NSU Horizons Fall 2010

34 horizons Most would-be doctors apply to multiple medical schools in hopes of being accepted anywhere. But Steven Seltzer , D.O., an internist and health correspondent for Bay News 9 in Tampa, Florida, took a different approach. He applied to one medical school. What drew Seltzer to Nova Southeastern University, then Southeastern University of the Health Sciences, was the osteopathic medical program, which takes a more holistic approach than traditional medicine. “We had osteopathic physicians as our doctors when we moved from the northeast to Fort Lauderdale. The way those physicians treated us and the way they spoke to us made a big impact on me,” said Seltzer, who graduated in 1993, the year before the two schools merged to become Nova Southeastern University. “Osteopathic (D.O.) and allopathic (M.D.) schools produce competent physicians in both primary and specialty care,” he said. “Osteopathic training, which emphasizes patient-centered health care delivery, is as relevant today as it was when it was founded. All osteopathic physicians are cut from the same cloth when it comes to how we revere and respect each patient’s unique needs and situation. One size does not fit all, and I think osteopathic physicians are trained to think that way.” Seltzer was interested in medicine as a child. “I knew I wanted to be a doctor at a very young age,” he said. “I enjoyed science. I liked helping people. I volunteered and worked at hospitals.” Seltzer’s early jobs included working as a phleboto- mist—drawing patients’ blood anywhere in the hospital including the intensive care unit and the emergency room— and a hospital pharmacy technician, delivering medications and IV bags to the floors. After college, he took both the MCAT for medical school and DAT, the dental school en- trance exam. He completed a year of dental school at the University of Maryland before he decided that he “enjoyed it, but didn’t love it.” So he decided to start over. At Southeastern, “I was impressed that they weren’t just interested in your GPA and test scores, they were also interested in your people skills and your motivation to be a doctor. During clinical training, not only did they send us to osteopathic hospitals, but they also sent us to primarily allopathic training centers like Jackson Memorial and Mt. Sinai in Miami, as well as rural rotations where we cared for migrant workers. That gave us a special kind of exposure to the different ways to practice and deliver care. Clinical training had a holistic, hands-on approach. So you aren’t looking just at the disease, but the person. Mrs. Jones doesn’t just have heart disease. She’s Mrs. Jones, who has heart dis- ease,” he said. Seltzer completed his residency at Sun Coast Hospital in Largo, Florida, where he met another Southeastern internist, Rowena Peralta (D.O. ’94), who became his wife. Rowena Seltzer now works at Bay Pines Veterans Hospital in Bay Pines, Florida. She also was drawn to Southeastern for its focus on patients’ overall well-being. The Seltzers are enthusiastic about how NSU has changed through the years. “The NSU Osteopathic Medicine Program has continued to fulfill the mission started by Southeastern by providing a high-quality medical education,” said Steven Seltzer. “But by adding the depth of a larger university system, they have added more to the overall educational experience of the students in both diversity and technology. Clinical medicine requires not just great academics, but very strong skills in relating to people. The students are getting both at NSU.” Alumni Profile Doctor Drawn to Patient-Centered Health Care By Jodi Noding