Health & Wellness
Mental Health Services
OCOM will provide its students with confidential access to an effective system of mental health counseling and mental health services. A mental health representative will be accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from all locations where students receive education from OCOM. Information regarding all mental health services will be provided to all OCOM students via the Student Catalog, presented during student Orientation, and information will be made available on the OCOM website regarding public services, including how to schedule appointments with the mental health counselor. Detailed information regarding services can be found in D030 at ocom.org/policies.
OCOM’s resources for the students include the following:
Student Assistance Program (SAP) - OCOM offers all students a free Student Assistance Program (SAP) through Aetna. Aetna provides all OCOM students, wherever they are located, free 24/7/365 telephonic clinical support through Aetna’s toll-free 1-800 number. Aetna provides SAP consultation on unlimited issues per academic year. Aetna offers face-to-face, virtual, and telephonic counseling services. This service is available to all students wherever they are located: 24/7/365.
Students on clinical rotations have access to SAP-provided services wherever the students are located.
Behavioral Health Department - For mental health counseling, OCOM makes resources available for mental health counseling for both in-person and virtual visits in a confidential manner to support the needs of our students. Licensed Behavioral Health Clinicians will serve on staff at OCOM to meet with students struggling with any aspect of their lives: academically, emotionally, or behaviorally. OCOM will have on-site, licensed mental health counselors available to aid students in a face-to-face, confidential manner.
Students off-site on clinical rotations which cannot attend the OCOM campus for sessions may request a HIPAA-compliant and protected session with an OCOM counselor via ZOOM.
Psychiatric Care - OCOM has created a memorandum of understanding with a local psychiatrist, Benjamin Lippmann, D.O., who has agreed to provide confidential psychiatric care appointments to all OCOM students.
Information regarding all mental health services will be provided to all OCOM students.
Physical Health Services
OCOM will provide its students access to diagnostic, preventative, and therapeutic health services 24 hours a day, 365 days/a year. OCOM will accomplish this through local providers, local hospital facilities wherever OCOM students are located while on-campus or on clinical rotations, and via online services such as Teladoc. Detailed information regarding the services can be found in policy D031 at ocom.org/policies.
OCOM will accomplish this by the following:
OCOM will provide access to the Aetna student insurance program, which will offer access through phone, web, tele-video, and face-to-face resources, including 24-hour access to licensed healthcare providers.
The student insurance plan includes Teladoc, which offers 24/7, 365 days a year access to diagnostic, preventative, and therapeutic health services wherever students are located.
All OCOM students can access facilities such as Orlando Health Horizon West Hospital Emergency Department for 24/7 emergent care.
Academic Support
OCOM will have the following resources available to students to enhance retention:
Learning Specialists – Full-time learning specialists with academic credentials in advanced education and who have experience advising students will be available to help guide students through adjustments in time management, academic difficulties, and learning strategies.
Academic Advisors – The Academic Advisor Program plays a vital role at OCOM. The Academic Advisor-Advisee relationship is one of an institutional representative providing insight or direction to a student about academic, professional, scholarly, and career planning issues. The nature of this direction may be to inform, suggest, counsel, discipline, coach, mentor, or even teach. The OCOM advising process ensures that both biomedical science and clinical faculty are involved in student advising and establishing relationships that create an atmosphere of trust and meaningful dialogue. The Advisor-Advisee relationship will ensure consistent feedback regarding academic performance and direct the student to additional resources within the institution as needed. All Advisors are essential in identifying students experiencing academic, personal, or behavioral health problems and providing them with referrals to OCOM’s Office of Student Affairs, Learning Specialists, and/or Behavioral Health Services. Students and faculty work closely together in the academic arena. Students are encouraged to use the advice, expertise, and help of the faculty through the Advisor program. Students should feel free to contact their assigned Advisor as frequently as necessary for advice, encouragement, and support. Advisors may assume a proactive role and become involved with their students when performance levels fail to meet minimum academic standards.
The Office of Student Affairs assigns advisors. The Associate Dean for Student Services appoints Academic Advisors, with input and approval from the Associate Dean for Pre-Clinical Education, to each incoming OCOM student.
First-year students are encouraged to see the student’s assigned advisor at least twice each semester. Second year students are encouraged to visit the student’s advisor at least once each semester.
Students requesting a different advisor than those assigned must submit the request in writing to the Associate Dean for Student Services. If a specific faculty member is named the preferred advisor, this faculty must agree to become the student’s advisor before the change can occur.
Third- and fourth-year students may continue to seek advising from their assigned pre-clinical advisor at the medical school. However, students on clinical rotations are advised to seek advice from the clinical faculty at the clinical rotation hospitals. Students in the third and fourth clinical years are encouraged to work with the faculty and administration concerning any challenges experienced during rotations.
Please email Student Services with any questions or comments regarding anything on this page at Student Services.