Art of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine – Dr. Alex King

[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5478715/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/” height=”90″ width=”450″]

OMM is a pure expression of my artistry. I want to push the limits of my own creativity in terms of healing others.

Introduction

As a recent graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM),  our next guest, Dr. Alex King, expresses how his passion of art has worked synergistically with his work healing patients utilizing osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). In the interview, Dr. King describes how his mother noticed an aptitude  for art from a very young age. He was encouraged to draw illustrations of what he saw in his imagination, including the monsters he saw in his dreams as a child. This skill has ultimately enhanced Alex’s ability to be a better physician. As Dr.  King states, “I think the creative process and being comfortable in the unknown helps me think out problems and see things outside of the box.”

Despite Dr. King’s pursuits in his medical career, he continues to run his website displaying artwork and blog posts. Click here to become grasped by his captivating pieces and learn from his posts on topics such as Osteopathic Medicine, the Mind, Body, and Spirit, and more.

In this weeks podcast, we shall take a stroll with Dr. King upon his entry into the world of medicine. We will discuss, not only how art influenced his passion for healing, but the basics on what OMM is. We also will learn about his experiences with patients while attending PCOM and his use of OMM. Please enjoy the episode and don’t forget to stop by jaewonking.com to support his work.

***

Join The Happy Doc Team! Link in to the social media, subscribe to the podcast, and join the e-mail list on the sidebar!

Facebook       Instagram      Twitter

***

Sample of the conversation:

A mom who saw and encouraged the gift

I actually had this fascination with monsters, so I would draw all of these monsters that were in my imagination, or that I thought were hiding under my bed or in my closet, I guess it was to come to terms with monsters maybe existing. And she [Dr. King’s mom] thought that was very interesting and encouraged me to draw more of them, and draw other things like her, my dad, or draw whatever I was thinking about. That really allowed me to connect with my imagination and creativity. Really, she was the one who bought me all the art materials I wanted, and really thought that I had a talent there. I’ll always be appreciative for that.

How has art influenced your work in medicine and being a student?

So I really think the creative process and being comfortable in the unknown really helps me to think out problems and think outside of the box, because in medicine a lot of times, things are very algorithmic and very calculated and (I’m comfortable with that of course) but I’m also very comfortable in exploring what’s not being seen or what is not yet discovered. So, that is kind of the exciting realm for me.

Artistry and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine?

What’s exciting for me is actually exploring the actual manual skill in terms of what I’ll be going into. OMM is just a pure expression of my artistry, just in another way.  So that’s ultimately why I chose to pursue the route that I’m going, and of course in medicine, labs will provide it’s own role in my work. However, I want to push the limits of my own creativity in terms of healing others and see where that goes from there.

For more of the conversation, listen to the audio!