TOUCH Program

The TOUCH program stands for Translating Osteopathic Understanding into Community Health, and is a creation of the COSGP, the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents.

This is a national program that gives points to osteopathic medical students for volunteering and community service. Every hour a student volunteers, he or she earns one point. Students who have accumulated 50, 100, or more hours before March 31st of every year are given special recognition at an award ceremony. This recognition is included into the individual student’s Dean Letter.

Every event that students receive credit for must be approved by the Community Outreach Director, as it must follow certain criteria to be TOUCH eligible.

Here’s how it Works:

• In order to receive credit for TOUCH Points, every osteopathic student needs to submit their recorded hours to the TOUCH coordinator before March 31st. To do this, click on the Individual Spreadsheet link and submit it after every event you volunteer at. PLEASE DO SO WITHIN 30 DAYS FOLLOWING THE EVENT.
• Students are encouraged to keep an individual and continuous record of events and hours they have volunteered at, since they will be unable to view past submissions. It is your responsibility to keep track of your total hours. There are paper copies of the forms below.
• For every club related activity, the president, vice president, or community service coordinator must fill out a TOUCH Event Documentation. Individual events also receive TOUCH points, however, it is that individuals responsibility to fill out the Event Documentation form.
• Please note that the Touch Event Documentation is different than the individual form, and both must be filled out. The event documentation is submitted to be sure the event itself is ‘Touch Worthy’; the individual form makes sure you get touch points after the event takes place.

(This may seem like double work for students who volunteer outside of student organizations. However, similar events with the same company don’t need separate event documentation. For example, if you volunteer at a soup kitchen once a month, you only need to fill it out once, just specify the details within the form. However, the individual form must be filled out every time you volunteer, even if it’s a repeating event.)

What counts for TOUCH points??

• ›For the purposes of the TOUCH program, “community service” will be defined as an activity that works to improve the health and wellness of a community. This includes local, state, national, and international activities.
• Community service activities can be associated with both COM student organizations and external organizations.
• Must be a specific event with a solidified date and time
• Examples: Soup Kitchen with ACOFP, Health Fairs, Walks/Races such as Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, Summer Camps,

What does NOT count for TOUCH points??

• ›First 10 hours of required community service (with regards to religious/legal purposes)
• ›Administrative tasks (ie. Planning of a volunteer event)
• ›Leadership responsibilities in a COM student organization
• ›School-related volunteering (ie. anything that is put on by our school for our school/students)
• ›Volunteering in Research
• ›Any volunteering that took place before matriculation into medical school
• Examples: Orientation, filing paper work for the upcoming health fair, white coat ceremony, Interview Q and A’s, that summer camp you did right before you started medical school.

 Looking for Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities? Click here

Additional information regarding the TOUCH program can be found here

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Community Outreach Director at do14.jessica.welter@nv.touro.edu

Touch Documents:

TOUCH – Individual form – online- To be filled out after every time you volunteer!

TOUCH Individual Form (paper) -  Keep track of your individual points using this

TOUCH – Event Documentation Form – online – This form is for Board Members of Student Groups and Individual Volunteer Events
TOUCH – Recipient Survey Form