It is November, a time when nights start to overcome daytime hours, temperatures start to drop, and the sights and sounds of the Holidays begin to surround us. As we get ready to prepare for Thanksgiving, we could think of no better time than this month to take a moment to thank an organization that many of our listeners may not even be aware of but one that does tremendous things in support of the osteopathic physician community, the Advocates for the American Osteopathic Association or AAOA. This amazing group is comprised of the spouses, partners, and significant others of osteopathic physicians and medical students. It serves as a support network for those people who are supporting osteopathic physicians throughout every stage of their training and career, as well as a fierce group of advocates for the osteopathic profession.

This month Scott and Jason sit down with immediate past president of the AAOA, Megan Maples of Colorado to discuss her journey as an advocate for her husband and children as he went from medical student in Fort Woth, Texas, to now co-owning their Still Point Osteopathic Care Center in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Megan discusses what it meant for her to serve as an advocate for the osteopathic profession, her accomplishments as the immediate past president as well as the future of the advocates under current leadership. She also talks about how other spouses and significant others can get involved in their activities. Make sure to stop by their table your next visit to OMED, DO Day on the Hill, or the AOA HOD and thank them for all they do… and maybe even buy a fun tie or brooch to support their cause.

If you are looking for more information about the Advocates or how to get involved, details can be found at their website at Advocates for the American Osteopathic Association. If you are in the Castle Rock area and are looking for osteopathic care you can find out more information about Dr. Maples and his center at Comprehensive Osteopathic Musculoskeletal Care in Castle Rock - Osteopathic Care.

Scott and Jason also want to take this time to thank all of our listeners for continuing to tune in each month and listen to our ramblings. We hope you will continue to like, subscribe, download and share the ACOPedscast with friends as we head into 2025. With the fourth Wednesday of December falling on Christmas Day this will be the last episode of 2024. We both want to wish you all a safe and Happy Holiday Season, and we will see you in January 2025. As always if you have any requests or have something you’d like to share on a future episode, contact us at pedscast@acopeds.org.

Happy Listening!

It’s the first episode since the ACOP got together in San Antonio as part of the annual AOA OMED Conference, and the ACOPedscast is celebrating a milestone as we reach our 40th episode, and what better way to commemorate all of that than with a celebratory episode with two leaders in the ACOP family. Each year at OMED, the American Osteopathic Foundation, AOF, presents a select number of awards and this year pediatricians were well represented. Fellow-in-Training Board of Trustee member Dr. MacKenzie LeMay was the recipient of the AOF/ACOP Pediatrics Resident of the Year Award, and Dr. Bob Hostoffer, a past President of the ACOP among many other roles, was awarded the prestigious AOF Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual AOF Awards Gala!

Scott and Jason were able to get both of them to sit down together in the “studio’ to discuss what it meant to them to receive this recognition from the AOF, and to talk a bit about their respective journeys to where they are now. With a great deal of reminiscing and a lot of looking forward, this month’s episode provides a double dose of inspiration for listeners in any stage of your training or career. If you need a dose of warm fuzzies to help get you through the change in weather this 40th episode of the ACOPedscast is just what the doctors ordered!

Jason and Scott are always looking for show ideas and guests who’d like to come on and share your achievements with the ACOP family. If you have an idea or would like to sit down with us, reach out at pedscast@acopeds.edu for more information! Also don’t forget to share, like, and subscribe to auto-downloads so you never miss an episode!

Happy Listening!

This month the ACOPedscast has its second “live on location” episode with Jason and Scott coming to you from the 2024 OMED Conference in San Antonio, Texas, and like the last on-location episode from DO Day on the Hill in Washington DC, the topic is how to serve as physician advocates. Jason and Scott also take advantage of being at the AOA’s largest annual gathering to pull a very special guest to the Pedscast, Sean Neal. Sean is part of the AOA Washington DC office and serves as the Vice President of Advocacy and Political Affairs for the organization.

In this episode we get a first-hand look at how the AOA advocates for our patients and our profession and how you can get involved in legislative advocacy at all levels. We also discuss the resources available to you as members of the AOA ranging from help for the novice advocate in getting in contact with your local representatives to getting prepared to run for public office yourself!

Sean explains the difference between the AOA, the American Osteopathic Information Association (AOIA), and the Osteopathic Political Action Committee (OPAC), breaking down what each arm does in relation to healthcare advocacy and how you can get involved in each. He gives us a boots-on-the-ground evaluation of the current environment on Capitol Hill.

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. Look for more episodes like this in the future as Scott and Jason sit down with other members of the AOA Policy Team to learn more about the various ways the AOA supports our profession.

See you in October!

If you are interested in learning more, links are provided below:

• AOA: osteopathic.org
• Osteopathic Advocacy Network: Osteopathic Advocacy Network - American Osteopathic Association
• AOIA/OPAC: AOIA-OPAC (osteopathicpac.org)

For the August Pedscast, Jason and Scott welcome back a frequent guest to the studio, David King, DO, FACOP. Dr. King sits on the ACOP Board of Trustees and has served as the chairperson of the CME Committee since 2021. In that role he has helped lead the ACOP in putting together our excellent Spring and Fall conferences for the past 3 years and counting. During this visit we decided to not only give you a preview of what to expect if you are joining us in-person in San Antonio or virtually for the ACOP track at OMED 2024, but also an in depth behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to go from the blank page to a full 4-day schedule of expert lectures covering hot topics in pediatrics.

If you have ever wondered what this process looks like or are looking for possible avenues to get involved in the ACOP, this episode is full of helpful hints and insights.

