TOUCH
Translating Osteopathic Understanding into Community Health
Use TrackItForward for personal hour tracking. The Coordinator form is only for Club and event submissions. Student TOUCH Documentation form is only for students volunteering for orgs that are not affiliated/ planned by TouroCOM. If you have found new volunteering opportunities please suggest them at the email below. Please forward all questions to the TOUCH Committee email touch.middletown@gmail.com.
What is TOUCH?
The Translating Osteopathic Understanding into Community Health (TOUCH) Program is a national initiative of the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP).
Its goal is to encourage osteopathic medical students to engage in service throughout their community, in order to impact those outside of osteopathic medical students and professionals, for the purpose of expanding the osteopathic ideals and principles to those unaware of our professional values.
Osteopathic medical students complete TOUCH approved events in the community and submit their hours to a national database. Recognition is given to students who achieve 50 hours, 100 hours, and the most hours on a campus in a given year.
For more information, visit AACOM's website.
TOUCH Hours vs. Volunteer Infographic .pdfTouroCOM TOUCH PPT 2022-2023 (FOR STUDENTS).pptxWhat are the TOUCH program policies?
The TOUCH year runs from May 1st to April 30th each year.
Students that reach a threshold (for either silver or gold) during any TOUCH year of their medical school career, will be eligible for rewards from the COSGP and TouroCOM.
From COSGP:
Platinum: Each school has a top participant who receives the Platinum-level recognition. See our previous winners!
Gold: Students who complete 50+ hours over a year receive a Gold-level recognition.
Silver: Students who complete 100+ hours over the year receive a Silver-level recognition.
From TouroCOM Middletown:
Special recognition by Dean Steier in your MSPE (Medical School Performance Evaluation), which is shared with residency programs when applying for the match, as well as a letter in your file.
For more information, visit AACOM's website.
How do I log TOUCH hours?
Individual students must log their TOUCH hours on the Track It Forward Website.
Students volunteering with organizations OUTSIDE of TouroCOM- Middletown should submit documentation/ proof of their hours via this form. Proof can be an email, time-sheet, or a letter from your service coordinator etc. This documentation must correspond with your submissions to Track It Forward.
All submissions will be reviewed by the TOUCH Committee for approval or rejection. Rejected submissions will receive an email regarding the reason for rejection
Student TOUCH Hours should be submitted to Track It Forward within one month of the activity or date of service. (Submissions made over a month after the date of service risk being rejected.)
Any record, event, or day with greater than 10 TOUCH Hours in one day must include the supervisor’s name and contact information on the submitted entry.
Any record or event greater than 50 TOUCH Hours requires additional verification by TOUCH National Coordinator
***Students who are found to have falsified a TOUCH record, in a first offense will receive a warning from the national TOUCH coordinator. Students who are found to have falsified a TOUCH record, in a second or subsequent offense, will receive no credit for previous hours; be deemed ineligible for TOUCH recognition the remainder of the TOUCH year; and the student’s falsification will be reported to the student’s college by the national TOUCH coordinator.
For more information, see the Logging Your TOUCH Hours page on the AACOM Website.
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What are some TOUCH Opportunities available for me?
Updated TOUCH Hours Opportunities List.xlsxHow can I contact the TOUCH Committee?
Please send all TOUCH-related inquiries to touch.middletown@gmail.com.
The TOUCH Committee members for the 2023-24 academic year are:
Roshana Brown, SGA Parliamentarian, current TOUCH Coordinator (rbrown34@student.touro.edu)
Tegan Gallina (tgallina@student.touro.edu)
More members are to be elected. If you're interested, please contact Roshana Brown.
The TOUCH Committee members for the 2022-23 academic year were:
Johanna Caufaglione, former SGA Parliamentarian, former TOUCH Coordinator (jcaufagl@student.touro.edu)
Roshana Brown, SGA Parliamentarian, current TOUCH Coordinator (rbrown34@student.touro.edu)
Serena Young (syoung19@student.touro.edu)
Kacper Bury (kbury@student.touro.edu)
Tegan Gallina (tgallina@student.touro.edu)
Joseph Prete (jprete@student.touro.edu)
FOR CLUBS/ COMMITEES
How do I get my event TOUCH approved?
Student Organizations/ Committees must submit TOUCH-eligible events to touch.middletown@gmail.com for approval. You must receive written approval before your event can be advertised as TOUCH-eligible.
All submissions will be reviewed by the TOUCH Coordinator for approval or rejection. Rejected submissions will receive an email regarding the reason for rejection. If rejected, you may resubmit your event for approval with changes.
NOTE: TOUCH approval is one step in the two step process for event approval. You must also submit your event to the Student Events Form to receive Administration and SGA VP approval.
What makes an opportunity TOUCH eligible?
TOUCH Hours are any activity that works to improve the health and wellness of a community which incorporates osteopathic tenets, awareness, principles, and practice. (See Section VII, TOUCH Hours Standards)
A "community" includes working to improve the overall health of humans, animals, and the environment. Any institutions outside of the school are considered the community. Community includes local, state, national, and international communities.
Community engagement outside of Touro COM Middletown is the key aspect of TOUCH hours.
All service hours are considered either TOUCH or Volunteer hours.
Any hours that do not meet TOUCH standards are considered Volunteer hours.
Service hours (either TOUCH or Volunteer) are not compensated, not self-serving (academically or otherwise), and not directly benefiting Touro COM or our students. They involve active participation.
TOUCH hours include 100% of qualified event hours plus 50% of planning hours for a qualified event. Half of planning hours for a TOUCH eligible event are considered TOUCH eligible.
The following are examples of TOUCH approved hours:
Health Fairs
Soup Kitchens
Providing OMM at a marathon
Medical mission trips
Donating blood
Volunteer Clinics
Volunteering to operate walks/races for a cause
Hosting an event to raise funds for a charity (not including event participation)
Educational programs at local schools and nursing homes
Donation Drives (with additional requirements)
Service that is not TOUCH (not engaging the outside community) is considered Volunteer.
The following are examples of Volunteer hours:
Tutoring classmates
Mock practicals
SIM labs
Being on call and providing no service aside of academic requirements
The following are examples of activities that are not service eligible (not TOUCH or Volunteer)
Shadowing
Rotations
Attending conferences
Research
Administrative tasks that do not involve planning or the actual event
Funds raised/donated for philanthropy, club use, or school use
Organizing campus meetings for clubs that affect only students or planning student only events
All TOUCH event requests at TouroCOM-Middletown should be submitted and approved by the TOUCH Coordinator at touch.middletown@gmail.com
Can students create a TOUCH Eligible Opportunity without a club/committee?
Yes! As long as it meets TOUCH opportunity eligible requirements as described above, and as long as the organization has a coordinator that is willing to be listed as a point of contact who can verify hours.
TouroCOM TOUCH PPT 2022-2023 (FOR CLUBS).pptxCHECK OUT OUR TOUCH EVENTS ON INSTAGRAM
