Anniversaries are often an opportunity to reflect – on progress made, challenges overcome, and what may lie ahead. As the College celebrates its 125th anniversary, David Kuo, DO '96, associate dean of Graduate Medical Education, has been reflecting on PCOM's legacy – and his own – with an eye toward the future.
“The core of residency training, experiential hands-on learning supplemented with didactic lectures, has not changed over the years, but the rest of it has,” Kuo reflected. “There has been an explosion of medical knowledge in the last 25 years since I was a resident, and today's residents have to know so much more information than I did.”
His hope, despite the differences from his own experience, is that he made an impact on the lives of his students. “I hope the students and residents feel that I was a good teacher and mentor and that I was an advocate for PCOM and the osteopathic profession,” he said. “I had so many great teachers over the years, and I just want to pass on my knowledge to the next generation, just like they did for me.”
Kuo is optimistic for a future where technology continues to be integrated into the doctor-patient relationship without sacrificing the importance of human connection.
“Artificial intelligence is changing medicine, and it's very exciting,” he said. “But I think we're always going to need human physicians to connect with our patients. In graduate medical education, we are always working on ways to teach cutting-edge technology and the newest evidence-based medicine to our residents, but I don't want them to forget the basics of medical care.”
“Spending time with patients, earnestly listening to them and providing the healing power of touch,” he added. “If [students] remember these things, then they can carry on the osteopathic tradition of providing high quality, compassionate, and humanistic care to the community.”
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