A Gem Hidden in the Desert
Tyler Peterson, Nat'l Rep TUN COM
This year TUN COM proudly welcomes Robert Baker, DO as a new addition to the OMM department. Dr. Baker joins the current full and part-time OMM faculty: Claire Galin, DO, Robert Kessler, DO, Eric Toder, DO, Wesley Lockhart, DO, Elias Ptak, DO, and the program chair Paul Rennie, DO, FAAO. Dr. Baker comes from the Bronx, New York where he completed his residency program in Neuromuscularskeletal Medicine (NMM) at St. Barnabas Hospital. He specifically chose Touro University of Nevada as his new home due to the unique design of the OMM program.
TUN COM has designed its OMM program so that techniques are demonstrated at the end of mandatory lectures. The students then break out into lab for two hours where the class is divided into small groups of approximately ten students per instructor. Each week the instructors rotate groups, allowing the students to benefit from the experience and different teaching styles of each physician. During these labs the instructors take charge of each group independently where he or she re-demonstrates the techniques and answers any questions the students have before breaking up into pairs to practice. The instructors then walk around within their respective groups to assist with questions and give advice. Continuously throughout the two hour lab the physicians use hand-over-hand techniques to help solidify each OMM technique with the students. Dr. Baker says that in this model, “…during lab all of the faculty get to help 100% of the time. I really enjoy this setup.”
The physicians take all of the time that is needed with each student to solidify the concepts and skills needed to learn each OMM technique. ZhanTao Yang, OMS II, and president of SAAO, says of the instructors that, “They really care about helping students find that ‘ah-ha!’ moment, when their minds and fingers are thinking as one, so that the lessons they learn will stay with them throughout their careers...”
Dr. Robert Baker picked up his entire life and moved from the East Coast to the complete opposite end of the continent to where he found this gem hidden in the desert sands of Henderson, Nevada. There are unique designs of OMM programs at every COM institution. After speaking with Dr. Baker, it is apparent that at TUN COM, we have something special that fits just right for him and his teaching style. With the new addition of Dr. Baker to our esteemed team of OMM faculty, we look forward to the continued evolution of our OMM program here at Touro University of Nevada, College of Osteopathic Medicine.bsite.com
10