D.O. or Do Not: The Osteopathic Physician's Journey for Premed & Medical Students

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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.

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Today on D.O. or Do Not, we venture slightly “off the path” to try and help medical students applying for residencies in the “new post-graduate education” system.

To give some historical background, there previously were separate residency programs sponsored by the American Osteopathic Association (DO) and the American College of Graduate Medical Education (MD). Graduates of osteopathic medical school could apply for either. In 2018, the ACGME and AOA merged, allowing one residency pathway for MDs and DOs.

According to the ACGME, the reasons for the merger were to:

-provide high-quality and uniform graduate medical education accreditation

-eliminate the need for programs to choose a pathway

-reduce cost and increase efficiencies

-provide consistency

-allow all US medical graduates (both DO and MD) a uniform graduate education pathway

-preserve and protect osteopathic medical education

-increase opportunities for osteopathic graduate medical education and recognition.

Although this merger was meant to simplify the application process and is an exciting step for equality for the osteopathic profession, it leaves many new questions for DO student applicants.

To prepare for this episode, the staff of D.O. or Do Not surveyed DO students to determine what the most common questions were regarding application to residency and the merger.   We decided to split the episode into two parts, interviewing a program director from a program that was previously AOA-certified and a program director from a historically allopathic residency.

In the first part of this episode, we interview Dr. Cindy Hoffman. Dr. Hoffman is a DO and the program director of the dermatology residency program at St. Barnabas Hospital, one of the busiest hospitals in New York City. The program is affiliated with both Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

In the second part of this episode, we will speak with Dr. Kyle Katona. Dr. Katona is an MD and the associate program director for the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell residency program in internal medicine. The residency is a university-based program supported by one of the largest health care systems in the United States, Northwell Health. It is situated on the border between Queens and Nassau County on Long Island, New York, and cares for a diverse group of patients.

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In this episode of D.O. or Do Not, we interview Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum. Dr. Steinbaum is a board-certified cardiologist who has devoted her career not just to the treatment of heart disease but more importantly to its prevention.  Although she has had impressive post-doctoral training in allopathic institutions, there is no question that her philosophy is osteopathic.

Dr. Steinbaum was raised in an “osteopathic family” with a father and multiple relatives who were D.O. physicians. She is an alumna of Tufts University in Massachusetts and earned her D.O. degree from the A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Missouri. She continued on to do an internal medicine residency at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City and continued there as a cardiology fellow and ultimately attending physician. During her cardiology training, she participated in research including multiple landmark trials.

Dr. Steinbaum is a pioneer in cardiac rehabilitation and has a special interest in heart disease in women. She currently serves as a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign. Dr. Steinbaum has a private practice at the Juni Ash Integrative Health Center. Dr. Steinbaum is the author of the book "Every Woman's Guide to a Heart-Healthy Life."

Dr. Steinbaum is an inspiration to DOs and female physicians. We hope you enjoy the episode.

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In today’s episode, we will be speaking with Dr. John Thurman. Dr. Thurman is a family medicine physician who attended medical school at A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency training at MacNeal Memorial Hospital in 2015.

Dr. Thurman’s history of leadership, however,  predates his career in medicine. Before medical school, Dr. Thurman attended West Point, the United States elite military academy. While at West Point, he commanded a company at Camp Buckner and was on battalion staff during the academic year. Dr. Thurman played football in college where he led the scout team.

In 2003, Dr. Thurman was deployed to Kuwait and later Iraq. When Dr. Thurman returned to the US, he took a position in admissions at West Point, where an unfortunate accident, although leading to hardship, put him on the path to becoming a community leader as a family practitioner in Iowa. Dr. Thurman speaks on his views of minority physicians, specifically African Americans in medicine, and provides insight to help others on their own personal journeys.

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Dr. Humayun “Hank” J. Chaudhry is president and chief executive officer of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) of the United States. The FSMB is the umbrella agency for all state medical licensing boards. Dr. Chaudhry graduated from New York University, NYITCOM, and Harvard School of Public Health. He is board-certified in internal medicine and completed his residency training at Winthrop University Hospital. In addition, he served as health commissioner for Suffolk County, a flight surgeon with the 732nd Airlift Squadron, and the medical operations flight commander for the 514th Aeromedical Staging Squadron of the 514th Air Mobility Wing.  He is the author of multiple books and textbooks, and was listed by Modern Healthcare magazine as "one of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders." We are incredibly lucky to be able to talk and listen to someone who has impacted so many of both patient and student lives. We hope you enjoy this episode.