UNECOM students earn honorable mention in Medical Student Curriculum Challenge

Katie Santanello (D.O., ’24) and Stacy Terentieva (D.O., ’24) earned the distinction of honorable mention in the Medical Student Curriculum Challenge: Innovative Learning and Teaching About Substance Use/Opioid Use Disorders.

The competition is sponsored by the Coalition on Physician Education in Substance Use Disorders (COPE), an Opioid Response Network (ORN) partner organization.

This ORN-funded initiative challenges medical students to utilize their knowledge and creativity to design learning resources related to the development of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes critical to providing care to persons with substance use/opioid use disorders (SUD/OUD).

Santanello and Terentieva designed a curriculum on bias and stigma surrounding the disease known as addiction that prepares student physicians for future encounters with SUD patients. They were mentored by Victoria Stacey Thieme, D.O., assistant clinical professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

COPE received 36 outstanding submissions from over 32 medical schools across the country. Each submission was reviewed twice by COPE Board Members, using a rigorous scoring system based on pre-determined criteria. The highest-scoring submissions received modest monetary reimbursement for their curriculum designs, which will be provided for use to medical schools across the country.