[I sent this out last week to UAAO members, and have since had several requests to make this available to non-members. As it is about the AOA President and is a great read for all DO students, I'll post the information here. Also, knowing that first-years haven't started receiving their DO Magazine yet, I've posted a PDF of the article in the "UAAO articles" folder on the Portal]

It is my pleasure to introduce you to the new AOA President, John A. Strosnider, DO. Dr. Strosnider is arguably one of the strongest presidents the AOA has seen in recent years. I've attached [posted on the Portal] an article from the September issue of The DO Magazine covering much of this man's outstanding qualifications, his passion for the profession, and his dedication to us, as medical students. Dr. Strosnider's theme for his Presidency is "Back to Basics." Even though he is President of the AOA and Dean/VP of the Pikeville College, Dr. Strosnider still makes time each day to arrange free treatments for members of his staff and his community who cannot otherwise afford medical care. In admissions at Pikeville, Dr. Strosnider understands that the best test scores don't always correspond to the best physicians. "There are students on our waiting list with higher grades and higher scores on the MCAT than the ones we accept." In his Presidency, Dr. Strosnider also hopes to focus on distinction that make Osteopathy so important: "There's supposed to be a difference between osteopathic physicians and allopathic physicians...DOs are not afraid to touch their patients or listen to them, and our approach to patient care gives us an edge. If every DO relied on OPP [OMM], people would remember us for our attention and kindness."

Dr. Strosnider's goals in many ways reflect our goals as your UAAO officers. We do not wish to leave you with mere techniques, or the skills to simply score better on exams. Our goal is far greater. While you won't be an Osteopathic physician until you graduate, you can make the decision to be an Osteopath starting today. That's a decision we can all be proud of.

Respectfully,

Jonathan