Jersey Scholar Learns Country Medicine in Pine Tree State

Mike Noonan was pretty sure about the course his career would take. As an NHSC Scholar enrolled in the osteopathic program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and as someone who spent most of his life in major cities, he expected to set up shop in an urban community after graduation. But when the Student/Resident Experiences and Rotations in Community Health (SEARCH) program sent him to rural Maine, Noonan's plans weren't so clear anymore.

“SEARCH opened my eyes to the diversity of rural practice,” he says. The range of procedures he performed in Maine dwarfed what he would have most likely been exposed to in an urban setting. “I encountered everything from oral and ear problems to delivering babies.”

Noonan’s penchant for primary care was present early on. He chose osteopathic medicine because it offers a more hands-on system of therapy than allopathic medicine. While he was at the Maine clinic, Noonan was able to further develop those hands-on skills, and gain some new ones, too, under the seasoned tutelage of Dr. Adele Carroll, a resourceful country clinician. With her help, he learned the importance of medical histories, performing initial examinations, and customizing treatment and prevention plans to fit the patient‘s cultural, social, and financial circumstances.

Noonan’s learning experience was not just a one-way exchange. He was also able to pass on some osteopathic methods to his mentor.

“Dr. Carroll was especially interested in learning a hands-on method for treating children with otitis media, called the Galbreath Technique,” says Noonan*. “It simply involves massaging the mandible (jaw) area on the side of the affected ear in a way that opens up the Eustachian canal and allows accumulated fluid to drain more effectively.”

When Noonan thinks back on his experience in Maine, one of the best things he recalls is the sincere gratitude of his patients. “They were so open and friendly, engaged in the process, and attentive to advice and instruction.” Moreover, he recounts, they were happy to exchange information about home remedies, alternative medicine, and natural supplements. They helped him develop new treatment skills and, inadvertently, expanded the list of places where he would feel comfortable—even happy—to practice medicine someday.

* The Galbreath Technique is explained in detail by the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA) at: http://jaoa.org/cgi/reprint/100/10/635.

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