Exposure to Medicine Have Only

Exposure to Medicine have only recently become familiar with osteopathics after volunteering at a local hospital. My discovery of this field has transformed my career aspirations from becoming a M.D. To becoming a D.O. Working alongside D.O.s for more than 200 hours has opened up a whole new view of what I believe the medical profession ought to be. For this reason, I am seeking admission to your program.

Prior to my volunteer work, I had long understood and valued the role of the traditional M.D. who is trained in medical diagnosis and biomedical intervention. I still believe in medications and surgery as necessary to treat patients. But, I now believe that D.O.s provide the most complete form of medical care, merging best practices in traditional medicine with an understanding of interconnections in the body, patient education and preventive care. At the hospital, I witnessed D.O.s providing these services to their patients with high patient satisfaction and gratitude for the care they were given.

With a holistic approach to health care, D.O.s focus on treating the patient as a whole rather than examining and treating specific symptoms common to traditional medical practices. During my volunteer, work, I came to appreciate the complex interrelationships of the body's nerves, muscles, bones, tissues and organs and that any one of these can affect the others. Therefore, I believe the diagnosis of the D.O. can, in many instances, be more accurate and beneficial for the patient than the diagnosis of a M.D. formed with a more limited set of considerations. In turn, this leads to better treatment options. For example, I saw one patient given osteopathic manipulative treatment by a D.O. For severe muscle and joint pain. The patient was able to discontinue taking pain killing medications after only a few treatments.

I have also come to realize the importance of the psychological and social aspects of treatment in addition to the traditional physical aspects. In traditional medicine, these issues are handled by distinct specialists, while I believe they should also be considered in tandem during medical treatment. I believe that a patient's mental state can affect how well the patient responds to medical treatment and their ability to follow their physician's recommendations.

While professionals in medical care are responsible for their patient's health, the patients themselves are ultimately in the best position to take responsibility for their own well being. This is why I appreciated the role of the D.O. In educating patients about the external factors that affect their health such as the environment, stress, exercise and diet. In this way, patients can take a more proactive role in achieving and maintaining their own health. Although disease prevention and health promotion are just as important as disease treatment, traditional medicine concentrates too much on the later.