Osteopathic Physician Personal Statement

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:

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.

I want to become an osteopathic physician, because osteopathic doctors take the additional strides toward providing their patients with holistic care. Unlike other health care professionals osteopathic doctors try to obtain the most detailed history, starting from the patient’s birth, sometimes even before that. During the history taking

I have always had my mind set on becoming a physician. As I sat in my academic advisor’s office during my second year of college, I came to know that there were two types of medical schools, osteopathic and allopathic. I was interested to know the difference, so I started my research. I gathered information from the AACOM and AOA websites, and learned the history, philosophy, and educational curriculum of osteopathic medicine. I desired to learn more, so I made a visit to the osteopathic school near my college. Along with four other students, I sat through an interesting lecture about various bone disorders, witnessed a physician practice OMT, and met with various instructors. The connections I made that day led me to the opportunity to shadow an osteopathic physician who has truly become a role model to me. I learned

No longer was I able to be on the “front lines”, I was… in my opinion at the time, being relegated to a pencil pusher, a platoon sergeant. Surprisingly enough however, I found that there was a great sense of pride to be had in being responsible for the training of subordinate medics. Both their successes and failures were on me. While I enjoyed all of that immensely, I knew that for me it wasn’t enough, I wanted more. At the time I didn’t exactly know what “more” was, but I knew I loved medicine and that I loved helping people. I wanted to be that person that someone could turn to in their time of need. I can honestly say that in my eight years in the military and subsequent years working in an emergency room during college that that feeling of completion has never diminished, but grows stronger each year. Thankfully for me I had the great privilege of working beside some phenomenal physician assistants in the military. Men and women who would over the years inspire me to dream big, to keep moving forward.

I believe the passion I hold for medicine and patient care will allow me to perform well during my medical schooling and practice. My interest in becoming an osteopathic physician stems from how I would like to conduct my practice of medicine. As an osteopathic physician I hope to service my patients holistically rather than simply treating their medical ailments. From my upbringing I understand that social and financial situations can affect health as well as reverse situations so attempting to address all issues would better resolve the overall problem. Communication and understanding are key in any situation involving others and I feel that my abilities to use these two skills will benefit me in my medical career.

With the understanding that my current approach to teaching, sharing knowledge and inspiring self-study is the product of my previous training, varied and long history of working in teaching and education. Coupled with multifactorial experiences of being an adult learner. The new realisation after starting this course was that the beliefs and biases I carried into teaching environments remained significantly influenced by my experience of receiving osteopathic treatment and how that informed my approach to my own undergraduate and postgraduate osteopathic training. Frequently asking the same questions, am I just repeating the styles and approaches that worked for me or being influenced too heavily by the current beliefs and practices in clinical education. We are all the products of the learning culture and environment and as such the potentially victims of the changing theories related to teaching and learning. The broader question for me is what and how do I help shape the future of osteopathic education with the students with whom I work? It's not unreasonable or unhelpful to hope they love their time in the clinic, is it ok if they feel overwhelmed at times too?

My prior military experiences push me beyond my personal limits and shape me into a dependable and discipline person, which play an enormous part of who I am today. Besides gaining intrinsic satisfaction from serving courageous service members and their families, I believe military service would offer invaluable opportunities to be a well-rounded physician. Military medicine will prepare me with the knowledge as well as the skill sets that allow me to provide care under extreme circumstances and limited resources. Beyond practicing medicine, military life allows me to develop interpersonal skills while providing service in widely diverse communities without geographical constrain. Above all, countless positive qualities I have gained from

I possess many personal characteristics necessary for becoming an osteopathic physician. Being raised in a Navy family in a large city, I have acquired several advantageous attributes, such as quickly adapting to my surroundings and having the ability to interact with a diverse population. My upbringing has fostered me to have an open mind, respect for others, and good teamwork skills. Additionally, I was raised to have integrity, work hard, and be kind to others. Through my upbringing, I have also acquired a strong desire to help others. Of my volunteering events, my charity clothing drive that gives gently used clothing to students in need has had the most profound affect on me. Their appreciation for things I take for granted leaves me humbled.

Discovering the goals of osteopathic medicine; specifically holistic medicine and preventative care, made me feel more confident about my decision to become a physician and find solutions to the problems I faced at The Ear. I have continued to gain new perspectives on medicine and the direction I want my career to take since volunteering at The Ear.Through developing my own goals I learned more about the role osteopathic medicine plays. For example, my senior year at MSU I discovered a passion for using health education as a preventative care method, while teaching elementary students about the benefits of healthy eating and its effects on heart health at science outreach events. I learned about the importance of preventative care and education in osteopathic medicine while discussing these events with a current DO medical student who told me about the emphasis his curriculum placed on these same

My interest in osteopathic medicine first sparked when a representative from an osteopathic school came to a meeting for my Pre-Medical Society in order to promote osteopathic medicine. One of the benefits of osteopathic medicine that I found interesting was the hands-on diagnosis and treatment of therapy. Once my stepfather endured a knee injury in which he was recommended to see an osteopathic physician. Upon his treatment with a DO, I began to research the training that osteopathic medical students receive and found many aspects of their curriculum appealing. The holistic healthcare perspective is an approach I am passionate about embracing as a physician. A broader range of therapeutic and diagnostic options allow for a more custom fit

Osteopathic medicine resonates so strongly within me due to its holistic approach to care. A belief that the body is a divinely ordained machine that is capable of incredible abilities, and healing, constantly amazes me. I believe that a patient is much more than a symptom and should be cared for as such.

The fact that medics in the military are held to a high standard help me develop a level of maturity for medicine that I would not have obtained as soon I had. I even had to the opportunity to train and work on procedures that civilian medics with the same level of certification are not authorized to do. Such skills include tracheotomy and intubation of individuals. The dynamic medical responsibilities of an Air Force Medic helped to further solidify my love for medicine and demonstrate to me the power that medicine has to change dire circumstances for people. This process of obtaining information and using it directly to make a change did not differ too slightly from my journalism goals.

During the past few years, I have had the opportunity to learn about the osteopathic medicine from my primary care physician who has educated me about the profession. She always stressed eating the right foods, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight. Through her, I learned that osteopathic physicians focus on educating patients to achieve wellness by living a healthy lifestyle. I believe that the osteopathic profession is a good fit for me since I believe that exercising, nutrition, and other lifestyle changes are the best way to maintain a healthy body and prevent diseases. The philosophy of holistic care to treat the whole body while searching for the cause of the diseases not just treating the symptoms is what confirmed my passion to become an osteopathic physician and treat other patients in an analogous manner.

In quest of a field with greater impact on lives is the reason I chose to pursue medicine. My decision to come to the United States (US) began during my final year medical school. I was curious to explore the practise of medicine in the US as most guidelines and recommendations for management of various diseases have its roots here. This inspired me to pursue clinical rotations and research before residency.