Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine - Synapsis Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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four years

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Thus we began rhJi oppHtoflon must b Mod tw ora Worth 31st a the tolanrfor yeof of d9slr»d matriculation Philadelphia College of Osteopathy APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION Applicanl-i PrtKFK Collf D.i.o ilin Applini, V„, ) No ( )t Er dependents ™... PI„Uclpl,ia Colieqe of Osleopol Haj 22, 1962 Mr. New Student 1233 lievbold Lane Philadelphia, Ponnaylvanla Dear Mr. Student! I am pleased to Inform you that your application for admlealon Into the Flret Year Claaa entering September 1962 haa been favorably acted upon by the Faculty Committee on Admissions and the Board of Dlrectora of Philadelphia College of Osteopathy. This acceptance la conditional upon the con- tinuance of our present favorable evaluation of your credentials !fou are to be congratulated upon your acceptance and upon the opportunity you now have to prepare yourself for a career of public aervlce and public trust as an osteopathic physician; and In thla I know you will find great satisfaction. My congratulations to you. We are looking forward to welcoming you In September as a student at Philadelphia College of Osteopathy. I am pleased to inform you that your application for admission into the first year class, entering in September 1962, has been favorably acted upon . . . Thus, we began four years of hard work to prepare ourselves for a career of public service and public trust as an Osteopathic Physician. The history of the class of 1966 at the Philadelphia Col- lege of Osteopathy is more than a biography of eighty-three individuals. It is also the story of a college in change. As we have grown in our four year ' s at P. CO., so, too, the college has developed from its state on that warm day in early Sep- tember 1962, when we converged on the auditorium at 48th and Spruce Streets to register for our first year of profes- sional training. P. CO. was new to us then. It was a world of new faces, new disciplines, and new concepts. We soon discovered that it was also a world of long hours of laboratory dissection, unannounced examinations, and bi-weekly oral quizzes which managed to age many of us well beyond our years. We were fearful then, afraid of failure, of not reaching our goal. We did not know if we had it in us to endure four years of this new life, and we suffered. And yet, even with all this, we still had our dreams which guided us through these first unbearably difficult weeks — dreams of success, dreams of being an Osteopathic Physician in the fullest sense. The college also had its dreams then — dreams of a new campus, new buildings, and an increased student population. You will be the first class in the new building, we were told. It will be beautiful, they said, full of new equipment and improved facilities. However, city line still only sup- ported a much repaired large rectangular sign and many blocks of green grass. Together, we hoped, and waited, and followed our rainbow. After an initial brief encounter with the clavicle, (during which time, confusion reigned supreme), we settled down to learn anatomy, anatomy, and more anatomy. We soon dis- covered that this subject consisted of a great deal more than rote memory from a dry textbook. To exist in this new world, we had to learn a new language. Before long, such words as fascia, parenchyma, arthrodial, sterno-cleido- mastoideus, and Luschka ' s joints, became integral parts of our vocabularies. These words dominated our lunch conver- sations, filled our days, and often even invaded our dreams. Dr. Allen had informed us that the first year medical student must learn 10,000 new words, and she was not wrong.

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of hard work With pride and excitement, we told our parents and friends of our new discoveries and new accomplish- ments. How proud we were of being able to list the branches of the brachial plexus or name the muscles of the forearm. However, these first few weeks were also filled with many harrowing experiences. Each morning, we slowly walked that last block to school with our eyes constantly on the auditorium windows. Were the lights on? Was today the day? The day finally came, and we had our first surprise anatomy test. The end of the first trimester was unforgettably punctuated by an anatomy practical examination. While awaiting our moment of truth, in the cramped quarters of the back rooms of the laboratory, our time was divided between efi ' orts to recall some of Dr. Cathie ' s incomparable classroom drawings and serious thought as to what we were doing here in the first place. However, anatomy was not our only course. We had other things to occupy our spare time. These included many diverse courses such as: The study of the detec- tion and properties of the sub-atomic particles and their relation to nuclear physics and modern science, all of which was disguised under the innocuous title of Radiology I. Under professors, who guided us, we learned the art of layer by layer palpation and gradu- ally, through constant practice, we became somewhat adept at diagnosing lesioned segments. Through the efforts of the Dean, we were made aware of our posi- tion in the vast panorama of medical history and were assured that the future would be bright for all of us. 10