UNTHSC physician to lead American Academy of Osteopathy
By Alex Branch
Kendi Hensel, DO, PhD, FAAO, has been selected President-elect of the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO), a national organization of about 9,000 physicians and students.
Dr. Hensel, a UNT Health Science Center Associate Professor in the Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, will spend one year as President-elect and assume the presidency in March 2019.
The AAO was established in 1937 to teach, advocate and research the science, art and philosophy of osteopathic medicine, emphasizing the integration of osteopathic principles, practices, and manipulative treatment in patient care.
“I love the art of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM),” Dr. Hensel said. “Because in so many other specialties you see a patient and write them a prescription or schedule them for surgery and you see them again in three months.
“With OMM, you can help them feel better or make their pain go away right now,” she said. “The AAO is filled with people who feel the same way.”
Dr. Hensel has been involved in the AAO for 18 years, serving on the Board of Trustees for eight. She was selected for the leadership position at the organization’s annual meeting in March.
Dr. Hensel is a Fellow of the American Academy of Osteopathy (FAAO), an earned degree signifying exemplary scholarship in osteopathic medicine. Dr. Hensel is one of only 85 physicians who have earned the degree since it was established in 1978.
Dr. Hensel also has served on the American Osteopathic Association’s Bureau of Osteopathic Clinical Education and Research, and is an associate editor for The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. She chairs the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine’s Education Council on Osteopathic Principles and is a member of the Osteopathic Cranial Academy and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians.
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