Schools that really push OMT

[petomed]

All DO schools require learning and practicing OMT as part of their curriculum, but are there any schools that come to mind who go above and beyond with OMT? Not everyone is interested in practicing OMT after graduation and that's fair. I'm wondering which schools tend to make available the deepest, sustained OMT opportunities for students who really do want to have healing hands.

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[drstranger]

I feel that for most schools it is 100% what you put into it. 90% of students do not care enough to go for a deeper understanding. If you really wanted to go deep you can do an OMM fellowship most schools have one, basically, you take a year off to do some research while also being a TA for OPP. if you want to go beyond that then apply for an OMM residency that's the best way to get "healing hands".

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

Touro University Nevada puts a low emphasis on it. We have OMM for 1 hour/week. Half of that is spent on lecture so 30 minutes of practice, split between you and a partner is 15 minutes of practice per person per week. I agree you get out what you put in but if I really wanted to learn I think 1.5-2 hours of class would be more appropriate.

 

[petomed]

I feel that for most schools it is 100% what you put into it. 90% of students do not care enough to go for a deeper understanding. If you really wanted to go deep you can do an OMM fellowship most schools have one, basically, you take a year off to do some research while also being a TA for OPP. if you want to go beyond that then apply for an OMM residency that's the best way to get "healing hands".

I agree, energy in generally equals what you can take away from any experience. From what I understand though, any DO can practice OMT if they feel competent enough to do so. There are those fellowships you mentioned, but they delay residency and eventual practice by another year.

 

[petomed]

Touro University Nevada puts a low emphasis on it. We have OMM for 1 hour/week. Half of that is spent on lecture so 30 minutes of practice, split between you and a partner is 15 minutes of practice per person per week. I agree you get out what you put in but if I really wanted to learn I think 1.5-2 hours of class would be more appropriate.

Is there a clinic you could gain more practice through? Would the instructor(s) be able to offer more practice through a campus club? Could annual conferences be used to give an edge? These are the ways that come to mind that a student could inquire about. It would help a lot though if faculty were passionate about teaching OMT to a high degree.

 

[Doc_Ock]

UNECOM is basically a school cult where they worship AT Still. The head of our omm department even styled his beard and hair like him. About 4 hours a week and despite what most people advise you cannot cram for an hour the night before for our omm exams. Someone in administration showed me a breakdown and apparently (by credit hour) we do more omm than literally any other DO school.
And as mentioned above, you can add in an additional 5th year where you are basically an omm TA (they call it a fellowship) if you really wanna go hard.

 

[deleted1100659]

any particular reason why you have such a high level of interest for it? It is rarely used in most fields

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

Is there a clinic you could gain more practice through? Would the instructor(s) be able to offer more practice through a campus club? Could annual conferences be used to give an edge? These are the ways that come to mind that a student could inquire about. It would help a lot though if faculty were passionate about teaching OMT to a high degree.

The faculty is passionate - some of them complain that we aren't given enough time. However I've never cared to pursue it further. I'm more focused on my other classes. I see the value in a club, however having a club may force the school to admit they aren't providing sufficient instruction. Even though, on a wink wink nudge nudge basis, likely most of us believe they aren't but don't care. For example, if there was an anatomy club because students felt they weren't getting enough training on anatomy, it would make the school look bad. Admin wouldn't approve a club that makes the school look bad.

 

[Ho0v-man]

I went to Kirksville. It was pretty nuts. 4 hours per week. We didn’t do the nonsense where we got tested over osteopathic history like this person came up with this, when was AT Stills birthday, etc. But it was still too much.

I gave up on it halfway through second semester and was dragged kicking and screaming the rest of the way. While my omm test scores weren’t great secondary to apathy, I’m apparently pretty good at the stuff that actually has some mild benefit. The people who get really into the class are beasts though.

 

[zucchini_bread]

I went to Kirksville. It was pretty nuts. 4 hours per week. We didn’t do the nonsense where we got tested over osteopathic history like this person came up with this, when was AT Stills birthday, etc. But it was still too much.

