Osteopathic Medicine: A Commitment to Rural Medicine

Lewisburg, WV – For most students, holiday breaks mean rest and relaxation, travel and catching up with friends and family.

However, a number of osteopathic medical students chose to forgo parts of their spring, winter and even summer breaks to help others. From assisting in ongoing relief efforts in the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast to providing medical supplies and services in Third World countries, future osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) are coming to the aid of those in need and in doing so, carrying on the D.O. tradition of bringing heath care to much needed areas.

Earlier this month, 12 students and two physicians from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) in Lewisburg, which is also committed to educating D.O.s to serve in rural areas, spent their spring break in two remote towns in Guatemala serving in medical clinics and providing eyeglasses to the locals on a mission trip through the Christian Medical and Dental Association of WVSOM. “True to osteopathic principles, the purpose of this trip is to serve the body, mind and spiritual needs of the people in this region,” said Andy Battaglia, second-year student at WVSOM.

Twenty-six students from the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) in Blacksburg, VA, which was founded on the mission to prepare primary care physicians to serve rural and medically underserved areas, will travel to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in late April to provide medical attention in four communities lacking physicians.

“We visited in November to determine if this would be a viable location for a permanent site for VCOM rotations and saw this was a region with great need,” said Joseph D. Cacioppo, D.O., Discipline Chair of Medical Missions at VCOM. “Our program stems off the desire to create ongoing medical care in regions such as Tegucigalpa and train altruistic and compassionate physicians who are capable of serving in the areas of the world with the greatest needs.” VCOM students paid for the trip themselves and will take with them over $200,000 worth of donated medication.

While most of their classmates were enjoying winter break at home, 12 students from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) in Erie, Pa., woke up on Christmas day in Ngeta Village in Kenya. The students paid their own ways to travel to Kenya to help deliver medical care to the villagers. They were able to distribute essential vitamins, over 600 pounds of shoes and clothing and 40 pairs of eyeglasses.

According to Vic Awuor, second-year medical student at LECOM and the trips’ organizer, “it was a great opportunity to become culturally sensitive, gain insight to diseases not often seen in the United States, increase awareness of osteopathic medicine and work towards establishing ongoing medical treatment in Kenya.”

This past December more than 70 volunteers from the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) helped provide relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina in Long Beach, MS.

Students spent long hours cleaning up homes left in ruin and providing supplies, clothes and food to those in need. A number of students also volunteered at a makeshift clinic and pharmacy.

“Our student volunteers combined hard work and sincere empathy to provide assistance and comfort to those in need,” said Alan Shahtaji, a SOMA board member and second-year student at Midwestern University/Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove, IL.

The work is not over yet for many of these schools. VCOM is planning to do work in southwestern Virginia in late spring and has planned a mission trip to India in August and SOMA is exploring opportunities for their next volunteer project. Despite the hard work and expenses, Dr. Cacioppo of VCOM explained the draw of these mission trips.

“Students are given the opportunity to provide hands on services, which is something that they usually would not experience until later in their careers,” he said. “These trips help them develop a sense of compassion for the less fortunate and become better doctors.”

The American Osteopathic Association proudly represents its professional family of more than 56,000 osteopathic physicians (D.O.s); promotes public health; encourages scientific research; serves as the primary certifying body for D.O.s; is the accrediting agency for osteopathic medical colleges; and has federal authority to accredit hospitals and other health care facilities. More information on D.O.s/osteopathic medicine can be found at www.osteopathic.org.