The Philosophy Of Osteopathic Medicine

After sustaining a knee injury that required for surgical intervention while in high school, I struggled with recurring ailments throughout my intercollegiate career. It was not until my father, who is an Osteopathic physician, was performing manipulation on me did we begin to diagnose the potential causes. The issue was muscle imbalance and limited flexibility in certain areas of my body that was shifting majority of my weight onto my knees while performing certain movements. This went unnoticed by physicians because while performing examinations the scope was concentrated on the immediate areas around my knee. With the knowledge I obtained through manipulation I have been able to treat my knee ailments by strengthening and lengthening muscles throughout my body. Having this experience helped solidify that if I am to be the physician I aspire to be, it is imperative to be trained in this form of medicine.

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.

The following words by Aristotle, “Whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, resonate deeply with my personality. As a human and future physician, I believe one must learn to look at the whole picture of any situation instead of dwelling on certain parts. Since the age of seven, I have been attracted to the field of osteopathy. I grew up in a small town, where there were not a lot of doctors in the area. Whenever I went to visit a doctor there was at least one to two hour wait. While waiting for the doctor, I noticed how people’s facial expression and muscle would slightly relax after visiting the doctor’s office, even if it was for less than five minutes. Even though not all patients received good news, they seemed a bit relaxed after knowing what their next step of treatment will be. As long as I can remember I wanted to be the reason behind someone’s relaxed face or smile by providing everything possible within my power.

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.

Volunteering at Texas Health Presbyterian Plano is my way of giving back to the community while developing critical social skills, and gaining important medical field exposure along the way. It’s an opportunity to change a person’s life, including my own. I volunteered at two hospitals last summer and I’m well acquainted with what volunteering entails and would more than love to do it again. Through this hospital volunteer program, I hope to discover my own passions and talents, while also developing skills that I will utilize throughout my entire high school and college experience.

I want to become a service oriented, competent, and compassionate physician who upholds the founding philosophies of Osteopathy while healing the community. With its rich history, willingness to serve, and emphasis on spirituality, KCU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine will be the perfect place to reach my career goals.

Although I have not shadowed an osteopathic physician, my experience within the field of osteopathy derives from a more personal experience. As the patient of an osteopathic physician, I am most fascinated with the multiple modalities that my physician uses within her practice. Throughout my course of visits, I have witnessed that her practice encompasses an integrative approach in which treatments include, but are not limited to, osteopathic manipulative medicine, traditional medications and surgery. I have also noted that my primary care physician always obtained a comprehensive view of current symptoms as well as lifestyle practices. I believe that these two views allows her to detect any interconnections and assess any underlying causes

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.

As a young girl, I vividly recall writing about being a doctor; this dream became more of a pressing desire as I aged and noticed the increasing needs of my neighborhood. As an African-American woman growing up in South Los Angeles, I am aware of the lack of educational, financial as well as health opportunities in my community. I want to become a physician-advocate who is sympathetic to the needs and circumstances of residents, as well as one who is active in the improvement of communal wellness. As a first year student within the Charles R. Drew/UCLA medical education program, I have been provided a foundation that will equip me with the tools needed to be an effective community-based physician, but it is my belief that participation in the GE-NMF Primary Care Leadership Program (PCLP) will offer a challenge and a gift that will mold me into a great doctor of service to the community.

A) Write an account of how the topics below integrate and influence your understanding of Osteopathy.

The Wayne State University School of Medicine has become a top choice medical school for myself due to their focuses on leadership in medicine, community mentoring and outreach, and service based learning. Centered within the urban and evolving city of Detroit, the Wayne State University School of Medicine affords its students the chance to receive their education in, and provide service within, a very rich and diverse patient population. Being immersed within, experiencing, and understanding the diversities of others allows for students and professionals alike to find their identities, meanings, and purposes through connections with people in all walks of life. In this way, Wayne State has the ability to offer its medical students an unparalleled

My involvement in Asian Pacific Health Corps has provided me with insight into the health needs of my community. Prior to volunteering at the health fairs, I was unaware of how many people lack health insurance or a doctor that they could regularly visit. Furthermore, performing blood pressure and body mass index screenings have provided me experience with interacting with patients. Educating patients about their screening results have prepared me to be a future physician who takes the time to understand each patient’s learning style and simplifies health topics to ensure understanding.

My first exposure to osteopathic medicine occurred as a young man when I switched my Primary Care Provider. The change took place when I was incredibly ill and in urgent need of an endocrinologist. Months preceding this event, I had lost an enormous amount of weight, was in and out of the hospital, and my family and I feared I might die. Dr. Sirisuk, my new PCP, advocated on my behalf so that I could see an endocrinologist sooner. Dr. Sirisuk not only saved me from further complications and increased my quality of life, but he likely saved my life. As a patient of Dr. Sirisuk, I felt like I had a voice and he treated me not just my symptoms.

In the mid 19th century, medicine was still very rudimentary. The medications prescribed and the procedures performed were limited by the poor understanding of medical science held by the practitioners of the time. A man by the name of Andrew Taylor Still saw this and made it his mission to find a better way to heal. His work would become the foundation for an entirely new branch of medicine, a field he would call “Osteopathy.” Years later, doctors of osteopathic medicine have become fully-licensed physicians and surgeons who hold the same rights as their M.D. (allopathic) colleagues. So what exactly makes osteopathic medicine different and how did it become so important in modern medicine?