Teams of PCOM Georgia DO students competed to successfully execute simulated trauma cases.
Six second-year Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) students were presented with 鈥淪IM Battle Belts鈥 to symbolize their team鈥檚 reign over other DO students as the champions of PCOM Georgia鈥檚 Simulation Center scenarios.
In SIM battles, a team of six students is presented with trauma cases and work together to save the 鈥減atients鈥欌 lives. Patients may include life-like mannequins and patient actors. These cases occur at the Simulation Center located at PCOM Georgia in Suwanee, a college with a student body of more than 1,100 that offers the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees, along with Master鈥檚 degrees in Biomedical Sciences and Physician Assistant Studies.
A member of the winning team, Thom Drew (DO 鈥21) said, 鈥淎s much as I wanted to win the belt, I equally wanted to learn how to approach as many different clinical scenarios as possible, learn from excellent faculty and be better prepared for the next two clinical years.鈥
Simulation Center Medical Director Michael J. Sampson, DO, FAOASM, a former World Wrestling Entertainment ringside doctor, introduced the belt award to the competition where student teams compete against each other. He congratulated the students.
鈥淵ou did an awesome job. Hopefully you not only had fun, but you鈥檙e now better prepared for clinical rotations during the next two years.鈥
Aside from competing for the belt, top teams were able to experience Trauma Day, an interprofessional education event where area EMT, nursing and medical students worked together on case scenarios.
Sampson said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 about teamwork鈥攜ou all did so well on Trauma Day鈥攚orking together, establishing a team and paying attention to the little things. The scenarios solidified what you had just learned through textbooks.鈥
Drew said, 鈥淚t helps to get your nerves out before the real thing. Reading a case presentation and answering a multiple choice question are one thing, but seeing it unfold in front of you and making the right diagnosis is definitely a different experience.鈥
鈥淢y team gradually developed a good degree of clinical suspicion given the history and exam findings which helped us go down the right treatment path more consistently,鈥 he added.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 mind waking up early for morning SIM battle experiences. It was totally worth it.鈥
Besides Drew, other winning team members included: Kyle Dajac (DO 鈥21), Tyler Kimball (DO 鈥21), Zac Owens (DO 鈥21), Brandon Quintana (DO [鈥21) and Robert Snyder (DO 鈥21).
PCOM Georgia has been serving students and the community for 20 years as a branch campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), a private, not-for-profit, accredited institution of higher education established in 1899. Located in Suwanee (Gwinnett County), PCOM Georgia offers doctoral degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy. Graduate degrees are offered in biomedical sciences, medical laboratory science and physician assistant studies. The campus joins PCOM South Georgia in Moultrie in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state. Emphasizing "a whole person" approach to care, PCOM Georgia focuses on educational excellence, interprofessional education and service to the community. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500. The campus is also home to the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center, an osteopathic manipulative medicine clinic, which is open to the public by appointment. For more information, visit .
For general media inquiries, please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at 215-871-6300 or communications@pcom.edu. Visit our media relations page to view contact information for public relations personnel.
© 2025 色中色
