Five Osteopathic Physicians with the Coolest Jobs
Published April 27, 2020
Choose DO
The field of osteopathic medicine is ideal for those looking for a wide range of career possibilities. Osteopathic physicians can choose any specialty, prescribe drugs, perform surgeries, and practice medicine anywhere in the United States. While there are many DOs working in traditional health-care settings, quite a few work for Homeland Security, NASA, and the CDC. Here are five doctors who have some of the coolest jobs in the country.
Meet JD Polk, DO
Chief Health and Medical Officer of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
As NASA's Chief Health and Medical Officer, Dr. Polk is responsible for the oversight of all health and medical activities at America's foremost space exploration administration. Dr. Polk is well-published in emergency medicine, disaster medicine, space medicine, and medical management.
He has received numerous awards and commendations, including citations from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the White House Medical Unit, the Association of Air Medical Services, and the U.S. Air Force. He's received the NASA Center Director’s Commendation, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the National Security and International Affairs Medal, and the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal.
Meet Jen Caudle, DO
One of the most visible physicians in America
"Dr. Jen" is a board-certified family medicine physician and Associate Professor in Family Medicine at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. You've probably seen her as a regular on-air health expert for local and national news networks, including The TODAY Show, The Dr. Oz Show, CNN, FOX News, the Rachael Ray Show, the Steve Harvey Show, Fox 29 Philadelphia News, PBS, and many others.
Her health articles have been published in The Daily Beast, CNN.com/Opinion, DoctorOz.com, ABCNews.com, and she has often been quoted by USA Today, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Prevention, Shape, HuffPost, Reader's Digest, Good Housekeeping, Men’s Health, and others. She's also a spokesperson for the American Osteopathic Association, and a radio/video host for ReachMD.
Surgeon, academic, and Founder and Director of the Homeland Security Mobile Trauma Unit
Dr. Miglietta is the Founder and Director of the Homeland Security Mobile Trauma Unit, which provides medical care to dignitaries and federal agents along with the United States Secret Service and Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service. He is an Honorary Police Surgeon, providing expert trauma consultation for the New York City Police Department.
From 2004 to 2014, he served as the Physician Advisor to the U.S. Secret Service. He continues to support various federal agencies with medical support. Dr. Miglietta has spearheaded medical education in northern New Jersey by creating 11 residency programs.
He is actively involved in educating medical students and residents, and served as the Director of Medical Education and Program Director for the Hackensack Meridian General Surgery Residency Program. He has authored and co-authored more than thirty peer-reviewed publications and is board-certified in surgery and critical care.
Meet Richard Scheuring, DO
Constellation Lead for NASA's Medical Operations Integration
After the September 11 attacks, Dr. Scheuring signed up to be a U.S. Army Reserve flight surgeon. He subsequently served in Iraq as a battalion flight surgeon for the 171st General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB) in Camp Taji, just north of Baghdad, where he logged over 100 hours of combat flying.
Training for this was the final puzzle piece he needed to reach his dream job, serving as a NASA flight surgeon at JSC. As of 2012, he has been serving as the team lead for musculoskeletal-sports medicine and rehabilitation at NASA. Dr. Scheuring's work is critical to ensuring astronauts’ health and safety.
Meet Lauri Hicks, DO
Director of the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Office of Antibiotic Stewardship
Dr. Hicks is a medical epidemiologist in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She is also a Captain in the US Public Health Service.
Dr. Hicks attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency and chief medicine residency at the University of Connecticut. She then held a two-year position as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at CDC. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship in infectious diseases at Brown University, Dr. Hicks returned to CDC to lead respiratory outbreak response and the Legionnaires’ disease program.
In 2008, she became the medical director for the “Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work” program, which aims to educate health-care providers and the public about appropriate antibiotic use. She leads research on antibiotic use and resistance trends, and serves as the campaign spokesperson. Globally, she has fostered CDC, European Union, and World Health Organization collaboration, leading to joint antibiotic awareness observances in several countries across the globe.
Dr. Hicks has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, and has guided national antibiotic stewardship policy and guideline development. In 2015, she became the Director of CDC’s new Office of Antibiotic Stewardship in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion to improve the integration of stewardship across the health-care spectrum.