I first learned about osteopathic medicine through admissions workshop in graduate school. Osteopathic medicine’s emphasis on primary care and helping medically underserved communities truly appealed to me. As I delved further about its philosophy in the books, I am also interested by the fact that osteopathic physicians are trained to focus on health, not the disease. This will improve the overall well-being of a patient and prevent diseases. In Burma, I faced the challenges of substandard health care and education, without clean water, food or public sanitation. All these experiences, complicated by my bouts of tuberculosis and typhoid taught me at a young age to appreciate the value of a healthy life.
Shadowing Dr. Schneider and the residents
I believe that a human being is a unit of body, mind, and spirit and everything is interrelated, and I am interested in patients as a whole and I want to spend time with them to get to know as a person, such as who they are, where are they from, and their life stories, which will benefit me in finding causes so I can not only treat the resulting symptoms but also treat the underlying problem. I believe body has its ability to self-heal and I want to help patients not only with their physical problems but also issues with lifestyle, emotional well-being, and environment. I witnessed how Dr. Truong applied the philosophy of osteopathic medicine into his practice. He spent time to educate his patients and helped them establish good eating and exercises habits. He asked his patients to set up a life goal and constantly reminded them of working towards this goal during their weekly visit. Other osteopathic physicians I shadowed are not practicing OMM now, but they still benefit from their trainings in osteopathic medical schools by looking at patients as a whole. For example, the psychiatrist Dr. Sharma used a formula with three factors, Biology, psychology, social to diagnose patients and she said her training reminder her to focus on the whole picture instead of just a
My desire to be an osteopathic physician came after attending an OMM session during my gap years as a research fellow at the NIH. This experience contributed to my interest in osteopathic medicine, as I was intrigued by the musculoskeletal manipulation techniques, and deeply appreciated the hands-on, holistic approach to patient care. I feel strongly that training as an osteopath, will prove invaluable in my career as I work deliver quality treatment to underserved communities.
I chose to pursue a career as a physician in osteopathic medicine for several reasons mainly relating to the nature and philosophy of osteopathy. My first reason is the the extra set of tools osteopathic physicians use to diagnose and treat patients. Osteopathic physicians are trained to use their hands to reorient muscles and joints to improve the body’s natural healing processes. By doing so, patients can reduce their dependence on prescribed medications or surgeries to treat their symptoms. My second reason is that I am interested in studying the wide variety of common health problems osteopathic medicine can diagnose and heal such as environmental allergies, asthma, and hypertension. My third reason is because I plan to offer the most effective
One of the main missions of the university is to help underserved communities. I believe that both my personal and academic experience has engrained in me the qualities that are essential for completing medical school and becoming a doctor. I want to become an osteopathic doctor that is involved in the community and serves those who lack proper health care. My primary care doctor, who is an osteopathic doctor, influenced my decision to pursue osteopathic medicine. She taught me that osteopathic medicine consists of treatment with holistic approaches, and it involves an education in physical manipulation. This aspect is particularly of interest to me because this is an approach that is used in India. Overall, I believe that I am a thoroughly qualified candidate to pursue a DO degree from Touro college of Osteopathic Medicine. The sheer pleasure I derive from helping people and sharing what I know, coupled with the mental stimulation intrinsic to the profession, make medicine the clear career pathway for
I have chosen osteopathic medicine as my professional choice in becoming a physician, because I have a passion for the healthcare field and learning, I want to be able to help others and give back to the community and I believe that medicine is evolving towards an osteopathic approach which takes into account the body as a whole. Passion is the driver behind any good physician. I am always looking to learn and improve upon my performance in whatever I am doing. Whether it was undergraduate coursework, medical shadowing, EMT training, or community service I put forth my fullest effort into the task at hand. Every moment in medicine and life in general is a valuable learning experience. Osteopathic medicine will force me outside of my comfort zone and many mistakes will be made along the way, but I look forward to tackling the challenges ahead of me and in the end it will allow me to become the best physician possible.
