro, third-year med student: Raised as a first-generation Spanish-Cuban American, I have developed a profound appreciation for America's freedoms, thanks in part to my family's struggles with commun...ism. As a result, I grew up wanting to serve my community, keeping the glory of my God and my country's freedom and welfare at the forefront. My Hispanic heritage has bolstered my ability to view people as the multifaceted individuals they are while seamlessly embracing the multiracial world we live in today. As a KCU medical student, I look forward to the opportunity to make a difference in America's health care system by promoting communication and encouraging the realization of our freedoms in the health care arena. Thanks to my diverse Caribbean and Mediterranean family, I am proud to contribute my nugget of diversity to the great nation I serve.

, . . Melissa Parlade, fourth-year med student: My family immigrated to the U.S. in the 1960s after making the decision to leave everything behind to escape the horrors of communism. I learned early on a...bout how people in Cuba were abused and even killed for opposing the communist revolution. My parents’ and grandparents’ generations have laid the foundation for me and others like me, who have benefited greatly from their sacrifices and the freedoms afforded to us in the USA. Cubans grow up with a feeling of gratitude for what we have in this country. This gratitude contributed to my pursuit of medicine. My culture has influenced my career decisions. I want to give back to the community who accepted my family and gave us the opportunity to build the lives we have today. As physician shortages grow and the population grows older, I fear many, especially non-English speakers in my hometown, will fall by the wayside. This is why giving back to my community as a health care provider is important to me, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to help in this capacity. See more

Barbara Ross-Lee, DO, dean of Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine from 1993-2001, was the first ever African American woman to be named dean of a medical school. On Friday, she returned (virtually) to speak to KCU employees in her presentation, HIGH GROUND: Medical Education & Health Care Disparities. She shared about medical education’s role in producing physicians who do not add to health disparity issues as well as how to cultivate an anti-racist culture to address future population health issues. My charge for you is own your piece of the solution as medical educators and researchers, she said. It is your obligation to address, systematically and systemically, the challenges of education to meet the needs of the populations of the future.

KCU president and CEO Dr. Marc Hahn authored an article in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association on the persistent tension between politics and science a dynamic that is at the heart of our country’s difficulties in overcoming this COVID-19 pandemic. As osteopathic physicians, we must always stand with science in its constant struggle with various political agendas, Dr. Hahn explains. In doing so, we can serve as role models for our colleagues, advocates for best practices with our elected officials, resources for our local and state health authorities, and sources of trusted health information for our patients and communities. https://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2765289