Second-year medical students at the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) had the opportunity to participate in a literature competition organized by the Idaho Urologic Institute (IUI).
Over the summer, five groups of students worked together to demonstrate their proficiency in producing patient-friendly content in the form of informational videos pertaining to current urological guidelines, including a comprehensive critical evaluation of current literature.
The students were tasked with creating two videos — one to educate primary care physicians, and the other for patients. Some of the topics that were chosen include: interstitial cystitis; early detection of prostate cancer; recurrent uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women; asymptomatic microhematuria; and surgical management of benign prostatic hyperplasia/lower urinary tract symptoms.
“It has been such a pleasure to work the very bright ICOM students and the enthusiastic and supportive administration on this year’s competition,” said Dr. Joseph H. Williams, physician and founding member of the Idaho Urologic Institute and Surgery Center of Idaho. “All of the groups performed beautifully!”
The entries were judged by a panel of physicians at IUI, including Dr. Williams. The top two groups were announced during a small ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The winning team included Student Doctors Hailey Woods, Maryam Naushab, Sidrah Khan and Tina Kieu. Their project focused on recurrent uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women.
“Creating videos for the IUI competition was a rewarding experience. We had more fun than anticipated putting our creative efforts to use and filming for the project,” said Sidrah Khan, OMS-II. “It was an honor to be chosen as the winners and it would have not been possible without the guidance of our mentor, Dr. Cynthia Fairfax, and the combined efforts of our team as a whole.”
The group who took second place was comprised of Student Doctors Justin Arnold, Quinn Carnahan, Austin DeTavis and Karam Musaitif. Their project focused on microscopic hematuria.
This is the second year ICOM students have participated in this competition. Both winning teams received a financial award for their efforts.
