Heroic Versus Osteopathic Medicine

Almond faced many long, cold nights as a traveling doctor in the mountains of West Virginia. He would travel lengthy routes to get to his patients in his little rag top jeep. There would even be times when he would have to get out of his jeep and walk, or row to the patients home. Dr. Almond would receive frantic calls from families in the middle of the night, and he’d spring out of bed to try to get there as fast as he could. Doctors who did house calls get little rest; they had worked all day and then got up in the middle of the night to go help a patient. “Just as one day has ended, another one has begun. And thus it goes, day in, day out, for many of our friends who earned the title “Doctor”, and all that word portends.”

Currently there are two main types of licensed physicians in the United States. The first is the medical doctor or the allopathic doctor. About 95% of licensed doctors have been educated at one of over 120 allopathic medical schools and have thus obtained a medical doctor degree (M.D.). The second type of doctor, the doctor of osteopathy, is less common. Osteopathic doctors make up about five percent of the physicians in the nation (Peters 730). Although this represents a significant amount of physicians many people are unfamiliar with the second type of doctor. In a 1981 the AOA (American Osteopathic Association) released the results of a survey about public

The medical field is a career path that brings about many options and opportunities of great value. The noble idea of being a doctor tends to cloud the diligent studying and precise training that is actually required for this career. I have wanted to become a doctor since a very young age, and now that the opportunity is here for the taking, I have fully researched what it takes to succeed in this profession and various specialties of the practice. The road to a medical degree is one filled with thousands of notes, years of schooling, and many stressful nights, but the reward is one incomparable to any other. Saving people’s lives on a day-to-day basis has been one of my dreams for as long as I can remember, so the rigorous curriculum

As the coming years approach, I want my future to hold both the passion to explore new opportunities and the strength to overcome new challenges. With the experiences of my high school career, I aspire to take all the things I learned to transition into a college environment where my ideas can be challenged and shared. Where I can learn from others; where I can seek the opportunity to make a direct impact towards saving lives. I believe I can do great things. Through tenacity I will not only be gratified in becoming a doctor, but also be able to share my compassion for others through

I decided to become an osteopathic physician mainly because I want to learn more about osteopathic manipulation technique (OMT), which will provide me an invaluable tool to treat patients. As an alternative treatment option to drugs and surgeries, it often works quicker and has fewer side effects. During my shadowing with Dr. Truong, a graduate from VCOM, he demonstrated me OMT, such as muscle energy, counter-strain, high-velocity low-amplitude. He used OMM and acupuncture to help his patients relieve pain. I witnessed how he used acupuncture on patients and brought immediate relief to suffering patients during

From the moment they began their journey at Harvard Medical School, their entire life became medicine and medical related topics. Constantly studying for school, exams, board tests, and for their future, stress was no stranger. “Stress refers to physical and psychological responses to overwhelming stimuli… Burnout is actually a combination of factors” (page 115, DePru). Stress leads to burnout, and many medical professionals face both roadblocks in their careers. In Doctors’ Diaries the students stress did not subside when the graduated, it only increased. Once they were placed in their intern positions, adjusting to their new jobs brought on more stress than some could handle. The doctors had to learn to be modify their lives and their expectations in order to stay on top. In example, Jane learns to be a positive influence for her patient’s in her inner-city hospital for she fears that she might be the only flicker of light they see for awhile. Jay Bonner and Tom Tater display the greatest burnout and stress. Tom cannot seem to find his place within the hospital and even doubts his own abilities. Tom is a hard worker and he is more driven than his peers. When Tom is fired from his ER job, he realizes how burnt out he is with the system, not the

Due to the comprehensive rehabilitation of the human body, I know osteopathic medicine is a superior approach to healing. I have internalized the ideology that a patient must be treated holistically and paralleled this idea while working at Response Crisis Hotline. I sympathize with callers who have diseases including schizophrenia, PTSD, crippling anxiety and depression. These patients are prescribed medication to relieve the pain, but they do not address the debilitating mental state the patient resides in at the time of the call. These patients often doubt their self-worth, and believe they are a burden to others and want to terminate their existence. I need to use a variety of skills such as patience, listening, quick thinking, intuition

For as long as I could remember, I have seen my father rushing to the hospital in a white coat, answering pagers in the middle of important family conversations and attending night calls even in the most terrible weather. I had always wondered; what could be so important that it belittles every other responsibility in his life. It was only after many years of anguish and protests that it finally made sense to me. This defining moment of realization occurred when I first met a patient in his office. I saw how the gratitude in the patient’s eyes can provide a sense of fulfillment that triumphs all other feelings in the universe. It was human life that was most important. Being a doctor does not make you a mere healer but also gives you the responsibility of a caregiver. I had never felt more proud of my father and that was the day I felt the urge to relive this feeling many times over. It was there in that moment that I decided to pursue a career in medicine.

