The Role Of Physicians And Osteopathic Physicians

As a young child, I witnessed underserved communities in India and America that truly needed health care, but were deprived of it, due to high poverty. I was a casualty of this situation when I moved to America. I lived in a neighborhood that was poor, and there was a lack of proper healthcare, especially if one did not have health insurance. The neighborhood had only one hospital in its vicinity, and the wait hours were long. My experiences were never pleasant, for the staff and doctors were often rude. These experiences made me realize that my passion for helping would be most helpful in a health care career. However, I knew that if I were to become a doctor, I had to maintain my grades, as it is a highly competitive field. This desire to become a doctor led me to take classes at a community college while attending high school.

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

Describe the top three reasons you have chosen osteopathic medicine as your professional choice in becoming a physician. = why D.O.

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 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.

Nowadays, medicine is tested and approved before it hits the market. Back in the days a person would pass treatments through word of mouth and could seriously injure or make the disease worse. People in historical times would believe that illnesses involved certain spiritual, psychological and social aspects of a person. This was back in the time where there was no scientific evidence that traditional medicine could aid an affected person. Traditional medicine has been around much longer than modern medicine and they were an important part of recorded history. People back in the old days had to dispel and challenge folklore with scientific evidence. Doctors back in the old days had to not only find a way to dispel folklore, but also get ordinary people to listen to them and to help them believe in their practices. Without all of these people, medicine would be nowhere near as it is

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

and how doctors know what they know? Have you asked yourself where medicine all started? Never thought about it much since being out of high school. In modern times we have science based medicine. But this is the current mode of treating illnesses. In many ways ancient medicine and techniques have been used ever since the ancient times. There are many religions that brought forth the same procedures and would attribute illnesses to witchcraft, demons, celestial influence, or the will of the gods. The history has been traced by particular treatments in Ladakh, India which has a Tibetan Buddhist culture and religion and the Greek religious god Asclepius who was the Divine Healer or miracle working physician;

He then referred to himself as the “Magnetic healer and the lightning bone-setter”. In 1892 when Still was 64 years old he began to teach his practice, at the Founded American school of Osteopathy in Kirksville Missouri. The class he taught had 22 students of men and women. The course was taught in only a 3 months long period. Still’s teaching was not in favor of using drugs due to his belief of the drugs being “toxic and ineffective” (FCA, 2008). Still started using the term “osteopathy” in the 1800s. He wrote “Osteopathy is compounded of two words, osteon, meaning bone, (and) pathos (or) pathine, to suffer. I reason that the bone. ‘Osteon,’ was the starting point from which I was to ascertain the cause of pathological conditions, and so I combine the ‘Osteo’ with the ‘pathy’ and had as a result. Osteopathy” (John M. Jones, 2003). Andrew Still believed that “Bones can be used as levers to relieve pressure on the nerves, veins and arteries” (John M. Jones, 2003). Although Still believed that the body could heal itself without medication Still understood the importance of a healthy lifestyle. He understood that unhealthy factors such as alcohol abuse, poor hygiene, and many other factors could contribute to

Sunny days were filled with tropical weather adventures and blissful curiosity, satisfied through exploration. Being raised in Haiti, gave me the chance to interact within a diverse culture. This has shape my optimistic outlook on the future. Growing up in a deprived community, tough times existed, so it was easy to become discouraged, but with a closer look, I soon realized that tougher people existed there too. The caring heart and resilient characteristic that I exude serves as a testament to the values that were carved from a diverse background. I intend to use these qualities to guide me to the realization of my dream, which is practicing medicine as an Osteopathic physician. My family and I later moved to the United States. While adjusting

The Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine has committed itself to providing an exceptional educational experience for the next generation of devoted osteopathic physicians. I have had the time to develop an array of qualities that I can bring to the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. Qualities such as, experience in the medical field, academic knowledge, great personal attitude and the motivation to pursue my true passion of becoming a well-rounded osteopathic physician. During my academic career I was exposed to many challenges that I was able to conquer by motivating myself to excel in my core class. I owe my motivation to succeed to my innate competitive nature. In high school I had the opportunity to be the captain of my wrestling team. The coaches

A large influencing factor that inspired me to become an osteopathic physician began when I started working as an emergency room scribe. Prior to the job I had heard about osteopathic medicine and noticed the DO label on a few physicians coats, but didn't know what it meant. During my first scribe shift with a DO I observed how different his practice was from the MD doctors I had previously worked with. The osteopathic physician was more hands on with his patients and it seemed that many patients appreciated his hands on care. After learning more about the DO profession, I asked a few of the DO’s what the difference to an MD meant to them.

It was not until the last quarter of my fourth year at college that osteopathic medicine appeared on my radar again. At this time, I began to understand what it truly was. Volunteering at St. John’s gave me the opportunity to gain further exposure in the medical field. During my time at St. John’s, something always seemed missing while I observed allopathic physicians. The limited number of osteopaths at St. John’s did not make exposure to their style of medicine easy. However, with the help of Fr. Calin, the Spiritual Care manager, I was able to make contact with an osteopathic physician, Dr. Wolfsohn.

My most redeeming qualities are my passion and drive in my pursuit to further my education; although I have had some hardships, I have proven resilient. I wanted to expand my understanding of pharmacotherapeutics and pathophysiology, and subsequently chose to stay for an additional year at Truman State University. In that time, I decided to pursue an Agricultural Science Minor to become culturally competent in a rural, farming area, of which I would like to practice medicine. As a lifelong student and President of Pre-SOMA, I remain versed in the latest literature and medical advances in my spare time. These qualities will encourage me to continue my osteopathic pursuit through the difficulties I will be faced at KCOM. While I understand