Osteopathic Medicine

Many of you have visited your doctor's office before and can vividly explain how visiting a doctor works. You understand the role of a physician and you trust your physician to give you the best medical advice and treatment options for whatever illness you may have. Doctors are important. They are the listeners, the caretakers, the healers, and the advisors. For many, a doctor is a doctor, but there are two distinct medical degrees that a physician may have. Either the allopathic degree (MD) or the osteopathic degree (DO) and it worthy of noting the difference between the two.

While the MD (allopathic) degree remains the post common degree a physician will obtain, the DO (osteopathic) is growing in popularity and awareness. You have likely visited a DO physician in your life and never even noticed that he or she was a DO. So why does it matter that one knows and undertands the difference? Because for many people, a lack of knowledge about their physician or a deviation from what is common can make them feel skeptical about who their physician is. In this blog post, not only will I attempt to educate you on the field of osteopathic medicine, but I will provide my thoughts and opinions on this unique and exciting medical profession.

Osteopathic Medicine is its unique medical profession which trains physicians to provide holistic, patient-centered healthcare, to be skilled in osteopathic manipulative medicine, and to emphasize preventative medicine in their medical practices. There are many myths of this profession such as "DOs are dentists", "DOs aren't real doctors," "DOs are very similar to chiropractors", "DOs couldn't get into MD schools." Osteopathic physicians are not dentists or chiropractors, they are real doctors with the same practicing rights as allopathic physicians. Some osteopathic physicians do chose osteopathic medicine because they couldn't get into an allopathic medical school but the admissions process for osteopathic medical school is not "easier." The GPA and MCAT standards are lower but applicants must convey their knowledge about the osteopathic profession through details and examples of their clinical and non clinical work associated with osteopathic medicine and its ideas and principles.

You can probably look up osteopathic medicine on google and find tons and tons of information regarding what osteopathic medicine is but I wanted to give you my opinions and perspective on this field. From my viewpoint, there are three things that define osteopathic medicine and osteopathic philosophy.

1. Holistic, patient-centered care: Osteopathic physician are specially trained to be compassionate, empathic physicians who provide holistic, patient-centered care which is the forefront of osteopathic philosophy.

2. Osteopathic manipulative medicine: a unique hands-on approach to medical treatment. OMM (short for osteopathic manipulative medicine) is a form of alternative medicine where the physician uses his/her hands and various manipulation techniques to restore the body's balance.

3. Preventative medicine: Osteopathic physicians are not the doctors who easily give out pills. They are are always exploring new and alternative treatment options for their patients. They are also likely to advise their patients on maintaining their well-being, a combination of mental, emotional, and physical health in order to prevent diseases from occurring; they implement the biopsychosocial model for healthcare.

So now that you know a little bit more about osteopathic medicine, let me share with you my perspective, opinions, and experiences with this field so far.

Osteopathic medicine isn't really all that different from allopathic medicine at all. In fact, I've heard somewhere that "Osteopathic Medicine isn't something different, it's just something more." Osteopathic physicians are trained to do more than allopathic physicians are, and in medicine more training is never bad. From my personal experiences with osteopathic medicine, I have found the patient-physician interactions to be one of the strongest qualities in osteopathic physicians.

I have shadowed both allopathic and osteopathic physicians before and I have seen the differences from a first hand perspective. The main differences comes in the approach to medicine. Osteopathic physicians are more likely to want to know about the patient's medical history, psychological history, social history (spouse, kids, employment) and are more likely to implement this knowledge into treatment options. That is not to say allopathic physicians don't do this either, some do, but osteopathic physicians are trained to approach medicine in this manner.

The approach, as I described above, is part of what is called the biopsychosocial model for medicine. Under this model, physicians try to incorporate three main factors when making a diagnosis or prescribing a treatment option: The biological factor (what is physically wrong with the patient?), psychological factor (What the patient thinks is wrong with him or her, what are their coping strategies?), and the social factor (How is this patients' illness affecting others around them?, how will the potential treatment options change this?). Some patients are simply at the doctors office to get a hold of an addictive drug, and under this model, it is very easy to identify these types of patients.

I have also seen osteopathic manipulative medicine being performed on patients by an osteopathic physician first hand. It is a very intimate approach to medicine, it allows for the physician to use his or her hands to touch, to feel, to manipulative the body. It builds trust and it shows compassion. The patients on whom this physician performed OMM on had only positive things to say. One patient cited a stark improvement in her joint mobility and a drastic reduction in her back pain after repeated OMM treatments. Although there is little evidence or research on how OMM works, it does, and it is a highly effective way to not only treat certain disorders but also to strengthen the physician-patient relationship.

So why are trust, compassion, empathy even important in a patient-physician relationship? What is even the significance of being trained to effectively display these qualities during patient visits? Let me give you an example of patient encounters of when I shadowed an allopathic medicine versus when I shadowed an osteopathic physician.

Patient Encounter 1 (Allopathic Physician): The patient visiting the allopathic internal medicine physician was taking viagra for erectile dysfunction. During the visit, the physician asked this patient if he needed any refills on his medication (in addition to other questions more directly related to his reason of visit). The patient hesitated and then said no. The physician did not further question about his medicine usage, he did not ask the patient about any other complications or how he is feeling, he did not ask about his wife, his kids, his work, or anything of that nature. He did the bare minimum in order to provide the patient with a treatment.

