For the second consecutive year, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) hosted one of its largest annual continuing medical education events virtually instead of in person.
A total of 201 individuals participated in the 2021 Live Online Summer Seminar, which took place June 10-13 and was sponsored by the WVSOM Alumni Association. At this year’s event, health care professionals could earn up to 21 hours of continuing medical education credits approved by the American Osteopathic Association. The number of attendees was up from 117 participants in 2020.
Myrtle Beach, S.C., was the site of the annual event in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a change to an online learning environment. Shannon Warren, WVSOM’s director of alumni relations and continuing medical education, said the school sent a beach towel and a jar containing lemonade packets to each attendee in an effort to bring a touch of seaside excitement to participants.
“Our theme this year was making lemonade out of lemons, and that’s exactly what we did by mailing attendees some fun-in-the-sun items in hopes they would take their laptops outside and participate in lectures while enjoying a glass of lemonade,” Warren said. “It was a fun twist, but nothing is as fun as seeing our alumni and attendees in person.”
Topics at the Live Online Summer Seminar ranged from specialty-specific sessions such as preventing kidney stones, performing osteopathic evaluations of the shoulder joint, and caring for geriatric patients to more general topics such as preventing suicide among physicians and treating patients through telemedicine.
This year’s presenters were Heather L. Ratliff, D.O., FACOI; Christopher Robinson, D.O.; David Kim, D.O.; Machelle Linsenmeyer, Ed.D.; Charles McClung, D.O.; Todd Jamrose, D.O.; Michael J. Coyle, D.O., FACOOG, FPMRS; Tonya Walerko, CPC; Rhonda L. Hamm, D.O.; James R. Lebolt, D.O., FAAOS; Mark Waddell, D.O.; Teah Bayless, D.O.; Kimberly McBrayer, D.O., FAAP; Christi Cooper-Lehki, D.O.; David Bulbin, D.O.; John P. Hibler, D.O.; Swathi Malepati, D.O.; Carol Antonelli-Greco, D.O.; and John Mark Huff, Esq.
Warren said she is optimistic that the WVSOM Alumni Association will be able to host its 2022 continuing medical education events in person. She anticipates that the next Mid-Winter Osteopathic Seminar will take place Jan. 28-30, 2022, in Charleston, W.Va., and that the next Summer Seminar will take place June 8-11, 2022, in Myrtle Beach.