Why become an osteopathic physician? Ask this person:

Scholarship puts Palm Bay woman on path to becoming doctor


Velma Claypool, a Brevard Community College graduate, was recently awarded the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship, the nation's largest scholarship for community college students.

She is one of three students in the state to receive the scholarship. The foundation presented scholarships to 38 students to assist them financially as they transfer to four-year colleges and universities to complete their undergraduate degrees.

Claypool, who was selected from among 676 nominees from about 438 community colleges, could receive as much as $30,000 a year.

QUESTION: When did you graduate from BCC?

ANSWER: I obtained my associate of arts degree from BCC in the fall of 2005 and worked my way through college as a licensed massage therapist.

Q: Are you attending college now?

A: I'm a student at the University of Central Florida, where I plan to earn a degree in molecular biology and microbiology.

Q: What career plans do you have now?

A: I plan to pursue a career as an osteopathic physician with a specialty in cranial osteopathy.

Q: What does an osteopathic physician do?

A: An osteopathic physician is a medical doctor who can do manual manipulation, which is a combination of muscle and tissue release and skeletal adjustment.

Q: What is the difference between a massage therapist and osteopathic physician?

A: A basic difference is that a massage therapist only moves muscle, whereas the osteopathic physician is a medical doctor who can prescribe pills, X-rays, any kind of medical tests. They can also be a surgeon.

Q: You say your specialty would be cranial osteopathy. What does that mean?

A: That's the manipulation of the skull, which could help ease back pain, neck pain or other physical problems.

Q: Why did you choose this field?

A: I want to empower people to take responsibility for their own lives and make them realize their health is in their hands.

Q: I understand you are 34 years old. Has that made your goal to become a physician more difficult?

A: Yes, it is more challenging. It is hard to stop cleaning house and running errands in order to sit down and study. It's hard to commute to Orlando every day from Palm Bay.

Q: After your UFC graduation, what next?

A: I'll attend Pikeville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kentucky, where I'll spend five years learning the craft. Once I pass all of my exams and the certifying board, I'll become an osteopathic physician.

Q: Any thoughts on receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship?

A: I'm extremely grateful, and it will help greatly. When it picks up in the fall, the scholarship money will enable me to maintain my full-time student status.

Q: Life lesson you've learned?

A: Never say never. When I was a child, my mother said, "One of my kids is going to be a doctor," and I told her to look at my sister because it wasn't going to be me.