The time I spent working in the ER as a scribe and the people I met during my time there inspired me to apply to osteopathic medical schools. Prior to my working there, I honestly didn’t know there were two routes to becoming a physician. I started noticing that there was either D.O. or M.D. initialed after doctors’ names in the signature of different physicians throughout the hospital.
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
Truthfully, as an undergraduate I knew very little about the osteopathic profession. In 2013, however, I began working as a medical scribe with Dr. Ghaffari-Greene, DO, in the Sibley ER and she opened my eyes to the beauty of osteopathic medicine. Thanks to Dr. Ghaffari-Greene, and a number of other osteopathic physicians in the ER, I have come to understand what osteopathic medicine is all about. Three years after my first exposure to the osteopathic profession, I continue to be motivated to become an osteopathic physician for many reasons. These include the following:
A physician must be well rounded in a variety of fields to provide effective care. First, an interest in learning scientific knowledge must be accompanied by the ability to translate that knowledge into methods of treatment. Because science is constantly changing and improving, a physician should be continuously expanding their scientific learning within and outside of their respective fields. Most of the coursework that I have taken reflects my interest in the intersection between biomedical science and its applications through an anthropological lens. For example, I have performed public
When I think of medicine I think of diversity. The medical field contains a multiplicity of individuals, culture, and exchange; exposure to the Guatemalan culture offers a plethora of experience that allows me to build on personal growth, educational enhancements, and the opportunity to make a difference. The availability of this program through the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine is a blessing as well as a prayer answered for the prospect to experience the world beyond the borders of the United Stares.
There are to branches of medicine currently practiced in the United States Osteopathic Medicine and Allopathic Medicine. Throughout this paper I am going to discuss the history, practices and beliefs of Osteopathic Medicine as well as describe the differences between Allopathic Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine.
“Death starts from the feet.” She was an 86 year old Guinean woman who was accompanied by her son to the family medicine clinic. Her son explained to us that his mother was very anxious and feared that she would be dying soon because of the pains that she was having in her lower extremities. In their culture, there is a saying that “death starts from the feet,” and because she was experiencing these pains she was convinced that her time was near. After obtaining a more detailed history and completing her physical examination, I discovered that the patient had bilateral crepitus in her knees as well as joint swellings, indicating an osteoarthritic presentation. What my patient feared to be symptoms of death were instead osteoarthritic pain! This patient encounter was an eye opening experience on just how impactful our backgrounds can be in medicine. By improving our cultural competences we improve the quality of healthcare. As a family physician I hope to make a difference in the lives and communities of patients from various backgrounds.
With a strong desire to help others as a physician, it was natural for me to gravitate toward osteopathic medicine when Hiram graduate, Tammy Guseman, talked to us about her great experiences at Pikeville’s KYCOM. The ideas of holistic care, preventative medicine, and hands-on treatment resonated with who I am.
I shadowed multiple physicians from various specialties, as I worked to confirm my desire to become a physician. Out of all of them, Dr. Brian Loveless, a family practice physician who utilizes osteopathic manipulative medicine, stood out to me the most. My time shadowing him at The Patient Care Center at Western University of Health Sciences exposed me to the philosophy of osteopathic medicine. Using osteopathic manipulative treatment techniques like high-velocity, low-amplitude, he was able to relieve patients of their pains or aches during the visit, without providing any medications. It was these moments that taught me the effectiveness about the philosophy of osteopathic medicine. As Dr. Loveless stated regarding one patient, he was treating
Osteopathic medicine, abbreviated D.O., as defined by Webster as a therapeutic system originally based upon the premise that manipulation of the muscles and bones to promote structural integrity could restore or preserve health. Osteopathic medicine was founded by A.T. Still, a medical doctor who believed that the current medical practices seemed to be doing more harm than good to the patients. He developed a system of care that would promote the body’s ability to heal itself. Osteopathic physicians are trained in to provide holistic care, which means they look