University of New England

The College of Osteopathic Medicine participates in both discipline and systems oriented courses. Members of the Department of Family Medicine serve as faculty in the systems courses and as clinical consultants to the systems course managers. The Department is responsible for the following academic units of study:

The Division of Medical Humanities

Directed by Rev. Reuben P. Bell, D.O., M.S., M.Div., the Division of Medical Humanities deals with the psychosocial aspects of medicine. The division emphasizes medical ethics, Osteopathic philosophy, the physician-patient relationship, and the art of medical practice. By applying the humanities in the teaching of medicine, students are reminded that the practice of Osteopathic Medicine is more than diagnosis and treatment alone, but is the person-centered practice of finding the health in the patient.

Essentials of Osteopathic Medicine
Course Director: Rev. Reuben P. Bell, D.O., M.S., M.Div.

These three sequential courses introduce the philosophical principles behind the successful practice of Osteopathic Medicine. Emphasis is placed on ethical elements of the physician/patient relationship, interview and physical examination skills, health promotion, and the history and philosophy of Osteopathy. Instruction methods include lectures, small group discussions, demonstrations, practice sessions, and practical community-based experiences. The courses construct a conceptual matrix of the whole person, based on the essential relationship of structure to function in homeostatic health.

Essentials of Osteopathic Medicine I: The Patient-Doctor Relationship

The Patient-Doctor Relationship is an introduction to the foundational principles that guide the ethical treatment of our patients. The realities of professional identity and conduct are explored as we examine the physician’s unique role in the lives of our patients. Clinical issues, from disease prevention to hospice care for the dying patient, are presented in the context of the rapidly changing landscape of the American health care system. This course marks the beginning of the life-long acquisition of the clinical skills of medical history taking and the physical examination.

Essentials of Osteopathic Medicine II: Behavioral Aspects of Medicine

Building on the principles of the patient-doctor relationship, Behavioral Aspects of Medicine is an exploration of the psychological matrix in which our patients live their lives. The implications of how this internal environmental can determine and even predict the health of the individual patient are considered in some detail, as is the physiological model of the stress reaction that underlies the behavioral face of disease. The approach to the whole patient is considered in this course, from the various perspectives of genetic determination, family systems, psychological dynamics, and individual spirituality.

Essentials of Osteopathic Medicine III: The Osteopathic Paradigm

The unique therapeutic system of Osteopathy is the focus of this course: its historical origins, distinctive philosophical principles, and practical utility in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Beginning with a historical rationale for Osteopathy’s American roots, The Osteopathic Paradigm builds a practical osteopathic model of the human being in the healthy or normal state, to direct students in their understanding of the osteopathic method of disease management. The student will also learn of the osteopathic profession’s colorful history, from the early days to the present, with a sense of what the future may hold.

Experiences in Doctoring

Course Director: Rev. Reuben P. Bell, D.O., M.S., M.Div.

Experiences in Doctoring emphasizes observation and practice of the fundamental skills of patient assessment and the medical encounter. Students will focus on hands-on learning in the community and institutional setting to practice skills related to physical examination, differential diagnosis, medical presentation, and the medical record. Students will develop and demonstrate these skills in the Standardized Patient Program, the Geriatric Practicum and Clinical Skills Assessment Program (CSA). Lectures will focus on the clinical and social aspects of medicine including human behavior, differential diagnosis, end of life care, and geriatric issues. Instruction includes clinical experiences, lectures and small group sessions. The course stresses the "whole person" concept of body, mind, and spirit, with attention to the psychosocial dynamics inherent in the effective practice of osteopathic medicine. 

Family Practice Clerkship
Course Director: Bruce P. Bates, D.O.
Scheduled by the Office of Clinical Affairs and coordinated by the Director of Predoctoral education, the Core Family Practice clerkship is a hospital and/or ambulatory care experience where the student will apply the basic concepts and skills presented during the preclinical years. By basing the experience in the community setting, the student is exposed to clinical resources in a continuum of care, thus developing an awareness of the physician's role in the total health care team.

Emphasis is placed on the patient's reaction to illness, the physician patient relationship, family dynamics in illness and health, and the careful and economic use of medical therapeutics and diagnostic. Special attention is given to the patient interview, directed physical examination and patient education in the therapeutic use of the physician. In addition to training in the hospital setting, the student is likely to spend time in various clinics and offices of individual physicians. Students may schedule additional Family Medicine experiences during their elective time with the approval of the office of clinical affairs.

Intersession Colloquium
Course Director: Bruce P. Bates, DO

This course is conducted at the end of year three clinical clerkships. All students return to campus for a clinical refresher didactic series and to participate in a Comprehensive Physical Examination Exercise (CPX) with standardized patients. Concurrently the students update their status for immunizations and compliance with BCLS, HIPAA and OSHA requirements for continuing in clerkships.

The didactic sessions serve as a review of previously learned material and are divided among the disciplines of medicine including internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, orthopedics, psychiatry, medical jurisprudence, and public health. Since students take clerkships at different sequences during their third year, these updates are designed to serve as refresher presentations of key principles and objectives from the third-year experience.

The students participate in the Comprehensive Physical Examination (CPX) in which they encounter a series of standardized patients in a clinical encounter at the Clinical Skills Assessment Center. These encounters are modeled after the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiner’s Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination – Physical Examination (COMLEX-PE). Students are evaluated in four domains: the physician/patient interaction; the conduct of the interview and history taking; the performance of the physical examination related to the case; and for the medical documentation in SOAP format.

Students are required to successfully complete this course and comply with administrative compliance documentation to continue on clerkships in the fourth year.