Our team of editors have put together a step by step process on how to approach the most common secondary essays. Below we dive into the “Why Osteopathic Medicine” secondary prompt.
Getting another secondary application is just a step closer to being accepted into medical school. For this particular “Why DO” secondary prompt, it is essential to convey your interest in osteopathic medicine beyond the surface-level perspective. Here are some tips to hopefully heighten your chances of acceptance:
This could be shadowing osteopathic physicians or your own experiences with physicians of whom are DOs. Regardless, the key is to not just relay these experiences but make the connection to how they relate to your own motivation to become an osteopathic physician. In doing so, try to transcend the typical “holistic approach” since taking into consideration the patient in a holistic manner is certainly something many allopathic physicians do as well.
–American Osteopathic Association
This is often a point of osteopathy that interests students due to the opportunity to use hands-on skills to benefit a patient’s structure and corresponding function. Training in osteopathic medicine allows students to build a kinesthetic database to later register dysfunction in patients alongside a multitude of tissue texture changes. Osteopathic medical students are also often excellent at interpersonal communication skills and anatomy due to the additional coursework in osteopathy early in their education. To that end, if any of these points interest you, you might discuss them in terms of how they relate to you and your own goals.
This point may seem minuscule but it is essential. Let’s compare examples below:
As you can see, the second example is certainly more specific in that it demonstrates why the hands-on aspect of osteopathic medicine interests this student. Overall, the overarching lesson here is specificity can go a long way in demonstrating your interest in osteopathic medicine.
The decision to pursue osteopathic medicine did not crystallize until after my friend’s brother helped me recover from an ankle sprain. It required years battling with a spinal deformity, coupled with working with an osteopathic physician to realize that I wholeheartedly believed in the principles of osteopathic medicine. The ideas that resonated with me were treating the patient as a whole and the opportunity to learn osteopathic medicine manipulation (OMM) that I found aligned with my own learning style and values. Osteopathic medicine allows me the opportunity to practice medicine with principles that could circumvent patients being treated for solely their symptoms, but rather as a whole entity, a personal goal of mine.
Therefore, I applied to MSUCOM because of its unique electives that expose students to OMM techniques and its strong advocacy for the underserved population through community integrated medicine and Detroit Street Care. As a believer in the benefits of osteopathic medicine, I strive to have maximal exposure to contribute to raising further awareness of osteopathic medicine and its benefits. I believe MSUCOM’s unique electives that offer students early exposure to OMM techniques as well as allow students real-time feedback will serve to improve my skills and the contribution I can make. Growing up without insurance, I am familiar with the plight of the underserved population. I have served in a federally approved center that serves the underserved population at no additional cost in NJ, and I would love to participate in the community integrated medicine and Detroit street care to provide support for those most in need of care.
I am confident that MSUCOM’s education would be the best preparation I could receive to achieve my mission of addressing the imperfections of our healthcare system in order to provide affordable care for patients and deliver holistic care that treats the whole person rather than exclusively the disease.
I want to become an osteopathic physician due to the fact that I believe medicine extends beyond temporizing solutions. It should permeate aspects of a person’s mind and body as they reciprocally affect the other. I long to practice medicine, where I am able to find a solution beyond the recovery of a patient’s body and taking into consideration the etiology. Furthermore, I want to become a physician who will build longitudinal rapport and establish a deep connection with patients. I have witnessed the immense benefit of this when patients feel a bond with their physician and strive to do similarly as an osteopathic physician myself. To that end, I am confident that CCOM will provide me with the osteopathic training necessary to curate my compassion and train me to impact patients in such a way. CCOM has established a patient-centered curriculum, which has evolved and incorporates elements of modern medicine to continuously train future physicians to practice the philosophies of osteopathic medicine. These principles ultimately align with the values I wish to possess and evolve as a medical student and future physician as well as am humbled to be considered by CCOM.
My desire to pursue osteopathic medicine began when I received OMM for an impinged shoulder. The way OMM catalyzed my body’s ability to heal when traditional anti-inflammatory medications had stopped working helped me realize there were depths and nuances to medicine that I had yet to explore. This integrated way of thinking and depth of understanding the body as a unit is something I aspire to discover as a future physician. Therefore, I feel strongly that an osteopathic medical education is an ideal fit for my goals and personality.
Remember that there are many different ways to ask “Why osteopathic medicine?” Therefore, do not be thrown off if the secondary question is some variation of the common question. The important thing is to convey your interests in osteopathic medicine as well as how your experiences and values demonstrate this interest. My biggest piece of advice? Do not overthink it and be sure to make it true to your goals and who you are as a person. Good luck!
