Dr. Tieri’s Path to the Healing Arts
Dr Tieri begrudgingly joined the work force a couple of years after finishing his undergraduate studies, and followed in his father and brothers footsteps to a career on Wall Street. For several years he pursued this path, knowing that it wasn’t right for him, but not knowing what else to do. That all changed one day while visiting his grandmother in the hospital. He watched as his grandmother’s ailing, somber face suddenly lit up when her doctor entered the room. It was at that moment that he knew he wanted to become a doctor, to help the ill to feel better, and to live a life of meaning and service.
When it came to the choice of which medical path to pursue—osteopathic (DO) or allopathic (MD)—Dr. Tieri’s initial impulse was to choose the traditional MD route. This in spite of the fact that the osteopathic philosophy sounded more holistic and eastern, which appealed to him as he had spent the better part of a decade studying the martial arts and eastern religion. Amongst other concerns with osteopathy, he didn’t know how this philosophy would apply to the practice of medicine.
But in a fateful series of events, including a major storm in New York City that thwarted his initial efforts to go to his osteopathic medical school interview, he was accepted and enrolled in osteopathic medical school. While still planning to pursue a traditional medical study, Dr. Tieri discovered the application of the holistic osteopathic philosophy in the seldom employed practice of osteopathic manipulation, especially in the even rarer subset of hands-work known as cranial osteopathy. He found his passion and his future was set, and he learned first hand the meaning of the saying; you can choose a career, but a vocation chooses you.