Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine/OMM Plus One Residency at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Program Director: John E. Balmer, D.O., FP/OMM, SCPOMM
Telephone: (814) 654-7334
Email: mchmeded@mch1.org

Mission:

Our mission is to train Board Certified Physicians in the subtleties of Osteopathic Principles and Practice. By doing this we further the Osteopathic Profession and preserve the foundation upon which our noble profession was founded. As such our graduates will be Clinicians, Educators and Researchers in Osteopathic Medicine to those who come after, their peers and the community at large.

Inpatient Attendings:

• John Balmer, D.O. FP/OMM, SCPOMM
• Stephany Esper, D.O. FP/OMM, SCPOMM
• Erik Esper, D.O. FP/OMM

Primary Clinic Site:

• Spartansburg Medical Center with John Balmer, D.O.

Alternate Clinic Sites:

• Jan Hendryx, D.O. NMM/OMM, Acupuncture
• Donald Hampton, D.O. SCPOMM
• Silvia Ferretti, D.O. PMNR

Affiliated Hospitals:

• Millcreek Community Hospital, Erie, PA.
• Corry Memorial Hospital, Corry, PA.

Current Call: 7am to 5pm. 2 on, 3 off - alternating every week. Weekends 2 on, 2 off.


What the Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine/OMM Plus One Program is like at LECOM:

The NMM/OMM Plus One Program at LECOM takes a unique approach to educating its Residents. Instead of established rotations the Residents fulfill their required specialty and subspecialty contact through a heavy emphasis on inpatient and outpatient consultation. The program allows more time to spend on continuity of care with both in and outpatients. This enables the Resident to trace a treatment path along the entire year for a large number of patients. The one year program really becomes a preparation for starting your own practice in this way. Time is also set aside for following your patients in different settings to continue with their care ie. Surgery, Endoscopy, Radiology, and Rehab. The Resident’s new role as an NMM specialist is integrated into their prior Residency training throughout the year.

NMM/OMM Inpatient Consultant:

Acting as an inpatient consultant on Medical, Surgical, Obstetric, Pediatric, Psychiatric, and Geriatric patients, the Resident is exposed to a large variety of patient illnesses and types. The exposure here includes ICU consults giving the Resident confidence and maturity in already developed OMM skills in a challenging setting. Preoperative and Postoperative manipulation is emphasized on our surgical patients. Our Obstetricians have made NMM/OMM consultation standard on all delivering mothers and infants. Millcreek Community Hospital’s Psychiatry Residency enables our Residents to apply OPP diagnostics and treatments to a very in need population. Additionally, the inpatient exposure includes a consultation service to the Millcreek Manor, a nursing home connected to Millcreek Community hospital. Here the Resident is exposed to an elderly population and can build skills specific to diagnosis and treatment of the aged.

NMM/OMM Outpatient Specialist:

The primary outpatient clinic site is Spartansburg Medical Center. This rural/underserved clinic sees a veritable cornucopia of patients. Dr. Balmer has made it his mission to provide medical care to this population which includes the Amish. Everything from sniffles, preventative exams, lacerations, and pain management is seen at this office. The variety of the Residents’ exposure here could not be better.

Our secondary clinic site is at Plaza 38. Many of our Erie based, outpatient consultations are seen here. Follow-up from the inpatient setting occurs here. This site also boasts Millcreek Community Hospitals G.I. Fellowship. Other specialties at the site include Acupuncture, Orthopedics and PMNR.

Osteopathic Educator:

Our Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine Residents are educators on all levels. On Wednesdays our Residents teach OPP to the MSI and MSIIs at LECOM. This includes lab table training, preparing and presenting lectures, preparing and presenting labs, writing board style test questions and administering practical examinations to the MSI and MSIIs. The OPP faculty at LECOM is a great resource for our Residents to develop their lecture style and effective communication skills to an audience, large or small. The Resident education skills are also honed in the hospital. OMM rounds are presented at Millcreek Community Hospital every Thursday. MSIII, MSIV, Interns and Residents attend. Here our Residents review patient cases and discuss the optimum and most efficient ways of delivering OMM to them. After brief discussions those attending are taken to patients on the floors for direct one-on-one training and refining of skills. This prepares students and house staff to perform OMM on their own patients under the direction of the NMM/OMM Resident.

Osteopathic Researcher:

Our research component is also through LECOM. The research center at LECOM and Ridgeway Medical Center is in use for multiple experiments associated with the Medical and Pharmacy College. There are multiple faculty members willing and able to assist a Resident through the rigors of Medical Research. The NMM Resident has the opportunity to participate in current research or engineer their own.

Cooperative Discussion:

The education of our Residents does not stop in these clinical situations. We have journal club twice per month. Here we discuss various topics surrounding Osteopathic Medicine. This may include a study from a journal, educating/researching techniques, the state of Osteopathy and its place in American medicine, international relations. These sessions are the perfect opportunity to bounce new ideas off the OPP Faculty.

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