Our 6-year Journey
In a recent Summit presentation held at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) our partners highlighted our 6-year collaboration and shared accomplishments:
Two early studies that have been published.
VCOM's expansion of Sharpen to all 4 campuses.
To help address the mental health issues faced by medical students and future physicians our team customized the Sharpen® resiliency and mental health literacy toolkit featuring peer and expert videos that resonate deeply with medical students. The name of VCOM's toolkit is "Mindful MEDS".
Beginning in 2018, our 6-year journey together has enabled us to leverage over $400,000 in grants to ultimately extend the Sharpen / Mindful MEDS program to four campuses. With grant awards ranging from national (SAMHSA) to local (VCOM and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare Foundation) the project has now grown to include a full eating disorder training program for physicians, along with the original resiliency and suicide prevention training for medical students.
Below is a film featuring the leadership from all four campuses outlining the importance of the effort:
Dr. Deborah West, Provost for VCOM
In addition, the following research publications and conference presentations have been awarded:
Fadel et al (2024). A Process Evaluation of a Mobile App for Medical Students Aimed at Increasing Resilience and Decreasing Stigma in Mental Health.
2023 American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Annual Conference
2025 American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Annual Conference
The many deep listening campaigns and participatory-style interviews held over six years with providers, medical students and administrators has led us to develop enhanced training programs. We will feature these in a separate post.
This is an example of why long-term collaborations with trusted partners are critical in making significant impact.
Comments