NSU Horizons Winter 2008 - 2009

35 horizons Applicants are attracted to the medical school’s Master of Public Health degree program because they can obtain an M.P.H. degree concur- rently with their D.O. degree. “NSU has an excellent reputation throughout the entire state,” Winn said. Opportunities and Challenges The successes of NSU and other osteopathic medical schools have ben- efited the profession as a whole. “This evolving exponential growth will give us a greater voice in the de- bate surrounding the many health care crises that face our nation,” Jacobson said. “As a result, the public will come to better recognize osteopathic medi- cine as a leader in the health care reform for our nation.” Stephen Shannon, D.O., M.P.H., president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, said that D.O.s could get a boost if famous people who were successfully treated by them—such as former President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush; former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissing- er; and retired army general Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of U.S. armed forces in Desert Storm—were to promote the profession. He also said that osteopathic medicine has come a long way since its inception to achieve parity and greater integration with allopathic medicine and that having an equal voice means that D.O.s are playing a much larger role in forming health policies and in the health care system as a whole. “Osteopathic medicine has a bright future,” Shannon said. “I think osteo- pathic medicine is increasingly being rec- ognized as an ideal pathway to becoming a physician in the United States.” Success, however, might alter the trade. Winn said that increased integra- tion with allopathic medicine has made the curriculum at some osteopathic medical schools similar to those of allo- pathic schools. One reason for the blending of curricula is because it’s pos- sible for M.D.s to teach at osteopathic medical schools and vice versa. “The challenge of the osteopathic profession is to remain a distinct pro- fession,” he said. For more information, visit http:// medicine.nova.edu . n Scott Colton, Director of Medical Communications at NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, contributed to this article.