Interested in being a guest on the ACOPedscast or have a request or suggestion on how we can improve? Reach out to Jason and Scott at pedscast@acopeds.org.

Are you enjoying the ACOPedscast? Be sure to like and subscribe and set up for automatic downloads on whatever podcast streaming platform you choose. New episodes come out on the fourth Wednesday of each month!

Happy listening and we will be back in September!

In this month’s episode Jason and Scott welcome Kim Wolf, DO, FACOP, FAAP to the “studio” to discuss two phenomenal organizations of which she is a pivotal part. In the ongoing dedication to expanding the reach of osteopathic manipulative medicine in pediatrics, Dr. Wolf set out to create a space to both celebrate and educate the public on the efficacy of OMT in the pediatric population. Out of this endeavor came the American Academy of Pediatric Osteopathy or AAPO. Based in San Diego, this organization focuses primarily on the advancement of both clinical skills and academic research in the field of Pediatric Osteopathy. For those of you who attended the ACOP Spring 2024 Conference in Denver, CO, you may remember a sample of this work in the ACOP/AAPO joint sessions on Sports Injuries, Concussion, and OMT for the busy pediatrician which kicked off our conference.

In addition to this Dr. Wolf also co-founded an organization dedicated to building the academic catalog of osteopathic manipulative medicine, the Conference on Osteopathic Research and Knowledge, or CORK. Dr. Wolf provides details of their first conference held in June at NYIT-COM which had approximately 100 attendees sharing the work they are doing to increase the visibility of osteopathic-focused academic research. Leaving no time, she also announces the dates for their second conference to be held in Spring also at NYIT-COM!

If you are looking for inspiration or wondering if there is a place for academic exploration in osteopathic manipulative medicine, this is a perfect episode for you! (The ACOP may also make some surprise announcements in this episode as well about how to share that amazing work!!)

More information on the AAPO can be found at AAPO | The American Academy of Pediatric Osteopathy (the-promise.org) and if you are looking for information about CORK follow NYIT Osteopathic Medicine Center. You can also follow them on X/Twitter at @AcademyAapo.

With no special guests this month, Scott and Jason share the mic to discuss a very important and timely topic, especially as much of the country has been facing record high temperatures to kick off the Summer of 2024. June is the month of children putting away the schoolbooks and putting on the swimsuits and summer sports gear. While outdoor activity is vitally important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is equally as essential to ensure that children, adults, are taking part in these activities safely. From wearing proper protection on bicycles, to life vests in the water, and recognizing the signs of heat related illnesses, Scott and Jason cover a broad spectrum of ways to ensure that the whole family has fun while taking the proper precautions for a day in the sun and the heat.

The two also share some of their plans for the summer months, which includes getting to meet up with each other in person when they both attend the 2024 AOA House of Delegates meeting in Chicago! Of course, what would an ACOPedscast be if there wasn’t at least a little discussion about ways to get involved and serve your profession whether it be as part of a specialty college or in this case as a member of your state and local osteopathic organizations. Happy listening! And we will see you in July when hopefully there will be a guest to help keep these two on topic!

Don’t forget! If you have an idea for an episode of the ACOPedscast or would like to be a guest to talk about something you are working on or have recently achieved, please reach out at Pedscast@acopeds.org and let us know!

This month’s ACOPedscast is truly a special one as co-hosts Scott and Jason sit down with this year’s recipient of the ACOP Career Achievement Award, Dr. Ava Stanczak, DO, FACOP. Dr. Stanczak is a true pillar of the ACOP community having served as a preceptor, mentor, instructor, and Dean to numerous osteopathic medical students and trainees at various institutions.

Over the course of the conversation, Dr. Stanczak takes us on a journey of her storied career, from working as a respiratory therapist to make ends meet while also in medical school to eventually being called upon to found pediatric programs at developing osteopathic medical schools, and describes what has always been a driving force in her decision making both professionally and personally.

With the double feature of Dr. Stanczak and our current Watson Lecture designee in co-host Scott Cyrus, this episode is a wealth of inspiration for any listener regardless of where you are in your journey.

We are always looking for topic ideas and guests. Contact Scott and Jason at Pedscast@acopeds.org if you are interested. Be sure to like, subscribe, and set up automatic downloads on whatever platform you listen stream your podcasts on to always have the most up-to-date episodes on your computer or mobile device! Scheduled episodes out every fourth Wednesday of the month!!

With this special episode co-hosts Scott and Jason explore the importance of serving as an advocate for our profession and our patients. This episode was recorded live on location from the historic Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC, as your hosts prepared for the kickoff of the 2024 AOA DO Day on Capitol Hill legislative conference.

Both Jason and Scott see this week in DC advocating for the osteopathic profession and our patients as equally important to what we do on a daily basis as we advocate for our patients and their families every day in our clinics or hospital units. Only by advocating for the ongoing support of our profession can we continue to provide the care that we do to our patients, and it takes us building these relationships with policy makers on both the local and national level to ensure that our needs and the needs of our patients remains in the forefront of their minds.

Jason and Scott discuss their paths to becoming champions of healthcare advocacy and why these opportunities continue to recharge their batteries annually. They also discuss ways that you can get involved at any level and how you can start to create your own “advocacy portfolio” as you progress through your osteopathic medical journey, wherever you may be on that path.

Do you want to share your advocacy journey? Or do you have another special story you’d like to share with the ACOP community? We are always looking for guests to join us for our monthly podcast!! Contact Scott and Jason at Pedscast@acopeds.org to arrange a guest appearance!!