Blog - Rocky Vista University

RVU Medical Response Team Update

By Kristen Kaiser | Apr 9, 2024 | Comments Off

RVU MEDICAL RESPONE TEAM UPDATE – 4/25/24 Dear RVU Community, At Rocky Vista University, the safety and well-being of our students and employees are our top priority. The Medical Response Team (MRT) was created to address the safety, well-being, and health of our community in response to public health concerns. The MRT is made up of university leaders and students who meet regularly to develop policies and, if necessary, procedures to address public health concerns of significance to the RVU community. All decisions are informed by the team’s guiding principles, state, local, and federal healthcare guidelines, and public health data. The CDC updated the COVID-19 isolation guidelines on March 1, 2024. This updated guidance is intended for community settings. There are no changes to respiratory virus guidance for healthcare settings. Based on the review of the updated CDC COVID-19 guidelines, the MRT recommends the following guidelines for respiratory infectious illnesses. Employees and students without clinical responsibilities Stay home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory virus symptoms that aren’t better explained by another cause. These symptoms can include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, and headache. You can go back […]

Firefighters, police and medical students respond to bus crash in Ivins, but it was only practice

By Kristen Kaiser | Apr 4, 2024 | Comments Off

Firefighters, police and medical students respond to bus crash in Ivins, but it was only practice (St George News) [Written by Chris Reed from St George News, April 2, 2024] IVINS – Firefighters and police officers from Santa Clara-Ivins and Dammeron Valley, an Intermountain Life Flight helicopter and several emergency medical first responders scrambled to help the victims of a bus crash in Ivins. But it was only a simulation. This was the fourth time Rocky Vista University held its annual mass casualty incident preparedness event, providing medical students and local emergency first responders a chance to simulate a mass casualty incident. Last year, the simulation was of a bombing. This time, on March 23, the mock incident featured something commonly found on St. George News: a multi-vehicle crash. “Individual training and preparation complemented by group practice are the keys to being effective care workers when faced with such chaos and tragedy,” Andrew Nigh, assistant professor of surgery at Rocky Vista, said. A big difference this time is the Rocky Vista students were also joined by international students from Utah Tech University and students from Dixie Technology College’s EMT program. Click Here to Continue Reading Article UNIVERSITY NEWS

RVU-CO Alert: Winter Weather Advisory

By Kristen Kaiser | Mar 12, 2024 | Comments Off

RVU-CO Alert: Winter Weather Advisory March 12, 2024 As you may already be aware, a storm is forecast to begin in the Parker area on Wednesday with the potential for significant snowfall on Thursday and into Friday. Campus Safety and Facilities departments will be on campus and working as normally scheduled during our “soft closure.” This means that if students or staff need to use the RVU-CO facility in Parker, for studying, exam preparation, match week activities, or similar, please use your badge to enter the facility as you normally would between the hours of 6AM and 7PM. All – if you experience power outages at home and need to utilize our Parker facility, we will be available and have generators to support you with electricity, a warm place to stay, and internet access. Please bring whatever you need if campus becomes your shelter for an extended period. All other faculty, staff, and employees are encouraged to work remotely on Thursday (3/14) and Friday (3/15) of this week. Please take any equipment and materials you may need in order to work remotely, when you leave the office on Wednesday. Students, please utilize email and/or Teams to contact faculty or staff […]

RVU MCOM Students Plunge Into the Intersection of Military and Medicine

By Kristen Kaiser | Mar 5, 2024 | Comments Off

RVU MCOM Students Plunge Into the Intersection of Military and Medicine March 5, 2024 Rocky Vista University Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU MCOM) is pleased to announce the launch of their Tracks and Electives program. The program creates and delivers strategically crafted, optional curricular programming to offer students inspiring educational experiences in a variety of healthcare areas as they endeavor to serve patients in diverse communities with compassion, integrity, and excellence. Elective courses and tracks are offered as a mechanism to enhance student education beyond the core osteopathic curriculum. The Military Medicine Track is one track option which provides an overview and introduction to 1st and 2nd year students regarding clinical scenarios commonly faced by military medical officers, preparation for military medicine residencies, and education on military lifestyle integration. During the latter 2 weeks of February 2024, the Military Medicine Track exposed students to Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) with a focus on Care Under Fire (CUF), casualty evacuation, general dress and appearance standards, and military medical ethical dilemmas. The highlight of the opening session of the Track was the Simulated Active Shooter- Care Under Fire event. Student comments included: “The last couple […]

Pretend patients: Billings medical school students work in examination room with actors

By Kristen Kaiser | Sep 12, 2023 | Comments Off

Pretend patients: Billings medical school students work in examination room with actors September 12, 2023 KTVQ News reports on Billings medical school students work in examination room with actors Click here to view video UNIVERSITY NEWS

