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Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine honors 66 new physicians

May 24, 2011 3:10 PM

PIKEVILLE, KY

With words of inspiration from one of the nation’s top doctors, the newest physicians at the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine (PCSOM) are ready to begin their residencies and internships, primarily serving in rural healthcare facilities in East Kentucky and other regions of Appalachia.

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degrees were conferred upon 66 PCSOM graduates at the East Kentucky Expo Center May 21. The commencement address was delivered by Karen J. Nichols, D.O., president of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Nichols also received an honorary Doctor of Osteopathic Education degree for her contributions in medicine and education.

“Today, we’re sending out 66 hearts dedicated to the service of human kind. But it’s okay. You’re ready,” Nichols said in her address to the Class of 2011.

“Your patients don’t care what you know, until they know that you care,” Nichols continued. “You are going to have a new last name today – D.O. Be proud of that name.”

In addition to Nichols, Pikeville College Alumnus Benny Ray Bailey of Hindman was presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Bailey, a former Kentucky state senator, wrote and sponsored the Osteopathic Scholarship Bill, a law that allows students from Kentucky to attend PCSOM without the burden of additional debt. The bill, which was funded through the coal severance tax, passed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate without a dissenting vote. It was signed into law by then Gov. Paul E. Patton, who now serves as president of Pikeville College.

The osteopathic scholarship law received special accolades from the AOA and the other osteopathic medical schools across the country. Available to all Kentucky residents, the scholarship equalizes tuition between PCSOM and state medical schools.

In presenting the honor, Patton expressed the college’s appreciation for Bailey’s service on behalf of the medical school and “his personal leadership in the Kentucky General Assembly, which has been of immeasurable assistance to so many of the medical school’s students.”

Thanking the graduates, Bailey said, “Today, as we celebrate the 11th commencement of this medical school, I can say there will be physicians in Eastern Kentucky that are the sons and daughters of coal miners, school teachers and small business people. A few years from now, when you’ve completed your residencies and you’re out working, as these old, broken down coal-blackened miners come to your office shake his or her hand and thank them for allowing you the opportunity to become a physician.”

-PC-

Del Procter of Lexington, Ky., and Emily Saul of Greenville, Miss., smile as they walk past family members during the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine commencement ceremony. Procter and Saul were among the 66 new physicians who will begin their residencies and internships, primarily serving in rural healthcare facilities in East Kentucky and other regions of Appalachia.