Osteopathic Experience

Attending the Rowan University SOM’s graduate program in Biomedical Sciences gave me a new perspective of osteopathic medicine through various opportunities and experiences. One of the most important factors that played a role in helping me choose osteopathic medicine was the ability to speak to current medical students. Applying to a field and experiencing a field are two vastly different things. From what I’ve gathered, the osteopathic discipline extends far beyond the doctor’s office. Being in a position where I help my patients hands-on, in the office, is the biggest motivator for me to pursue this field. I find it necessary as a primary care physician to be able to offer patients options for preventative therapies before simply prescribing …show more content…
It seemed as though it was an often repeated phrase that was not reflected in my personal medical experiences. Yet through my time at Rowan SOM, I began to formulate my own way of explaining osteopathic medicine to those who kept asking me to explain my field of study. Having started my own clothing company, I knew the impact a well-written slogan had on consumers. And I also knew the importance of a company, field, or person, living up to the slogan. After some research, I came up with my one-liner explaining osteopathic medicine: “it is a discipline that focuses on prevention, not cure”. Osteopathic medicine is a discipline that stresses preventative medicine, explores alternative routes of treatment, and uses medications as a last resort. On the other hand, the allopathic philosophy seems to be more involved with curing diseases via administration of …show more content…
Wajih Rizvi MD and Dr. Robert Menashe D.O. gave me a great insight into the differences between two philosophies. I found the Dr. Rizvi was very busy with his patients and even though he gave his patients all the time they needed, it was nowhere near as much attention as Dr. Menashe afforded his patients. At one point, Dr. Menashe spent upwards of thirty minutes with an extremely distraught patient who had trouble understanding why her blood work came back with so many problems. He consoled the patient, and spent a long time explaining to her how she could resolve all her problems through a healthy diet and exercising. Beyond this, he prescribed her medications for one month then called her back to see if her lifestyle changes were good enough to take her off medications. This particular moment stuck with me because, in the medical field, most people think medicine is a quick-fix for everything, but Dr. Menashe offered her an alternative solution. He gave her the power to help herself, to change her life and not be dependent on