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In today’s episode, we welcome Dr. Rebeccah Rodriguez, a Latin American trailblazer and osteopathic physician who serves on the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as a Team USA physician and was on the medical staff at the Olympic Training Site in Chula Vista, California, as team physician for over 10 years. Dr. Rodríguez earned her medical degree from the ATSU-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and subsequently completed a family practice residency at John C. Lincoln Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. She did a sports medicine fellowship at San Diego Sports Medicine & Family Health Center in 2010, which opened the door for her to work with the Olympic rugby team.

Beyond her family and sports medicine practice, Dr. Rodriguez is passionate about improving quality healthcare. She helps make policy for national organizations such as the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians California Board Health and Wellness and Procedural Committee, and the President’s Council for Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.

Dr. Rodriguez shares her views on osteopathic medicine and sports medicine and how she felt as a woman going into the previously male-dominated field of sports medicine. We hope you enjoy this episode.

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In today's episode, we welcome Dr. John Gimpel. Dr. Gimpel is the president and CEO of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners. The NBOME is the organization that administers the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination or COMLEX- USA for short, which ensures that osteopathic physicians have competency for licensure and practice.

In today’s conversation, Dr. Gimpel will speak with us about the history of the Board and the examination and the importance of the COMLEX for licensure. Furthermore, Dr. Gimpel will share his opinion on topics including the importance of the ACGME merger for osteopathic postgraduate education, whether DOs need to take the USMLE,  specifically if considering competitive fellowship, and the challenges that faced the board specifically with the Level 2-PE during the pandemic.

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In this episode, we will speak with Dr. David Rhoiney. Dr. Rhoiney is the model of success, but his path was far from easy. He is a minority physician who clearly demonstrates that strength of will and hard work can overcome any hardship. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy before graduating from A.T. Still University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2014 and becoming a general surgeon. Dr. Rhoiney is currently stationed in Guantanamo Bay and serves as the lieutenant commander in the Navy. However, before achieving any of his academic accolades, he survived a difficult life on the streets. We hope you enjoy the story of how Dr. Rhoiney preserved through all odds to get to where he is today.

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Dr. Anne Kozlowski is a diagnostic radiologist who works at Tulsa Radiology Associates, which is affiliated with St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Kozlowski went to medical school at the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and has more than 20 years of experience in her field of radiology.  Dr. Kozlowski will share with us her journey, from starting as a ballerina that danced in front of the camera to her current job as a physician who works behind the film.

-Description updated 01/2021

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​Richard Morgan was a board-certified physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation who trained at the Rusk Institute of NYU Medical Center. He graduated from NYCOM in 1998. He then went into private practice in New York City with a focus on sports medicine and musculoskeletal disorders. Throughout his early career, where he was triggered by an early injury and surgical procedure, he followed a dark path down an abyss of addiction that ultimately led him to federal prison, where he was sentenced to 14 years for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. After serving 97 months of his sentence, he was rewarded with an early release. In the one year that he has been out of prison, he has begun the process of not only reconnecting with his family and society but also has begun the process of giving back and helping others with chemical dependency. His story was recently highlighted on "The Dr. Oz Show," and he shared his story with his alma mater, NYCOM, stressing the importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms of addiction in colleagues.

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Today, I am excited to be interviewing Dr. Rodney Bates, who serves as professor and chair of primary care at ICOM. Dr. Bates is a favorite of almost every student at ICOM. Dr. Bates has over 12 years of extensive experience as an internal medicine doctor, working both in a large practice and as a hospitalist before joining the school’s faculty.

Dr. Bates will describe what it was like to be raised in a rural area and how his interests in medicine and osteopathy were sparked by his interactions with a small-town physician. We will follow the professor’s journey from college in Idaho to a residency in Michigan and how he made the decision to come back to Idaho to help the fledgling osteopathic school achieve its mission of training the next generation of physicians in a truly underserved/physician shortage area.

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Dr. Qiuping Zhou is a board-certified attending physician specializing in emergency medicine and critical care medicine at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, part of Northwell Health. She is the director of the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Zucker School of Medicine. She earned her medical degree in China and obtained a second degree in osteopathy at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Zhou is an active member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the American College of Emergency Physicians.

