OU-HCOM Prof Named Surgery Mentor of the Year

Faculty member honored for excellence in teaching, humanitarianism

By Richard Heck

Nov. 5, 2009

The national Student Osteopathic Surgical Association (SOSA) honored OHIO surgeon David Drozek, D.O. (’83), as Surgery Mentor of the Year Sunday, Nov. 1. Drozek is an assistant professor of specialty medicine
at OU-HCOM.

Drozek came to the college three years ago “to influence the lives of the next generation of physicians in a positive way,” he said. “This recognition helps affirm that I’m making an impact in the lives of some students, and it’s an encouragement to get even more involved in their educational process.”

James Prueter, OMS II, who nominated Drozek for the award, cited Drozek’s dedication to helping others in the Athens area and around the world. Prior to joining the OU-HCOM faculty in 2006, Drozek, his wife (Becky), and their three children lived in Honduras as missionaries for eight years.

“Dr. Drozek has given osteopathic students not only the opportunity to succeed academically, but also, through his humanitarian medical work, an appreciation of serving those in need,” said Prueter, who is also president of the college’s Surgery and Sports Medicine Club.

In his nomination letter, Prueter noted that each year Drozek takes his family and a large group of students to study international medicine in the Central American countries of El Salvador and Honduras. In Honduras, Drozek and his students assist with surgeries in Hospital Suizo and meet with Honduran medical students, interns and residents. This program, launched last year, marks OU-HCOM’s first international surgery rotation.

“Dr. Drozek works to improve students’ cultural sensitivity, communication skills and appreciation for modern medicine,” Prueter said, and gives students the opportunity to learn about “diseases not typically seen within the United States. … He provides underserved patients with the medical care they need and deserve.”

Prueter noted that Drozek donated suture kits and surgical gowns for each member of the OU-COM Surgery and Sports Medicine Club.

Dean Jack Brose, D.O., lauded Drozek’s commitment to providing health care for those in need internationally, but also here in the United States. “Dr. Drozek is an outstanding role model for our students and an excellent surgeon,” Brose said.

Besides his own private surgical practice, Doctors Hospital in Nelsonville, and duties at OU-HCOM, Drozek also volunteers for Good Works, Inc., a homeless shelter located in Athens.

Drozek earned a bachelor’s degree from Cedarville College in Cedarville, Ohio. He completed a rotating internship and a general surgery residency, both at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, where he was chief resident in 1987 and 1988.

SOSA is a means for student members of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS) to participate in ACOS activities and governance. The purpose is to engage and represent future osteopathic surgeons through local chapters of SOSA. The organization promotes surgical education, emphasizes osteopathic principles in the practice of surgery and provides networking opportunities among medical students and osteopathic surgeons.