IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine founding dean Miko Rose is a member of the editorial board and a frequent contributor to The DO, published by the American Osteopathic Association, which provides news and features about osteopathic medicine. Her columns are below.
Compassion in medicine: It’s not just the right thing to do—it also makes the most cents
When asked to write about compassion in medicine as a business decision, this patient’s case immediately came to mind. When he reached out to me years later, this patient described finally feeling heard after days of intense frustration and loneliness. When I invited him to speak more slowly, I also explained the perspective of nurses and physicians—that we really are just all doing the best that we can with what we have.
Compassion in medicine: It’s not just the right thing to do—it also makes the most cents
The DO, April 30, 2024
Strategies for planning audition rotations
The springtime for third-year medical students is a huge turning point as it is the time when they begin planning their audition rotations in their specialty of interest. However, with so many programs and different rotation dates, the process of planning fourth-year rotations can be challenging. Miko Rose, DO, founding dean for Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine, has served as an attending for multiple COMs and a career advisor for hundreds of medical students. She teamed up with neurology resident Jane Dalisay, DO, to prepare this article. Below, Dr. Rose and Dr. Dalisay share their joint advice and experiences scheduling audition rotations.
Strategies for planning audition rotations
The DO, April 16, 2024
Celebrating National Doctors’ Day: A gift guide by medical specialty
To come up with these gift ideas, I drew from research on the personality traits and common characteristics among those in various medical specialties. Unfortunately, we were not able to share gifts for every specialty—please share gift ideas for your specialty in the comments below! If you’re still pondering your specialty, you may appreciate this article on identifying the fit and flow of your specialty.
Celebrating National Doctors’ Day: A gift guide by medical specialty
The DO, March 1, 2024
From chaos to simplicity: The waiting game before Match Day
During the initial stages of COVID quarantine and lockdowns, one silver-lining theme emerged: Less is more. Many of us learned how much we were doing that we did not need to do—things like commuting in traffic and overspending. So much came to a screeching halt within a matter of days. And while many patients, friends, families and colleagues suffered significant challenges, we were all forced to slow down and focus on what matters most, even those who continued working. This new, stripped-down world existed for many months. The gift of being in this space was an opportunity to see what truly mattered. For many of us in medicine, relationships with family and friends became more important. We were finally given the time to focus on what mattered most. Now, we are seeing our lives start to “creep” back to how they were. Many have returned to working in-person, commuting, and getting back into states of busyness and continued “doing.” For the Match, balancing the flurry of activities for residency interviews with scheduling and rotations can be overwhelming, even if most interviews are still virtual.
From chaos to simplicity: The waiting game before Match Day
The DO, Feb. 2, 2024
How to develop more clerkships for osteopathic medical students
One of my primary roles as an administrator in an osteopathic medical school is to find and develop clinical training opportunities for students. Clinical clerkships offer students hands-on training, and direct patient care experiences that cannot be taught in textbooks or classrooms. Throughout this article, I will share some insider’s tips and tricks on which approaches have historically demonstrated the highest yield. I can also share a few lessons I’ve learned along the way.
How to develop more clerkships for osteopathic medical students
The DO, Jan. 31, 2024
The ‘window mirror’ approach to patient care: What we can learn from it
There were so many moments leading up to this event, and yet no single episode stood out as the inciting issue. I knew I was in full-blown burnout from years of working as a psychiatrist for the local public health department. I was one of the few psychiatric clinicians accepting any (or no) insurance for many miles. I had a waitlist for new patients that had extended out to six months for new evaluations.
The ‘window mirror’ approach to patient care: What we can learn from it
The DO, Jan. 2, 2024
To solve the problem of too few clinical rotation sites, leaders in medicine consider business solutions
I remember the first time I noticed it. It was like something huge had just happened and no one seemed to know, all before COVID had even hit. I was eating my lunch in a virtual department meeting, going through the cursory division reports. When we came to medical student rotations, the director noted, “We have fewer rotations for our medical students than we used to have. [Another] school is now using some of the medical student rotations at the X hospital.”