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Dr. Robert Cain is the current president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, also known as AACOM. Every osteopathic student has communicated with AACOM. AACOM is the organization that supports the 37 accredited colleges of osteopathic medicine in the United States.

Dr. Cain is a pulmonologist by trade and graduated from Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Before he became president and CEO of AACOM, he served as the associate dean for Clinical Education at the Ohio COM, where he oversaw business development and relationship management for clinical experiences associated with undergraduate and graduate medical education. Prior to this university appointment, he served as the director of medical education at Grandview Hospital in Dayton, Ohio.

Over the past two decades, Dr. Cain has served in a variety of roles on a number of local, state, and national committees, task forces, and boards, including the American Osteopathic Association and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education  Osteopathic Principles Committee.

Dr. Cain was inducted into the AOGME Collegium of Fellows in 2018 and has received many other awards for his contributions to osteopathic medical education, including the Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators Leadership Award in 2014, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine Master Clinical Faculty in 2011, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine Standard of Excellence Award in 2009, and the ACOI Teacher of the Year in 2004.

We hope you enjoy this interview.

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In today’s episode, we will be speaking with Dr. Margaret Wilson, the current dean at A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, the founding school of osteopathy. Dr. Wilson actually grew up in Kirksville, Missouri, and is a graduate of the very same school.  She did a rotating internship in Ohio, became a family practitioner, and worked with the National Service Health Corps.

Dr. Wilson is a true leader and role model to all osteopathic physicians. She serves as the chairman of the Board of Deans for the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), where she works diligently to promote osteopathic medical education. We know you will be inspired by this inspirational woman.

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Dr. Aston is a Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine alumnus who did a family practice residency at Unity Health in Arkansas and completed further training in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) at the University of North Texas. He currently works at the University of North Texas Health Science Center's family medicine clinic and residency. In addition to these accolades, Dr. Aston was the world's first fellowship-trained performing arts medicine physician, using OMM to treat musicians and dancers.

Dr. Aston is dedicated to the study of osteopathy. In an effort to educate students and the public about his passion, he has created a podcast, "Rollin’ Bones," where he discusses topics from the history of osteopathic medicine to the intricate details of specific osteopathic techniques. If you are interested in learning more about osteopathy, we highly recommend listening to his podcast. A link can be found in the podcast section of our website.

Before we begin this episode, we think it is important to take a minute to define some terms that will be discussed with Dr. Aston.

Osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT), and neuromusculoskeletal medicine (NMM) are all synonymous terms that describe the study and practice of the manual techniques that make DOs unique. OMM is not meant to replace standard surgery and medical therapies but to COMPLEMENT them. Using manual medicine, the physician or “operator” uses their hands to fix “somatic dysfunctions.” Somatic dysfunctions are problems with the body’s structure, which when repaired can improve nerve, lymphatic, and/or blood flow in order to help return internal balance or homeostasis that, in turn, will accelerate the body’s natural healing process.

The main osteopathic techniques include:

1) soft tissue and myofascial release, where the physician massages muscles and superficial connective tissue to release tension.

2) high-velocity low-amplitude thrusting technique (HVLA) - the classic “cracking” technique where joints are aligned into their barrier and then forced back into place with quick, forceful movements.

3) muscle energy, where the physician engages the point of restriction and uses the patient’s strength to counteract that force, bringing the muscle to relax.

4) counterstrain, where we put the tense tissues into a position of ease to relax tenderpoints in the tissues.

There are also two very specialized techniques that frequently take years of extra study to master. They are visceral osteopathy, which focuses on facilitating the functions of the internal organs such as the stomach and heart, and cranial osteopathy, where the operator aims at releasing tension and stress in the body’s internal rhythms and impulses that they can feel with their hands through their patient’s heads and returning their body to a balanced rhythm.

We encourage this episode for any listeners who are interested in learning more about OMM and how neuromuscular medicine can be an incredibly helpful and important treatment modality for all patients.

We hope you enjoy this interview. Although our previous episodes have clearly shown the attributes that make osteopathic physicians special, this interview demonstrates what makes us unique.