Update from the RVU Medical Response Team

By Kristen Kaiser | Jul 31, 2023 | Comments Off

RVU MEDICAL RESPONE TEAM UPDATE – 7/31/2023 Dear RVU Community, Welcome back to school! We are excited to start another great year and look forward to getting to know all of our new students and to reuniting with all of our students who are returning to campus. At Rocky Vista University, the safety and well-being of our students and employees are our top priority. The Medical Response Team (MRT) was created to address the safety, well-being, and health of our community in response to public health concerns. The MRT is made up of university leaders and students who meet regularly to develop policies and, if necessary, procedures to address public health concerns of significance to the RVU community. All decisions are informed by the team’s guiding principles, state, local, and federal healthcare guidelines, and public health data. For the upcoming academic year, the MRT is establishing the following guidelines for infectious illnesses. All employees & students should stay home if they are sick. Those who present with fever as a major symptom should stay home at least 24 hours after their fever (temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 37.8 degrees Celsius or higher) is gone, without the use of fever […]

Rocky Vista University Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine Invites Community to Open House on July 15

By Kristen Kaiser | Jun 29, 2023 | Comments Off

Rocky Vista University Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine Invites Community to Open House on July 15 Billings, MT (June 29, 2023) – Rocky Vista University Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU-MCOM) is poised to welcome the inaugural class of medical students in July. To celebrate, they are inviting the public to an Open House on Saturday, July 15, 2023 from 10 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at 4130 Rocky Vista Way (Shiloh Rd. & Monad Rd.) The RVU-MCOM Community Open House is an opportunity for people of all ages to explore the world of medical education through fun and interactive activities. The campus will be open to tours with activity booths stationed throughout, and faculty will be on hand to answer questions. The event will include prizes and food trucks, and the activities are family friendly. “At Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine, we are guided by our core values and one of those is service,” said Arianne Snyder, Communications Manager. “It is important for us to be rooted in our community and give back to meet our goal of educating physicians who stay, live and take care of patients right here in Montana.” RVU-MCOM is the first 4-year medical school to […]

Rocky Vista University Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU-MCOM) Implements Innovative Virtual Reality Program

By Kristen Kaiser | Jun 19, 2023 | Comments Off

Rocky Vista University Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU-MCOM) Implements Innovative Virtual Reality Program [June 19, 2023 – Billings, MT] Rocky Vista University Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine(RVU-MCOM) is partnering with Perspectus, Inc., a Colorado-based virtual and mixed reality technology firm, enabling more students to study human anatomy in the physical and virtual space. Perspectus VR is a patented software platform that enables students to study anatomy in an immersive 3D environment where they can manipulate anatomical structures in a virtual space and volumize actual patient (MRI and CT) scans to further understand medical diagnoses. Going from two-dimensional anatomical diagrams to viewing and manipulating anatomy in 3D fills the missing link to building critical clinical reasoning. “We’ve seen how the integration of virtual reality (VR) learning into academia enables our students to approach subjects such as gross anatomy, physiology, and medical simulations uniquely and innovatively,” says MCOM’s Chair of the Biomedical Sciences Department Dr. Michael Zawada. “We’re excited to offer this incredible program to our students on the Montana campus. Providing students with the ability to view and explore anatomical structures and pathologies more accurately and comprehensively will greatly enhance many aspects of their medical education.” Similar to its other […]

Rocky Vista University- Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU-MCOM) adds Master of Medical Sciences Program

By Kristen Kaiser | May 22, 2023 | Comments Off

Rocky Vista University- Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU-MCOM) adds Master of Medical Sciences Program (May 22, 2023 – Billings, MT) – Rocky Vista University has been approved by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) to recruit students for a Master of Medical Sciences (MMS) at the Montana campus to complement its Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) program. The 1-year post-baccalaureate MMS Program provides students with a higher-level foundation in biomedical sciences, humanism, and professionalism in an immersive medical school environment. The program is designed to strengthen students’ qualifications and candidacy for medical or other health professional schools. Students completing the MMS program will be awarded a master’s degree. MMS students study alongside first-year Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (MCOM) medical school students. All courses are offered and taught by MCOM faculty, and course material covers the normal functioning of the systems of the human body. Among the requirements for admission to the MMS Program are a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, prerequisite coursework, and a standardized test score. The program will consider International Students or students who graduate from a reputable college outside the U.S. Students who meet certain standards can gain direct admission to MCOM upon […]

Construction of the new Rocky Vista University- Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU-MCOM) campus is complete

By Kristen Kaiser | Jan 25, 2023 | Comments Off

Construction of the new Rocky Vista University- Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVU-MCOM) campus is complete [January 25, 2023 – Billings, MT] Construction is complete on the new 138,000 square foot Rocky Vista University- Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine campus on 12.8 acres at 4130 Rocky Vista Way (SW corner of Shiloh and Monad). The University was issued the certificate of occupancy on January 13. Employees are moving into the new building and equipment is being put into place to form the student learning environment. A private Building Blessing Ceremony with the RVU-MCOM Community Advisory Council in collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leadership Council is also taking place, and the public Grand Opening Ceremony and Open House is planned for July. The new medical school is expected to make an immediate economic impact of $78.6 million to the community. Construction of Montana’s first medical school started with an official ground-breaking ceremony in October of 2021 and was completed on schedule by local contractor Langlas & Associates. The first 80 students will start their medical school career in mid-July from a growing pool of nearly 2,000 applicants from across the U.S. The majority of applicants are from the western region, […]