Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine

[felitz]

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Can anyone share insights on which of the schools have particularly strong departments of OMM/OMT? If my real interest in osteopathic medicine is to specialize in OMM, are there any schools I should avoid?

 

[milleniumhc]

Hi! I think that I might be able to give you a little help, as this was a similar question that I had when I was applying to DO schools. First of all, I have to plug my own school. KCOM has a very intense OTM department. You have OTM almost daily and you learn from the very best doctors. Dr. Kuchera, Dr. Degenhardt, Dr. Yates, Dr. Vick, and Dr. Funk are all very established OTM specialists. Dr. Kuchera wrote chapters in Foundations of Osteopathic Medicine along with several other books, including the Kimberly Manuel which is a technique book. You definitely get your fill of OTM here, as you should, since it is the founding school (the "mother ship" if you will). I know that MSU has a pretty well established OTM department as well. They even have a student clinic, which I find to be very interesting. I have heard that Midwestern's OTM program (CCOM) is not so great, but I do know that they are currently building a brand new OTM lab, so hopes are high that their program will get better. I was told by a resident at my old hospital that TCOM has all but ix-nayed the OTM program. I guess that they are under a lot of pressure to become "More MD-like" since they are not really in an Osteopathic Mecca down there. (She went to TCOM, so I definitely took her word for it). Also, I have been told that the newer schools such as LECOM and the Arizona school (even though it is KCOM's sister school) are still trying to build up their curriculum, so they aren't as established in the OTM department either. Basically, KCOM and MSU are the two schools that I know first hand have good programs. The other ones that I told you didn't, I collected that info over time. I hope that this helps. Let me know if I can help you out anymore.

mhc
KCOM--2004

 

[drusso]

Originally posted by milleniumhc:
I was told by a resident at my old hospital that TCOM has all but ix-nayed the OTM program. I guess that they are under a lot of pressure to become "More MD-like" since they are not really in an Osteopathic Mecca down there. (She went to TCOM, so I definitely took her word for it).
mhc
KCOM--2004

I have to take issue with your assessment. I'm a predoctoral research fellow in the OMM department here at TCOM and I can assure you that the program has, in no way, been "ix-nayed." First, we're one of the few schools with a core rotation in OMM plus hospital-based experience in OMM. While all DO schools have 250-400 hour curriculums in OMM; TCOM is the only school with a REQUIRED rotation in OMM during the third year. Most DO student never have the opportunity to use OMM in the third and fourth years--this rotation provides both inpatient and outpatient-based experiences. We are also one of the few schools with residency programs in OMM. We have not one, but THREE residency programs in OMM. We have a traditonal two-year program, a one-year program for DO's who have a completed a primary care specialty residency already, and a combined OMM/Geriatics fellowship.

We also have an exciting research program in OMM here. We have ongoing research in OMM for post-CABG patients, chronic low back pain, hip and knee arthoplasty, fibromyalgia and chronic pain. Our department recently received a $1.3 million NIH grant to develop a research curriculum in OMM. No other DO school's OMM department has accomplished this. This program will give DO students who want to do OMM related research the opportunity to earn PhD or MPH degrees in combination with their DO degree. I think we all agree that OMM has suffered from a lack of research in the last 50 years (Ironically, in the profession's early history there was TONS of OMM related research going on at COMs.)

I'm not sure what it means to be "MD-like." I hope that it doesn't mean, "state-of-art" or "progressive" or "scientific" because that kind of statement embarrasses DO schools like UNTHSC-TCOM, University of Ohio-COM, Michigan State-COM, New Jersey, PCOM, or Oklahoma State-COM who run toe-to-toe with MD schools in their state in offering medical students a comprehensive and distinctive medical education.

As for not being a "osteopathic-mecca", again I think you're confused. Texas has a very rich osteopathic history, and Fort Worth in particular, has more DO's per capita(including osteopathic cardiovascular surgeons, neurosurgeons, and other highly-trained DO subspecialists) than any other area of the US with the exception of some areas in the Northeast. We are also one of the few schools with an Osteopathic Hospital (250 beds with a nationally ranked cardiovascular service and regional stroke center) directly across the street from us.

In the future, I hope that you'll do a little more fact checking before your make statements like that again. If you need any more information about our OMM department, don't hesitate to contact me directly at TCOM--I'm in the staff directory.

David Russo, MS-4
DO/MPH Student
Predoctoral Research Fellow
Department of OMM
UNTHSC-TCOM

 

[Pikevillemedstudent]

Actually, TCOM is not the only school with a required OMT third year rotation. PCSOM also requires this. In addition, I think PCSOM should be added to the list of quality OMT schools. We have perhaps the best OMT doc in the country with Dr. Stiles. He put OMT on the books literally. If it wasn't for him, no one would make a dime from insurance companies for OMT. OP&P is the only class I REALLY enjoy sitting through.

 

[Hskermdic]

Just a few points to add.

1. Mhc, the DO school in Arizona is a sister school of the Chicago school and not of KCOM

2. Drusso, I don't know anything about the TCOM OMM programs but KCOM does also require an OMM rotation during the 3rd and 4th years of school. Second don't get on Mhc for lack of information. He stated that he was only a first year and that the information he got was second hand and nothing from personal experience.

3. As a student at KCOM I am very happy with the OMM education I am receiving here. Students and residents from KCOM who come back and visit have reported that the OMM education we receive at KCOM is one of the best!

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Carrie
KCOM '03

 

[milleniumhc]

WHOA!!!! I am sorry!! I DID NOT MEAN TO OFFEND ANYONE!!!! When I talked about the school in Arizona, I was referring to the school of Health Sciences. Apparently, I was told that they started a DO program and that it hasn't graduated a full class yet, but my classmate was confused and was actually referring to the other school.....the one that you are thinking about. AS for the TCOM person, I was given that info by a resident at my hospital that knew Dr. Vick, who now teaches at KCOM. She went to TCOM (she and her husband) and really trashed the TCOM OTM program. I am sorry that this all came across as an insult to you. I just repeated what I was told. I guess that I expected the info to be legit because she actually attended the school. As for her statement about it not being a mecca, I agreed with her on that because I have family that lives in Dallas. When I started school here I had to explain to all of them what a DO was. I am sorry for assuming to much, I hope that I didn't offend you too much. I was actually really glad to hear that the program there is good because it upset me too hear otherwise from Dr. H. Thanks...mhc