OSU-CHS medical students introduced as Schweitzer Fellows at reception

Thursday, March 31, 2016

First-year medical students Shannon McBeath, Tim Nissen and Michael Sutton were introduced as members of the inaugural class of Tulsa Albert Schweitzer Fellows during a special reception on Tuesday evening at the University of Tulsa Allen Chapman Student Union.

They will spend the next year learning to effectively address social factors that impact health and developing lifelong leadership skills.

McBeath, in partnership with Total Source for Hearing-loss and Access, will develop and run a Deaf Teen Club that addresses isolation among participants, as well increase self-esteem, community involvement, leadership and hope for the future.

Nissen is working with Eugene Field Elementary School and YMCA of Tulsa to bring OSU-CHS into fourth- and fifth-grade Tulsa Public Schools after-school programs to teach health literacy through weekly lessons in math, language arts, science and physical education using a curriculum developed by the Harvard School of Public Health, Eat Well and Keep Moving.

Sutton has partnered with Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless to establish a medical education program focused on diabetes and tobacco addiction to provide education on disease management and prevention and provide an outlet for the clients to discuss and address their challenges and obstacles.

Also in attendance at the reception were Susan Steele, D.O., clinical associate professor of family medicine, Randy Wymore, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology and physiology, Robin Dyer, D.O., associate dean for academic affairs and Richard Wansley, Ph.D., associate professor of behavioral sciences.

Schweitzer Fellows develop and implement year-long service projects that address the root causes of health disparities in underserved communities while fulfilling academic responsibilities. The fellowship was named for famed physician and humanitarian Albert Schweitzer.

Each project is implemented in collaboration with a community-based health or social service organization. Fellows come from many academic disciplines, including medicine, occupational therapy, social work, psychology and other allied health fields.

Eleven graduate students from OSU-Tulsa, OSU-CHS, the University of Tulsa and the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa were named to the 2016-17 class of Tulsa Schweitzer Fellows. The program is based at TU and also is supported by OSU and OU.