Q:  Hi Krista, I’m considering doing an OTM fellowship next year but want to gather more information before making a decision.  I was wondering if you could tell me about some of the responsibilities an OTM fellow has and maybe your experience with it so far.  If you don’t mind, could you also tell me why you decided to become a fellow?  I’d be interested to know how you come to your decision.

A:  Thanks for your email!  I hope I can adequately address your questions; honestly it seems like the school year is “just getting started” and there are some projects & issues that are still evolving so I don’t have definitive answers for everything.  I am really enjoying the fellowship, though.  We’re expected to be in the office pretty much 8-5 every day, and there are a lot of things that keep us busy:  research projects, shadowing, Fellows Clinic, preparing for lectures, didactic sessions, video editing, and probably some other various things.  We help out with some things for other departments (like the Complete DO practicals & school physicals) and work on a lot of little projects to keep things running smoothly for the OMM department (like making sure all the computer equipment in the lab is running correctly).

When I first visited KCOM before I applied here, I had a chance to talk to a couple fellows (though I think they were anatomy fellows) and I was really impressed with the idea of spending an extra year to focus on really learning the material in a particular discipline and getting experience in a teaching position.  OMM is the reason I came to Kirksville, and the reason I chose to be a DO over MD in general, and I wanted to take this opportunity to really learn the material well and become highly proficient in it so I’m more confident and comfortable using it on rotations and in my future practice.  I really have enjoyed working with the physicians in the department and seeing their individual approaches to patient care; I enjoy working with the other fellows and I expect it to be a really rewarding year.  I’m not using the “extra” year to start a family or even be that close to my family (I have a brother in St. Louis) but I have enjoyed the change of pace between studying for boards and starting rotations.  I have been able to be involved in research projects that I wouldn’t have otherwise, and I believe that to be pretty valuable, too.

I hope that helps!