Looking Back…At Secom

By Arnold Melnick

Looking Backat SECOM is the culmination of a long series of human interest columns with that title by Dr. Melnick, published in the schools magazine COM Outlook. In addition, Dr. Melnick has added some personal insights about why and how this osteopathic medical school came about. And he presents some views of the earliest days of its founding.

A major portion of this work is the re-publishing of those original columns, and he has added a brief overview of the eventual transition into todays Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Melnick includes recognition of the many osteopathic physicians and friends of the school who were part of the founding effort.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468554755

Arnold Melnick

Arnold Melnick, DO, had a long career in osteopathic medicine and is a prolific author. Following 30 years of private pediatric practice, he became Founding Dean of the Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine. Ultimately, he retired as Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost of the Health Professions Division of Nova Southeastern University and as Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health. Active in many organizations, he was president of 13 professional medical groups, received five Fellowship degrees and was honored with 18 distinguished service awards. He has had 12 books published and more than 130 professional articles. From his vantage points, he has been able to overview the healing professions in all its aspects, including medical risks. He reviews them with keen analysis.

Book preview

Looking Back…

. . . at SECOM

a personal history of

Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine

(including an anthology of columns from COM Outlook)

Arnold Melnick, DO, MSc, DHL (Hon.), FACOP

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© 2012 by Arnold Melnick, DO. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/22/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-5474-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-5475-5 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012903129

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

HOW SECOM

CAME ABOUT

Morton Terry, DO, MSc, FACOI

Passion, Foresight Define

Dr. Morton Terry

Arnold Melnick, DO, MSc,

DHL (Hon.), FACOP

No Regrets: Dr. Arnold Melnick Reflects on a Life Rife

with Accomplishment

ORGANIZATION

OF SECOM

. . . at Graduation

. . . at the Little Acorn

. . . at the Birth of AHEC

. . . at Getting an Admissions Director

. . . at Faculty Foibles

. . . at the Very Beginning

. . . at How I Got Involved

. . . at Acceptance and Recognition

. . . at Our Several Homes

. . . at the Merger

. . . at Our New Home

. . . at Our Bookstores

. . . at Some Early Deans

. . . at Where We Went

. . . at Our Libraries

. . . at Our First Board

. . . at Some Early Names

. . . at Some Applicants

. . . at Rural Medicine

. . . at Internal Medicine

. . . at Communications

. . . at Our Department Heads

. . . at Early Administrators

THE BLOSSOMING

OF SECOM

ORIGINAL LEADERS

. . . and in Closing

Historical Note

SECOM

(Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine)

was established in 1979,

the first college of osteopathic medicine

in southeastern United States

Through tremendous growth and merger,

it has become

NSU-COM

(Nova Southeastern University

College of Osteopathic Medicine)

OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

Pediatrics: Some Uncommon Views on Some

Common Problems

Professionally Speaking: Public Speaking for

Health Professionals

Oratoria Para Professionals de la Salud

Medical Writing 101: A Primer for Health Professionals

Parenthood: Laugh and Understand Your Child

Ethical Problems in Pediatrics: A Dozen Dilemmas

Effective Medical Communication

An Anthology of Columns

Foreword

By Anthony J. Silvagni, D.O., Pharm.D., M.Sc, FACOFP dist.

Dean, College of Osteopathic Medicine

Nova Southeastern University

When I was invited by Arnold Melnick, D.O., M.Sc., the founding dean of our great college, to write the forward for his book Looking Back . . . at SECOM, I was incredibly honored to be offered the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful historical treatise in some small way.

There’s a famous quote that states, You don’t know where you’re going until you know where you have been, which is a precept I wholeheartedly embrace. I’ve had the distinct pleasure of serving as dean of Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) since 1998, but there is a rich and fascinating history that predates my arrival by about two decades.

As you will read in the pages of this affectionately written book, the creation of Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine (SECOM), the precursor to NSU-COM, was due to the visionary efforts of a one-man dynamo named Morton Terry, D.O., who worked tirelessly to establish the first college of osteopathic medicine in the southeastern United States for many years before eventually achieving success in 1979.

It certainly wasn’t an effortless process, especially in the early days. While he had the commitments from the osteopathic hospital that existed in the area at the time, he also needed the M.D. hospitals. Because of Dr. Terry’s esteemed reputation and dogged determination, he was eventually able to establish affiliations and commitments from M.D. institutions in the South Florida area. This was a vital component that ensured he would have the requisite number of adjunct and clinical faculty members that could provide the students with the highest quality education possible.

Dr. Terry had a dream, but he was also wise enough to realize he needed to surround himself with other visionary thinkers who could help make his dream a reality. It’s important to remember that the college was founded and nurtured through the supreme sacrifice and dedication of those early administrators, such as Dr. Melnick, Daniel Finkelstein, D.O., and the faculty members who helped construct the rock-solid foundation that allowed SECOM, and later NSU-COM, to become the esteemed institution it is today.

There’s another significant individual who needs to be recognized for his efforts on behalf of the college and the osteopathic medical profession in Florida: Fred Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D., who serves as chancellor of NSU’s Health Professions Division. In the years prior to the college being established, osteopathic medicine was still struggling to be fully recognized by the Florida Legislature. During his 20-year tenure as a Florida House of Representatives member, Dr. Lippman advocated relentlessly to ensure legislative parity for the profession by always referencing Chapter 459, which relates to osteopathic physicians. In fact, because he was such a vigilant advocate for the profession, he became known as the ‘459 amendment legislator’ by his fellow Florida House members.

It’s important for all of us who are lucky enough to work at NSU-COM to never forget the personal passion, professional commitment, and financial investment that was required to get us to where we are today. Thanks to these pioneers, patients all over the country—and the world—are benefitting from the excellent health care provided by the skilled graduates of our distinguished college.

By writing this book, Dr. Melnick has provided us with an opportunity to truly reflect on and appreciate all the supreme efforts that helped create not only an outstanding college of osteopathic medicine, but an exceptional health professions complex comprising six other standout schools. This labor of love will endure as a testament to what can be done in this country if you truly believe and are willing to commit yourself fully to creating an educational institution of excellence.

If we preserve the memory of Dr. Terry and the numerous other pioneers that helped nurture SECOM, then we will be motivated each and every year to make the college the best it can be—and carry on the fine tradition established by those who came before us.

I want to wholeheartedly thank Dr. Melnick, whose affection for the college inspired him to document and make available this very moving historical story of a man, his dream, and the esteemed institution that developed from extremely humble beginnings.

Preface

This will not be a Columbus-discovered-America-in-1492 account—a strict historical and fact-filled story. It will be SECOM from a personal view about its conception and birth and the human side of its success, primarily looking at its beginning years with a glance at later years.

The factual part of this book will follow correctly the history of SECOM, although maybe not in sequential order or totally accurate in timing and dates. But it is here and correct.

This is primarily the life of SECOM, plus a little about where SECOM went when it no longer was just SECOM. In addition to its origins, I have included a brief view into its early organization. Because this is mostly about human beings—and therefore personal—this book includes an anthology of my Looking Back columns that were published in COM Outlook, the official publication of the College of Osteopathic Medicine. These articles give insight into the personal side of SECOM history.

Following this section is a brief history of SECOM as it soared from