Page 10 - WesternU View - Summer 2014
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• Leadership. “Young DOs ask me, ‘How do I know if I “Being from a small, underserved area in Idaho, I feel
should lead?’ You will find that leadership COMP-Northwest is really drawing more students from
opportunities find you. Your call to serve will come – the Northwest to fulfill that need to return to the
will you recognize your mandate to be a leader?” Northwest,” he said. “The majority of students I talked to
up there plan on going back to their hometowns.
• Stewardship of the profession. “Always demonstrate
the humanism and the compassion that are the I wanted to return to a small town. Primary care is most
cornerstones of being a DO. … Be true to the conducive to the lifestyle I want.
osteopathic principles and philosophy. Live each day And in addition to that, primary care is where the
as an example of what an osteopathic physician greatest need is at this point in the medical profession.”
should be.”
COMP’s graduating class also included a second-
COMP also celebrated the graduation of the last COMP- generation COMP graduate and fourth-generation
Northwest Track class. These students spent their first osteopathic physician. Eric Sechrist, DO ’14, said his
two years at WesternU’s Pomona campus, then father, COMP alumnus Martin Sechrist, DO ’85, and
completed clinical rotations in the Pacific Northwest. mother, Diane, did not put added pressure on him about
The Northwest Track laid the foundation for the his career choice. His grandfather William (Tom) Sechrist,
development of COMP-Northwest’s Lebanon, Ore. and great-grandfather Ward Sechrist are also DOs.
campus, which will celebrate its first Commencement in “Ultimately, my parents wanted me to make that
2015.
decision on my own, not just to go to DO school because
COMP-Northwest has developed into a comfortable of family history. It’s something I wanted to do,” Eric
learning environment, said Jonathan Barrus, DO ’14, said. “It’s the best opportunity to be a caring,
who served in Lebanon as a fifth-year compassionate physician with osteopathic skills as well.”
Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine/Osteopathic Eric said his father gave him this advice: “Always listen to
Manipulative Medicine Pre-Doctoral Teaching Fellow, your patients. Always be an advocate for them. Always
and was part of the Northwest Track. He is entering a work in their best interests. Try to do the best for your
family medicine residency in Pocatello, Idaho. patients that you can.” – Rodney Tanaka & Jeff Keating
“Understand and accept your limits, but perform to those limits. Be good at what you do, be
passionate about what you do, and pass your wisdom, knowledge, and experience on to others.”
– Howard Kahn, MBA, Chief Executive Officer for L.A. Care Health Plan
8 Western University of Health Sciences
should lead?’ You will find that leadership COMP-Northwest is really drawing more students from
opportunities find you. Your call to serve will come – the Northwest to fulfill that need to return to the
will you recognize your mandate to be a leader?” Northwest,” he said. “The majority of students I talked to
up there plan on going back to their hometowns.
• Stewardship of the profession. “Always demonstrate
the humanism and the compassion that are the I wanted to return to a small town. Primary care is most
cornerstones of being a DO. … Be true to the conducive to the lifestyle I want.
osteopathic principles and philosophy. Live each day And in addition to that, primary care is where the
as an example of what an osteopathic physician greatest need is at this point in the medical profession.”
should be.”
COMP’s graduating class also included a second-
COMP also celebrated the graduation of the last COMP- generation COMP graduate and fourth-generation
Northwest Track class. These students spent their first osteopathic physician. Eric Sechrist, DO ’14, said his
two years at WesternU’s Pomona campus, then father, COMP alumnus Martin Sechrist, DO ’85, and
completed clinical rotations in the Pacific Northwest. mother, Diane, did not put added pressure on him about
The Northwest Track laid the foundation for the his career choice. His grandfather William (Tom) Sechrist,
development of COMP-Northwest’s Lebanon, Ore. and great-grandfather Ward Sechrist are also DOs.
campus, which will celebrate its first Commencement in “Ultimately, my parents wanted me to make that
2015.
decision on my own, not just to go to DO school because
COMP-Northwest has developed into a comfortable of family history. It’s something I wanted to do,” Eric
learning environment, said Jonathan Barrus, DO ’14, said. “It’s the best opportunity to be a caring,
who served in Lebanon as a fifth-year compassionate physician with osteopathic skills as well.”
Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine/Osteopathic Eric said his father gave him this advice: “Always listen to
Manipulative Medicine Pre-Doctoral Teaching Fellow, your patients. Always be an advocate for them. Always
and was part of the Northwest Track. He is entering a work in their best interests. Try to do the best for your
family medicine residency in Pocatello, Idaho. patients that you can.” – Rodney Tanaka & Jeff Keating
“Understand and accept your limits, but perform to those limits. Be good at what you do, be
passionate about what you do, and pass your wisdom, knowledge, and experience on to others.”
– Howard Kahn, MBA, Chief Executive Officer for L.A. Care Health Plan
8 Western University of Health Sciences
