Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine student leaders win national, regional awards at Student National Medical Association (SNMA) conference

2018 May 3

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) chapter of the Minority Association of Premedical Students (MAPS) won the 2017-2018 Student National Medical Association (SNMA) national MAPS Chapter of the Year award. The group also won Chapter of the Year for MAPS Region 8, which includes Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia. The national Chapter of the Year prize is awarded to one chapter chosen from more than 100 chapters across the nation and the Caribbean that is involved in MAPS on the local, regional and national levels. The regional award is given to an outstanding chapter in a multi-state area. The chapter honored also complies with SNMA's community service protocols, implements new and unique activities that enhance the chapter's community service involvement and seeks mentoring from medical students and professionals.

The certificate awarded to the Geisinger Commonwealth students will be permanently displayed in the school's Medical Sciences Building in Scranton.

Members of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS)/Association of Multicultural Students in Medicine (AMSM) traveled to the SNMA conference to accept the awards and to network with both their peers and professionals in attendance. The conference was held March 28-April 1 in San Francisco.

Sotonye Douglas of Brooklyn, New York, president of the GCSOM MAPS Chapter, said, "As president of the GCSOM chapter, I am proud of our group's accomplishments, which include the school's first Freedom Seder, advocating for funding for students to attend leadership and networking conferences, taking part in the school's Super Science Saturday for Girls and creating 'Pillows for Heroes' for local children. Winning the Chapter of the Year award testifies to the hard work of both the MAPS and the AMSM executive boards. I am glad we were all honored together. I would like to thank faculty and staff at GCSOM, especially Dr. Vicki T Sapp, Dr. Diana Callender and Ida Castro for all of the help and mentoring they have provided through the year," said Ms. Douglas.

SNMA chapters are based at allopathic and osteopathic medical schools throughout the nation. SNMA programs are designed to serve the health needs of underserved communities and communities of color. In addition, SNMA is dedicated both to ensuring that medical education and services are culturally sensitive to the needs of diverse populations and to increasing the number of African-American, Latino, and other students of color entering and completing medical school.

SNMA's Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) is the organization's premier event where more than 1,200 medical and pre-medical students gather at the nation's most diverse medical education conference.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students accepting the award were:

Kwame Quaye of Wyncote, AMSM vice president, a member of the MD Class of 2020