I Am Osteopathic Medicine Indeed

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Published/Copyright: October 1, 2014

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Pulsating hands of healing fervor

Facilitate intimate releases of turgor.

Fryette's Laws, palpation, and tenets,

Translate principles into practice benevolence.

And as my heart pumps bold through veins of a sympathetic breed;

My soul screams, “I am osteopathic medicine indeed.”

What colors do I feel with this dysfunction and pain?

I feel rubor of calor, and yellow tumor of bane;

Without compunction, my art begins to usher in change.

Myofascial release and techniques of counterstrain,

Direct muscle energy until the dull pull wanes.

Then I assess once again, ensuring both sides are the same.

This is a serious matter to me, and nothing's ever done in vain.

Some say it's miraculous, others say there's no need.

I chose this profession, for the passion it bleeds.

From experience alone — in this art I believe.

A.T. Still, thank you kindly for planting your seed;

It has grown within me, and we are now a zealous breed.

I am proud, I am different, and I am visionary,

For all of my colleagues and I,

…are “osteopathic medicine indeed!”

From the Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate, Tennessee

Address correspondence to Joseph H. Johnson III, OMS II, 370 Mason Hill Rd, Pineville, KY 40977-7899. E-mail: joeyjohnsondo@gmail.com

Financial Disclosures: None reported.
Support: None reported.
Editor's Note: This poem is the first published contribution to the JAOA's newest section, SURF. In this section, the JAOA seeks to engage StUdents, Residents, and Fellows in scholarly publications. Manuscripts published in this section should be written by trainees and provide their unique perspectives. Osteopathic medical students, residents, and fellows are encouraged to share their research projects, evidence reviews, essays, and other submissions related to issues important to them.

Research-based SURF submissions should focus on treating the whole patient and may be related to student-driven community initiatives. They should be structured as original contributions but may be more narrative and less data driven than the JAOA's original contributions. These types of studies should be limited to 2000 words with no more than 2 tables or figures and 20 references. The JAOA has prepared a template (accessible at http://www.jaoa.osteopathic.org/site/misc/template.rtf) to help novice investigators document their research. All other SURF submissions should follow the submission guidelines for each of the manuscript types as noted at http://www.jaoa.org/site/misc/ifora.xhtml#artcat.

In addition, the JAOA welcomes SURF submissions that do not fit under current JAOA manuscript types; these submissions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Received: 2014-07-31

Accepted: 2014-08-19

Published Online: 2014-10-01

Published in Print: 2014-10-01

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.7556/jaoa.2014.163

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