by Kirsten Brown

It isn’t every year that the Distinguished Service Award is awarded by the Ohio State Society of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. It’s an honor bestowed only upon a family physician who has made particularly significant contributions to osteopathic medicine, someone who exemplifies commitment to osteopathic philanthropy, strong leadership, community involvement, compassion and quality in health care. But when such a physician is nominated, the ACOFP Luncheon is the occasion to celebrate such an individual.

At the 2006 luncheon in June, as Dean Jack Brose, D.O., listened to the organization’s president describe the life-long contributions of this year’s recipient, Brose says he thought to himself, “That fellow has done a lot of the same things that I have.”

Then he heard his name announced.

“My next thought was, ‘Oh, dear, now I have to say something!’” Brose says with a laugh.

As Ohio ACOFP President William Burke, D.O., said in his speech praising Brose’s accomplishments, Brose is considered by his colleagues “a true leader of the Ohio profession who has made an indelible mark on medical education in a relatively short time-frame.”

As a student at OU-COM, Burke first met Brose in 1984, where he says Brose’s zeal for his subject matter proved to be contagious.

“We took an EKG course from him,” Burke explains. “It’s not necessarily the most exciting topic, but he made it extremely interesting and fun to learn, because of how passionate he was about it.”

By all accounts, Brose has acted as a mentor to, well, thousands of students.

“Dr. Brose has spent many years at OU-COM and has touched the lives of many, many students who have gone on to practice,” Burke says. “His enthusiasm for teaching and passion for medicine has likely had an impact on all of those individuals.”

Burke counts himself as one such individual.

“His love for family medicine was so evident in his teaching,” he adds, “a love which many of us gravitated toward and admired him for having.”

After so many years of knowing Brose, Burke says he relished the chance to present the award to his former mentor.

“It was quite an honor and very exciting for me to be able to do that,” he says. “Having had the opportunity to work with and know Jack for 22 years, it was a privilege to be able to recognize his accomplishments and his contributions to family medicine and osteopathic medicine.”

In return, Brose was equally pleased to receive the award from Burke.

“Coming from him, it was particularly gratifying getting the award and hearing him deliver the introduction, because he’s one of my heroes,” Brose says. “Dr. Burke is a shining example of our college’s success in training outstanding physicians. He’s a superior physician and the director of the successful family practice residency program at Doctors Hospital. He’s as good a graduate as one could ever wish for.”

Burke remarked that Brose seemed to be surprised, and appeared to be “truly humbled” while showing a “great deal of gratitude.”

Brose admits he was indeed caught unawares. “I had planned on leaving the convention a day early, and they told me that might not be a good idea,” he says. “I didn’t know about the award until they were reading the speech.”

He adds that the award meant a great deal to him because it came from an organization of osteopathic family physicians.

“It’s wonderful, as a family physician myself, to be recognized by my own organization,” he says.

Brose also points out that the award signifies a bond between the college and the professional osteopathic community.

“More than an award for me specifically, I think it recognizes the close relationship between the physicians around the state and OU-COM,” he says. “For that, I’m extremely grateful, because we couldn’t exist without them.”

Brose joined the ranks of the faculty at OU-COM in 1982. Since then, he has worked on a number of grants and published articles covering a medley of medical and health-care subjects, as well as a textbook. Additionally, he has served as the principal researcher for many clinical studies. In addition to all these undertakings, Brose continues to see patients in the free clinic, while also serving for a time as the medical director of community service programs.

Burke emphasized Brose’s prominence in the field as one of many reasons the dean deserves the award.

“Not only do the folks at OU-COM and the university as a whole recognize his accomplishments over these many years,” Burke says, “but he is recognized statewide by family physicians for the various contributions he has made as a teacher and as an educator, and more recently, as an administrator and as a dean.”

In total, Brose has received 25 outstanding instructor awards, including being chosen as “Family Practice Educator of the Year” by the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians in 2001. This year alone, Brose received a Commendation award from OU-COM’s Class of 2008 as well as an award for excellence as a clinical presenter from first-year Patient-Centered Continuum students.

Entering his third year as chairman of the Ohio Council of Medical School Deans, Brose periodically testifies before Ohio House of Representatives and Senate committees in his ongoing support of the medical profession and funding for medical education. Most recently, Brose served as the medical school representative on the Ohio Higher Education Funding Study Council.

Burke credits these elements of Brose’s leadership with cultivating support for osteopathic education and research in Ohio.

“He has partnered with hospital administrators, volunteer clinical faculty, foundations and others to advance the infrastructure and the environment that promotes excellence in the osteopathic medical education continuum,” Burke said in his address. “This partnership has made Ohio the leader and model for other states to emulate.”

This standard of quality sought by Brose aligns perfectly with ACOFP’s organizational purpose in promoting and preserving higher expectations in the field of family practice. Recognizing individuals who further the cause is just one of the ways the association seeks to encourage the osteopathic family physician as a professional extension of the family.

 “What a tremendously satisfying specialty it is to be in,” Brose says of family practice. “There is no specialty where you have a closer relationship with your patients. As a physician treating all family members, you almost become a part of the patient’s family. This relationship is not seen in any other specialty. It’s a very special area to be in.”