I gave up on it halfway through second semester and was dragged kicking and screaming the rest of the way. While my omm test scores weren’t great secondary to apathy, I’m apparently pretty good at the stuff that actually has some mild benefit. The people who get really into the class are beasts though.

I’m a current med student at atsu-kcom, glad that is no longer the case here! We only do 2 hrs a week of OMM

 

[Ho0v-man]

I’m a current med student at atsu-kcom, glad that is no longer the case here! We only do 2 hrs a week of OMM

Wuuuuuut? Congrats on that! That’s a recent development because I just graduated.

 

[dontknowwhattodo]

UNECOM

 

[petomed]

any particular reason why you have such a high level of interest for it? It is rarely used in most fields

My PCP used it on me and I experienced a benefit. People travel far and wide to see our local docs that practice OMT. Whether the output is purely psychological for the patient or there is true benefit--some patients believe it relieves their pain. If that's the case, I'd prefer to administer OMT as oppose to prescribing a pain med the patient never actually picks up. Huge pain medication problem in the USA. OMT is an alternative I'd like to have in my pocket.

 

[drstranger]

I agree, energy in generally equals what you can take away from any experience. From what I understand though, any DO can practice OMT if they feel competent enough to do so. There are those fellowships you mentioned, but they delay residency and eventual practice by another year.

yes any DO can practice OMM but those that actually use it seriously in practice completed an NMM residency or took extra time to develop the skills. You will not see enough in 1-hour labs each week to be competent in anything above basic skills.

 

[petomed]

yes any DO can practice OMM but those that actually use it seriously in practice completed an NMM residency or took extra time to develop the skills. You will not see enough in 1-hour labs each week to be competent in anything above basic skills.

I’ve been wondering about this exact topic. Being licensed to practice OMT is one thing but being personally competent enough to do the manipulations is a different story. The NMM fellowship certainly introduces a ton of practice hours. Do you think simply becoming involved in an OMT-centric clinic throughout medical school could offer enough practice hours?

 

[Ho0v-man]

yes any DO can practice OMM but those that actually use it seriously in practice completed an NMM residency or took extra time to develop the skills. You will not see enough in 1-hour labs each week to be competent in anything above basic skills.

Respectfully disagree. I’ve had lots of great preceptors who use omt and none of them did the fellowship. Would only recommend NMM if it’s the ONLY thing you plan on doing.

 

[Tgfu34]

I went to KYCOM and they were super heavy on OMT and always get excited about students that are very interested in it. There's even an opportunity to apply for a year-long fellowship to stay at the school and teach the OMT courses to OMS-I and OMS-II students. In addition, all students are required to complete a dedicated OMT rotation during their third year. Most people aren't too wild about it but for the ones that are interested, it's a great place to learn.

 

[KirksvilleKrunk]

For some students it just “clicks”. I was not one of these students. Every OMM exam I found myself cramming 1-2 nights before, without any idea of jack shiii. I still comfortably passed in-house exams

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Respectfully disagree. I’ve had lots of great preceptors who use omt and none of them did the fellowship. Would only recommend NMM if it’s the ONLY thing you plan on doing.

Maybe not. NMM might dovetail with FM Sports Med quite a bit. Rehabbing surgeries and injuries, concussions, etc..It would make it a 5 year journey which might be a turn off.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

WesternU has an unhealthy obsession with it. It's definitely a hindrance to your time

 

[Doc_Ock]

WesternU has an unhealthy obsession with it. It's definitely a hindrance to your time

WesternU sucks lol

 

[MDMechEngr]

All of them. stop being in denial.

 

[Doc_Ock]

All of them. stop being in denial.

 

[paradoxic_toxic]

SOMA makes you eat, breathe, live, sleep, and s*** out OMM.

 

[chemgirl97]

Someone in administration showed me a breakdown and apparently (by credit hour) we do more omm than literally any other DO school.

Do you happen to recall what other schools were up there in OMM credit hours?

 

[Doc_Ock]

Do you happen to recall what other schools were up there in OMM credit hours?

No, sorry.