Student at NYIT’s New York College of Osteopathic Medicine Makes History
Old Westbury, N.Y., April 17, 2007: Daniel Murphy, a second-year medical student at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM) of New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), is making history as the first osteopathic medical student to earn the coveted role of legislative affairs director for the American Medical Students Association (AMSA). Beginning in June, he will spend the next year on Capitol Hill lobbying some of the top national political leaders on issues impacting medical care in the United States.
After serving on the steering committee of AMSA’s AIDS Advocacy Network, Murphy decided he would apply for the one-year position, and was selected from a pool of competitive candidates from medical schools across the country. He credits his extensive experience as a community organizer in the AIDS treatment and environmental communities for giving himself an edge in the application process.
In his new AMSA role, Murphy will travel throughout the United States teaching medical students about policy advocacy. He will represent the country’s more than 48,000 osteopathic and allopathic medical students. Since accepting the health policy fellowship in February, Murphy has already started to book lunch meetings with legislators. One of his first acts will be forming a policy team and setting a legislative agenda for the year, which will include global health disparities and student debt.
“We’re going to decide what issues we can win and then go win them,” said Murphy, NYCOM’s Class of 2009 academic affairs representative. “It’s really an honor to receive this position. Previous recipients have gone on to serve as state health commissioners and congressional advisors on health policy, and to receive the Robert Woods Johnson fellowship.”
NYIT’s vice president of health sciences and medical affairs, Barbara Ross-Lee, is the first osteopath to receive the Robert Woods Johnson fellowship, a program that provides an opportunity for mid-career health professionals to gain an understanding of the health policy process. Murphy says her leadership inspired him to study at NYCOM of NYIT.
Following a nomination by his classmates, Murphy also recently received another prestigious honor—winning the Student Osteopathic Medical Association’s first International Health Award for his dedication and outstanding service to international health. Murphy, who grew up in California and now resides in Greenvale, N.Y., earned his Bachelor of Science in biology from Temple University. Once his term concludes, Murphy plans to return to NYCOM of NYIT to complete his degree and then apply for an infectious disease medicine fellowship.
NYCOM of NYIT is the only medical school in Nassau County and was the first osteopathic medical school in New York State. Chartered in 1977, NYCOM is committed to training osteopathic physicians for a lifetime of medical practice and fosters careers in primary care and the scholarly pursuit of knowledge concerning human health and disease. Based in Old Westbury, N.Y., NYCOM has one of the most diverse student medical school populations in the country and has produced more than 4,000 alumni who are practicing medicine across the nation and around the world. NYCOM of NYIT offers fellowships in anatomy, osteopathic manipulative medicine and neuroscience.
Osteopathic physicians (D.O.) undergo the same training as medical doctors, and in addition receive additional training in the musculoskeletal system. They are taught, and many utilize, a distinctive form of manual diagnosis and treatment called Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) as an adjunct to the holistic care of their patients’ musculoskeletal and somatic complaints. Osteopathic physicians diagnose and treat acute and chronic medical conditions utilizing, when indicated, medications, surgery, and OMT.
About NYIT
NYIT is the college of choice for more than 14,000 students enrolled in more than 100 specialized courses of study leading to undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in academic areas such as architecture and design; arts and sciences; education and professional services; engineering and computing sciences; health professions, behavioral, and life sciences; management; and osteopathic medicine. As a private, nonprofit, independent institution of higher learning, NYIT embraces an educational philosophy of career-oriented professional education for all qualified students and supports applications-oriented research to benefit the greater global community. Students attend classes at NYIT’s campuses in Manhattan and Long Island, as well as online and in a number of programs throughout the world. To date, more than 69,000 alumni have earned degrees at NYIT. For more information, visit www.nyit.edu.
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