The DO, Nov. 2, 2023
‘Physician’ as identity vs. a position in the workforce: What generational differences may teach us all
“You know, Dr. Rose, I just want to have work-life balance and enough income to support my family. I don’t care which specialty. I want to do something I enjoy, but I mainly want to earn enough to support the things outside of work that are important to me. Help me get into a specialty where I can do that; otherwise, I don’t care.” An anonymous OMS IV recently stated this to me, and I was floored. After decades of life coaching, therapy, professional development and meditation practice, a 20-something year-old medical student had put me in my place. She had no idea. I had created entire curricula on personal affinity, fit and flow for specialty and alignment with professional goals, all coupled with self-efficacy and wellness training. None of this mattered.
‘Physician’ as identity vs. a position in the workforce: What generational differences may teach us all
The DO, Nov. 1, 2023
Shots heard across the nation: Taking steps to avert mass shootings in our schools
On Feb. 13, 2023, the shots fired on the Michigan State University campus were heard across the country. Three students were killed and five were injured. The MSU shooting is the 12th incident in which a lone gunman killed three or more people on a college campus and was the first active shooter incident to hit a campus university of an osteopathic medical school. For days, weeks and months following the shooting, faculty and community counselors held listening sessions for students, administrators, faculty and staff. As a faculty psychiatrist and group leader of wellness programming, I was asked to lead a health colleges faculty and staff listening session, as well as co-facilitate a listening session for medical students. University physicians, staff, resident physicians and community counselors gathered to provide emergency mental health support for students and others directly impacted by the shooting.
Shots heard across the nation: Taking steps to avert mass shootings in our schools
The DO, Sept. 20, 2023
Preparing for ERAS: What’s new for the 2023-2024 residency application cycle
This process can be incredibly stressful, and from what I have seen throughout the application process (as a former applicant and a current part-time attending, career advisor and mentor to students), the most important aspect of success in applying to residency is being able to maintain as much of a sense of calm amid the chaos as possible.
Preparing for ERAS: What’s new for the 2023-2024 residency application cycle
The DO, Sept. 1, 2023
Developing a growth mindset: Are you asking the right questions?
I had spent years learning everything there was to know about psychiatric care for underserved patients but had learned nothing about managing my time or how to stay upright on rushed days. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t feeling great about my worth as a clinician that morning. However, my fall became a clarifying moment that led me to shift my attitude about time management, self-care and boundaries in medicine. I also recommitted to developing a growth mindset. If you are a new resident physician, developing a growth mindset can help you enormously during this part of your training to become a fully licensed physician.
Developing a growth mindset: Are you asking the right questions?
The DO, Aug. 4, 2023
Breaking down the social media differences across the generations
Since then, social media has advanced much more, and physicians can now even obtain continuing medical education (CME) credit through some institutions by following medical education topics on social media, and medical school classes and students use Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for connecting and posting events.
Breaking down the social media differences across the generations
The DO, Aug. 4, 2023
Three keys to crushing audition rotations: Notes from inside ‘the room where it happens’
If you are an osteopathic medical student and you are so nervous about audition rotations you are hardly able to steady your gaze enough to even read these words, let me assure you that I have been right where you are. In fact, just about every reader who is perusing this article besides a terrified about-to-be-on-rotation medical student has been there; preceptors, fourth years and residency program directors alike.
Three keys to crushing audition rotations: Notes from inside ‘the room where it happens’
The DO, July 5, 2024
As top-notch medical schools are putting less stock in national ranking slots, what does this mean to the newer generation of DO students?
Since January, medical schools across the country have challenged official national ranking pools, refusing to release data on standardized tests to the national ranking review boards. The 2023-2024 U.S. News Best Med School lists regarding research and primary care were released on May 11. In looking at motivations behind these withdrawals, one of the primary critiques of national ranking systems is the focus on standardized testing, which has often been linked to bias against diversity and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
As top-notch medical schools are putting less stock in national ranking slots, what does this mean to the newer generation of DO students?
The DO, June 21, 2023
Finding fit and flow: How to choose a residency path
The concept of “fit and flow” has been longstanding in our profession since its inception. Taken from A.T. Still’s autobiography, “the rule of the artery is absolute, universal and it must not be obstructed.” Flow is often defined as steady movement along a fluid trajectory without resistance. Similarly, from a psychiatric perspective, “flow” is described as a peak mental state in which one is fully immersed, focused and full of energy.
Finding fit and flow: How to choose a residency path
The DO, May 1, 2023