Guiding Hands, Healing Hands: How Women Mentors Shape the Legacy of Osteopathic Medicine

By Anamaria Ancheta, OMS III, Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in Las Cruces

“You want to make sure to stabilize the scapula like this and secure your placement in the glenohumeral joint,” Dr. Kania said as she placed her hands over mine during my first year Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) lab. “Can you feel the difference now?” With just subtle movements, she corrected my application of Spencer’s technique and guided me through the rest of the treatment. As we both pulled back and saw the great increase in shoulder range of motion on my lab partner, I sat in amazement at the power my growing healing hands could accomplish. Little did I know that this technique would remain a common thread between us and Dr. Kania would continue to guide my hands in more ways than one.

Behind every great female physician is a group of women who not only bravely paved the way before them but also stretched out their hands to guide the next generation behind them. As the first person in my family to become a physician, I was always encouraged to seek out mentors, but often struggled to find people I could connect with. Dr. Adrienne Kania was the first person to not only support me academically but also celebrate my accomplishments and culture. Passionate about supporting her students, Dr. Kania eagerly engages with the rich diversity on our campus. From attending the annual Ramadan Iftar event to cheering me on during my speech welcoming the mayor of Las Cruces for our campus’s first celebration of National Latino Physician Day, she shows up in countless ways for her students.

My relationship with Dr. Kania bloomed during my preparation for the National A. Hollis Wolf Competition at the 2024 American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO) Convocation, a competition that highlights the benefit of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in a clinical case, and for my presentation, which included the very first technique Dr. Kania taught me, Spencer’s technique. As a first-year student competing against upperclassmen with more experience integrating OMT into clinical care plans, I was terrified, but Dr. Kania never doubted my research or abilities. For two months, Dr. Kania lovingly pushed me outside my comfort zone, enhancing my presentation and refining my public speaking skills. While I did not win the competition, it was thanks to her seeing my potential to succeed and providing guidance to grow that I joyfully pursued my passion in osteopathy and became the 2024-2025 Student American Academy of Osteopathy (SAAO) Burrell Chapter President. For the next year, she served not only as my personal mentor but chapter advisor, eagerly supporting us on our biggest project yet, the formation of our school’s OMT Educational Sessions. The sessions are an opportunity for first- and second-years to further develop their palpatory and clinical reasoning skills, inviting Burrell students, staff and faculty to supervised OMT sessions focused on specific regions of the body. This feat was only possible thanks to Dr. Kania’s advocacy to Burrell leadership and willingness to go the extra mile to stay beyond her normal work hours to accommodate students' schedules.

This month, I had the opportunity to see the difference Dr. Kania makes in boosting the field of osteopathic medicine and mentorship not only in my life but other students’. At the Burrell Medical Student Research Day, Dr. Kania shone bright as one of her student groups for the summer research program proudly accepted the second-place poster presentation award for their research on the impact of compression of the Fourth Ventricle on Parasympathetic Activity. As the research day came to a close, I was able to sit down with Dr. Kania as we reflected on the impact of female mentorship. “Mentorship is a special form of friendship and a reflection of the people who were once your own,” Dr. Kania shared, recounting the impact her own OMM professor at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Alice Shanaver, had on her own life. The biggest takeaway from that mentorship was never forgetting the humanistic aspect of medicine. “The greatest force of any OMT is not how much pressure is applied but love”. A love she conveys from day one for medical students at Burell through sharing her personal phone number during orientation, “If you ever need someone to talk to, I am here for you. I want you to know you are never alone.”

During Women in Medicine Month, I look fondly on my experience with Dr. Kania. It is through her that I have seen the power my hands have not only in healing but in providing the same guidance I once received. It is through this knowledge that, as I move forward in my training, I will always remember to extend the same hand that once was placed over mine.

About the Author

Anamaria Ancheta is a third-year medical student at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from UC San Diego in 2021 and is passionate about increasing educational and mentorship opportunities for Latinas through her role as a college mentor with MANA de San Diego. The daughter of two former farmworkers turned military veterans, Anamaria is deeply committed to expanding healthcare access in rural and underserved communities. She advocates for patients and providers as the medical student representative to the Doña Ana County Medical Society.

With her maternal family having lived in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico for over 80 years, Anamaria was inspired to serve as a New Mexico AHEC Scholar. In this role, she has conducted research on the social and structural drivers behind high cesarean section rates and adolescent pregnancies among Latinas in the U.S.–Mexico border region. As an osteopathic medical student, she believes in the healing potential of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) and has presented nationally on its role in enhancing primary care. In her free time, Anamaria enjoys capturing memories through photography and celebrating physicians’ stories in her biopic series, Faces of Family Medicine.