Patient Encounter 2 (Osteopathic Physician): A woman is visiting an osteopathic physical medicine and rehabilitation physician for her chronic back pain. The physician asks a couple questions regarding her physical, emotional, social well being and proceeds to use his hands to probe her lower back with his thumbs to check for abnormal alignments. He then asks her whether she is able to sleep at night. She said no and then proceeds to explain the other daily activities she is unable to do because of her back pain. The physician comes up with a treatment plan for her: a painkiller and a sleep aid along with spinal injections if she is interested.

The osteopathic physician's empathy, compassion, and the patients' trusting of the osteopathic physician allowed her to get more out her visit than the patient did with the allopathic physician. This is not to say that the allopathic physician is a bad physician but there was just something a little extra, something more in the patient encounter with an osteopathic physician.

Although many people don't know about osteopathic medicine, the field is growing. There are currently 19 osteopathic medical schools in the nation and more are coming. More and more students are enrolling in osteopathic medical schools. In addition, osteopathic principles such as holistic, patient-centered care are now being taught at allopathic medical schools. 

I am very excited to become an osteopathic physician and to undergo the training that I need to in order to become one. I am looking forward to implementing osteopathic principles and potentially OMM into my practice as physician. I want to create strong relationships with my patients and I want to provide compassionate, empathetic care and under the osteopathic model, I will be able to successfully do so.

Note: The information in this blog post is my original thoughts, opinions, and knowledge on osteopathic medicine. I did not use any sources or readings directly for the content of this blog post. However, my thoughts, opinions, and knowledge are a result of the extensive research and clinical work I have done on my own regarding osteopathic medicine.

If you want to learn more about osteopathic medicine, I suggest you visit these websites:

http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/about-dos/what-is-a-do/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.aacom.org/about/osteomed/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/treatment/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.do-online.org/TheDO/

Movie Review: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

Before I actually get into the substance of this blog post, I just want to remind the readers of my blog that this blog has no specific theme. I will write about whatever I feel I have opinions on and things that are relevant to my life so keep up with this blog if you are interested in knowing my thoughts on a variety of topics!

Yesterday I went to go watch the new Hindi film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone as the main actors. I went with a huge group of my extended family, including the grandparents. I was a little nervous at first watching this film with family members because of the more explicit nature of Bollywood films nowadays but I sat with my cousins so it wasn't as awkward as it could have been.

First of all, there was a lot of hype about this movie going in. I read some people's tweets and noticed that they had enjoyed the film quite a bit. Additionally, the movie review by well known Bollywood film reviewer Taran Adarsh was 4/5 stars which raised my expectations for this film. I have to say, I was in general disappointed with the film for reasons I will state in this blog post. Don't worry, I won't spill the entire film to you in this post if you haven't seen it yet!

The Pros: 

This film isn't entirely garbage. In fact, there are a lot of great things about this film that make it fresh. First and foremost, the characters the director develops and portrays in the film are great. Ranbir Kapoor's fun, free-spirited character complements very well with Deepika Padukone's more reserved or "nerdy" character, a role she doesn't usually take on. The way the director portrays Ranbir Kapoor's character (Bunny) breaking Deepika Padukone's characters' (Naina) shell and thus falling in love with her really drew me in. The dialogue between Bunny and Naina in some pivotal scenes are a huge plus for this film. Those interactions were very real and very moving. In addition, the relationship of friendship is so effectively explored in the film. there were many moments that reminded of me of some of the crazy, stupid stuff I would do with my own friends making this aspect of the film very relatable.

Another strong pro for this film is the music. I have heard a majority of the songs before watching the film and was already in love with the tracks "Ghagra", "Dilli Waali Girlfriend", "Balam Pichkari", and "Badtameez Dil". After watching the film I gained an appreciation for the other songs, "Kabira", "Shubhan Allah", and "Ilahi." Pritam has done an extraordinary job with the music. All the songs were so fitting with the film it really added the extra entertainment factor the film needed.

Finally, I found the overall message of the film to be great. The director is trying to get across a couple of simple life lessons 1. Live life in the moment 2. Life is an adventure 3. Never forget about those who love you. I know these sound so cliche but trust me, if you watch this film you will understand that the film portrays these messages very effectively.

The Cons:

While there aren't that many cons in the film, the one con really affects my entire view of this film. This con is the fact that the story and the plot is incredibly predictable and so typical of a Bollywood film. I predicted the entire plot of the film in the first 20 minutes. There is no drama, no suspense, no plot twist, nothing. The film is thus, incredibly stretched out and can easily lose the audiences' attention  There are hundreds of films out there just like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani with different characters and actors and actresses but with very very similar plots. They're all typical Bollywood love stories.

Would I still recommend watching this film? Sure, but do not expect any surprises. It is worth watching this film if you like love stories, if you like Hindi music, and if you like the actors Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone.

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is just one of the many lackluster films in Bollywood nowadays. There just doesn't seem to be anything exciting and new, it's all the same. I still anticipate the breakthrough Bollywood film that explores new issues, brings about interesting storylines, and features unsurpassed acting performances. But until then, us Bollywood film lovers must settle for films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani that simply give us something to do on Weekend nights.

I give this film a 2.5/5 stars.