President and CEO Jay S. Feldstein, DO '81, was joined recently by Marla Golden, DO, MS, FACEP, dean of osteopathic medicine at PCOM South Georgia. On the PCOM Perspectives podcast, they discuss what makes South Georgia, and specifically Moultrie, such an ideal location for our PCOM campus and plans for the future.

PLAY PCOM PERSPECTIVES - PCOM SOUTH GEORGIA: MOVING INTO THE FUTURE

In January of this year, Dr. Golden stepped into the role of dean of osteopathic medicine at PCOM South Georgia. A 1988 graduate of PCOM, she has served in different administrative and faculty positions here since 2010.

She started out as a preceptor to PCOM students in her integrative pain medicine practice. She then began her administrative career at PCOM as a regional assistant dean for PCOM Georgia, creating a clinical anchor site for students in Jacksonville, Florida, as well as overseeing other anchor sites in Northeast Florida.

In addition, Dr. Golden also developed relationships with partners in South Georgia, serving as interim and then chair of clinical education for PCOM South Georgia before becoming associate dean of clinical education for both PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia.

“There's a big agricultural industry here that supplies our country with so many things from cotton for our textile industry to peanuts and vegetables and much more,” Golden said. “That makes us very rural, the entire South Georgia region, it translates to being somewhat underserved when you take into consideration the large pieces of property and how spread out the population is.”

“That, coupled with the shortage of physicians in rural areas, creates an underserved population…PCOM South Georgia is admitting and training a diverse population of students from the South to stay in the South and provide that quality medical care to a diverse population of patients.”

PCOM South Georgia opened in the fall of 2019, and the location now offers both the doctor of osteopathic medicine degree as well as the master of science in biomedical sciences degree. In May 2024, the third cohort of master’s degree students will graduate and the second cohort of DO students will graduate.

Dr. Golden shared a few of her plans for future initiatives involving PCOM South Georgia.

“As medical educators, we could provide a dimension of education to the community, just doing what we do,” Golden said. The two things that came to mind very quickly were our culinary elective, where our students learn about nutrition and healthy foods and how to prepare them, as well as our addictions elective. We all know the problems with substance abuse and tragic overdose deaths and all of the issues surrounding people with substance use disorders. We have an addictions elective. We have a culinary elective. Why not bring some community members in with their children from middle school or high school, and have them learn about these two very important aspects of life?”

In his conversation with Dr. Golden, Dr. Feldstein acknowledged the difficulty that can come from opening three campus locations and how those challenges have been overcome.

“We have to really build a culture that [acknowledges] there may be different parts of the country, different cultures, but they've got one goal,” he said. “That's the turnout of highly qualified physicians, physician's assistants, whatever the program is, because we are one brand.”

For Dr. Golden, PCOM South Georgia’s unique culture is what makes it feel extra special to her and many others.

“We have a small campus, but it's just lovely,” she said. “When I think of a family atmosphere, I think of a place where we can be ourselves. It's a comforting, safe place where students can grow with encouragement from people who truly care, and that's a great learning environment.”

To hear the full conversation or listen to past episodes of PCOM Perspectives, visit Spotify, Soundcloud or the Office of the President.