WVSOM on PBS NewsHour, DO recalls meeting with King Charles III, AOA award nominations

The osteopathic profession continues making strides thanks to the many wonderful DOs and osteopathic medical students who excel in their roles. Following are some recent professional recognitions and accomplishments the profession is currently celebrating.

WVSOM highlighted on PBS NewsHour segment focusing on the next generation of health care professionals

The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) was recently featured on the April 26, 2023, episode of PBS NewsHour, a program that airs internationally. WVSOM was featured on a segment titled “Next Generation of Doctors Prepares to Tackle Rural Health Care Shortage in West Virginia,” which was part of the broadcast’s Rural Rx series, which explores the forces shaping rural health care in the United States.

The segment noted that nearly two-thirds of communities with shortages of primary care physicians are in rural areas. As a school that strives to produce students prepared to practice in rural areas, WVSOM was chosen as a focus of the segment devoted to West Virginia. Included in the segment were interviews with current students, administrators and WVSOM alumnus.

Two current WVSOM students, Abundance Hunt, OMS III, and Travis Steerman, OMS III, were interviewed for the segment. Hunt and Steerman are both members of the WVSOM Class of 2024 and participate in the school’s Rural Health Initiative, which was designed to enhance WVSOM’s rural and underserved primary care curriculum.

Hunt recently received a Foundation Scholar award, an incentive given to students who plan to stay in West Virginia to practice after residency. Hunt said rural physicians often form bonds with their patients that extend beyond the clinical setting.

“There’s so much more to medicine than just going to the doctor, and that’s a lot to do with the trust and the relationship that they have, especially with rural physicians. They are a big part of the community. They are who people trust,” Hunt said during the segment.

Steerman was honored in 2022 for his participation in the Community Outreach and Relief Effort (CORE) program for his service to underserved communities. Steerman worked as a coal miner for 13 years and now hopes to become a psychiatrist.

“There’s a mental health crisis in West Virginia, a drug crisis in West Virginia, an addiction crisis in general in West Virginia. [It’s important to] do your part, stay here, help the communities that raised you, give back to them and help them,” Steerman said during his interview.

Other interviews were conducted with Linda Boyd, DO, WVSOM’s vice president for academic affairs and dean; Drema Hill, PhD, MSP, who oversees WVSOM’s Center for Rural and Community Health and serves as the school’s vice president for community engagement and development; John W. Nemitz, PhD, WVSOM’s president; and 2020 WVSOM graduate Adam Polinik, DO.

The entire episode of PBS NewsHour is now available to stream on the PBS website.

DO recalls working with King Charles III to advance osteopathic medicine

In 2008, John Licciardone, DO, MS, MBA, was invited to the United Kingdom to give a keynote address at a conference celebrating the tenth anniversary of the recognition of osteopathy within the National Health Service in the UK. After his address, Dr. Licciardone was given a private audience with the then-Prince of Wales, Charles.

“King Charles III has been a patron of osteopathy and helped facilitate its recognition in the UK. He was very interested in our ORC (osteopathic research center) research and the status of osteopathic medicine ‘across the pond,’” recalls Dr. Licciardone.

At that time, osteopathy was an expanding field in the UK, and on its way to becoming more recognized as an accepted practice. At the time of the conference, King Charles himself stated that, “For more than two decades I have both observed and encouraged the progress of the osteopathic profession in the UK. It is 10 years since the opening of the Statutory Register, and, as a result of that, all osteopaths are now regulated in the same way as doctors and dentists.”

Along with delivering his keynote address, Dr. Licciardone was also appointed as a consultant by the World Health Organization to assess the training and education of osteopathic physicians around the world. Dr. Licciardone is also a published researcher, having co-authored a groundbreaking study regarding osteopathic manipulative treatment for lower back pain.

Dr. Licciardone now serves as professor at The University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas. He specializes in occupational medicine and attended A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri.

AOA now accepting nominations for its Mentor of the Year and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Unification awards

The AOA is seeking nominations for the Mentor of the Year (MOTY) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Unification awards. Nominations will be accepted until June 30, 2023, and recipients will be recognized during OMED in October.

The AOA Mentor Recognition Program was developed to honor DOs who help shape the future of the osteopathic profession through their involvement with osteopathic medical students, residents, fellows and new physicians in practice. Students, DOs, AOA affiliates or any other member of the osteopathic professional family are welcome to submit nominations for the 2023 MOTY Award. Nominees must meet several key criteria, and nominators must be willing to share details about the nominee, including their role as a mentor and the life impact the mentor has made.

The DEI Unification Award will be presented to one individual and one organization that have proven exemplary leadership and commitment to promoting and advancing DEI initiatives in the osteopathic community. Nominations must include a curriculum vitae or resume; a description of how the candidate or organization has advanced DEI initiatives in the osteopathic community; and a letter of recommendation.

More information and nomination forms are available on the AOA’s MOTY Award and DEI Unification Award webpages.