Call it a D.O.-over.

Recent NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) graduate Thomas Lavin (D.O. ’17) switched up his medical education and says it was his best prescription for future success.

The Manhasset, N.Y., native was enrolled in the physician assistant (PA) studies program at Hofstra University when he decided that becoming a doctor was a way to realize the career in medicine he had always envisioned.

“I had a stay at home mother,” Lavin says. “In my extended family, she was the caretaker and managed the healthcare. I helped with doctor and hospital visits.”

The exposure to medical professionals opened Lavin’s mind to new ways of helping others while embracing the selfless spirit of his mother.

The decision to leave Hofstra’s PA program was also motivated by a desire to practice medicine more directly. It also meant having to retake anatomy, biology, and other coursework while pursing his D.O. degree at NYITCOM.

“I already went through all of the stress of medical education while doing my PA studies,” says Lavin. “So that part of me had already fizzled out.”

Not surprisingly, he was a standout student among his classmates since he was already familiar with many of the academic topics covered in his first few semesters at NYITCOM. “My professors always wondered why I was so far ahead,” he adds.

His outstanding work earned him the Dean’s Achievement Award for Overall Academic Excellence and—for remarkable academic work in the field of cardiology—the Philip F. Fleisher Memorial Award (named in honor of NYITCOM’s first dean) at the 36th NYITCOM Hooding Ceremony on May 22.

Lavin now serves as a resident anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “My NYITCOM experiences provided me with the resources to be a success and will provide dividends throughout my career,” he says. “I couldn’t be happier.”