Attending a First Aid course improved my confidence in emergency situations and competence to provide relevant care. I teach first aid to small groups in school as CPR training and awareness will increase chances of survival from heart attacks. My mother's illness has inspired me to complete two online courses on Cancer and Abdominal Anatomy which required efficient time management. As I have found, the ability to work as a team is essential for the role of a doctor. Effective teamwork was crucial in the Drill Team during my time as an Air Cadet and it was this which led to victory. I play Basketball socially to unwind and have been committed to Tennis, competing in several Tennis tournaments. Doctors must be diligent, resilient and empathetic, skills which I am beginning to develop. I have found that doctors must commit to lifelong learning and I believe I have begun to acquire the necessary academic skills to pursue such a demanding profession. I have learnt that the role of a doctor extends far beyond treating disease to giving patient

Since I plan on treating underserved individuals that will likely have limited or no medical coverage, I feel osteopathic medicine is an excellent choice. More specifically, I believe that osteopathic medicine at Pikeville will be advantageous due to its published focus on communities like those I intend to provide care for. The benefits of not being limited to just pharmaceuticals, and having additional medical tools such as osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT) will be beneficial to covered and non-covered patients alike. Accompanying patient education that promotes positive lifestyle changes together with the self-healing philosophy will be centralized in my practice. In my experience, educating patients not only helps fight the current ailments, but decreases the likelihood that others will occur. Treating the mind, body, and spirit as one unit makes intuitive sense. I know treating the whole person yields better outcomes for a particular ailment and positively affects the mind, body, and spirit. After looking over Pikeville University’s philosophy, I feel it will be a great school to aide my quest in becoming an osteopathic healer. I plan on bringing a high quality whole body approach to my patients without the overuse of medication allowing the body to self-heal and self-regulate. For these reasons, I apply to Pikeville and anticipate success at the

The first big hurdle is getting into medical school, whether this means getting a good score on the MCAT or gaining clinical experience. Dr. Grande told us, “Do something challenging or something that you don’t like. Get dirty.” Frankly, this scared me. It is hard to go out of your comfort zone and do something that you might not enjoy. The next hurdle is getting through medical school. Dr. Chakraborty mentioned that the course load of medical school is similar to taking 30 to 40 credits. I knew medical school would be hard, but putting it into perspective this way gives it a whole new meaning. The long hours and sleepless nights of residency that some physicians mentioned also made me nervous. Finally, something Dr. Jagadeesan rang with me. He said he “realized how powerless a doctor can be at times.” Being in a situation where you are not able to do anything in your power to help somebody is distressing; however, it is a reality for many physicians. Overall, there are quite a few obstacles to face on the journey to becoming a physician, but I am determined to get

Two decades and many existential crises later, one single aspect of my life has pulled me through: that passion I experienced as a child. I have questioned the source of this motivation more than once, and have sought out to put myself in all possible situations that would predict how I would feel later in my life as a doctor to make sure this passion was not mere infatuation.

Ever since I could have a clear understanding of the roles doctors play in our society, and to remembering my first doctor's visit I instantly wanted to become one of those woman in a long white coat running around helping patients or performing a procedure. My passion for helping others is something that has empowered me to become a doctor. Because of my passion for helping individuals , my dream of one day becoming a surgeon ,I have decided to further my academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University ( Vcu ) . I plan on attending one of the finest medical schools in Virginia while also maintaining a job and balancing life as a college student and a mother.

How would it feel if you had open heart surgery awake, with nothing to kill the pain. I chose this career because I have always been interested in medical sciences. I’ve fallen in love with the “dance” that doctors do. Their music, is the heart monitor of the patient on the bed. Their feet are in constant motion, never stopping. When their music becomes spastic, their feet move quicker, more people involved, and the commotion grows. They all come down from a high when their music goes back to normal tempo. A sigh of relief throughout the whole room. By examining issues such as: level of education needed, skills required, salary, benefits, job outlook and availability; and the connection between my career and high school, I

First off, I think it is importance to talk about the histories of both osteopathic medicine and allopathic medicine. Osteopathic medicine is a different form that focuses on the whole body. It was developed by Andrew Taylor Still, MD, in 1874 who made importance of treating illnesses as a holistic view of the body. After being a surgeon in the Civil War, he approached a new way to medicine to study the human body and find possible ways to better treat illnesses. His research throughout his career and clinical notes show that musculoskeletal system was an important role in overall health. He believed the body contained all the elements needed to maintain health if it is properly stimulated by external and internal applications. Through this idea he created manual techniques that are synonymous with D.O. physicians today, osteopathic manipulative medicine also known