A free, online course created by faculty and students at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine in collaboration with members of the University’s Division of Information Resources & Technology took the spotlight last week at a national medical conference.
The first-of-its-kind course in osteopathic medicine was developed to provide future students, potential patients and medical professionals with an introduction to the philosophy and methods of a field that embraces a holistic approach to health care. More than 1,500 people have enrolled in the massive open online course since it launched in May 2016 on Rowan Global.
Nishant Parikh, a third-year medical student at RowanSOM, and Dr. Joshua S. Coren, chair and associate professor of Family Medicine and director of Continuing Medical Education at RowanSOM, delivered a presentation on the course on Thursday at the annual joint conference of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) and the Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators (AODME). This year’s conference was held in Baltimore, Md.
The presentation, which was entitled “RowanSOM’s Innovative Approach to Educating the Public About Osteopathic Medicine,” was accepted to be delivered at the joint conference “following an extensive and rigorous assessment process by peers” and the AACOM and AODME program planning committee, according to Dr. Patrick Chadd, the director of technology services at RowanSOM.
Two media technologists with Information Resources & Technology, Stephen Seidler and Colin O’Donnell, shot and produced the video content for the self-paced course, which is split into four modules that explore the history of osteopathic medicine and provide an overview of modern manipulative medicine and its application in a clinical setting. The course, which was developed in part to fill a gap in public awareness and knowledge about osteopathic medicine, has sparked thought-provoking discussion between enrollees about osteopathic medicine and its role in health care.
The “Introduction to Osteopathic Medicine” course has also received strong praise from those who took it. More than 90 percent of survey respondents said they agreed or strongly agreed that the course materials had a positive impact on their learning experience, and 87 percent of respondents gave the course a 4- or 5-star rating.
For more information or to sign up for the free online course, visit https://www.canvas.net/browse/rowanu/courses/osteopathic-medicine.