OSU-COM clinical professor Leslie Ching named AAO Journal editor in chief

Friday, June 30, 2023

Media Contact: Sara Plummer | Communications Coordinator | 918-568-1282 | sara.plummer@okstate.edu

Dr. Leslie Ching, clinical associate professor at Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, has been named editor in chief of the American Academy of Osteopathy Journal.

The AAO Journal is distributed quarterly to more than 7,500 osteopathic physicians, residents, medical students, colleges, hospitals and organizations. 

“The medical field is constantly changing with new diagnoses, genetic tests, medications, procedures and surgical approaches. Our understanding of human anatomy and physiology is also constantly changing,” Ching said. “Reading journals and research is helpful to change your views of diagnosis and management.” 

Ching has been a physician with OSU Medicine and a clinical professor at OSU-COM for more than eight years. She has also been involved with AAO since she was a medical student and served on several of the journal’s committees and the Board of Governors, as well as reviewing and judging research posters. 

The AAO is the major association in America for osteopathic manipulative medicine, so Ching said she’s proud to be associated with the journal, as well as surprised and honored to be asked to serve as editor in chief.

In this new role, she will oversee the vision and scope of the journal. Working with AAO staff, she will review all submitted articles and send them to peer reviewers before deciding what to include in each issue, as well as encourage new journal submissions.

“I want to incorporate more pieces to reflect the experiences of physicians, residents and students who are interested in practicing OMM. I’d like to include historical perspectives to encourage asking big questions about osteopathy and medicine in general. What is the role of osteopathic medicine in the 21st century,” she said.

Much of osteopathic manipulative medicine is centered around the interaction between the physician and patient, Ching said, and therefore is truly patient-centered and individualized.

“Research is important but trying to practice the holistic approach to caring for patients is equally important,” she said. “I feel the heart of medicine and healing is still the interpersonal relationship between the physician and patient. If you don’t have that, then you may get physical healing, but not healing of the mind and spirit.”

This approach to medicine is something she has found at OSU, and she enjoys teaching the osteopathic philosophy to medical students and residents.

“I’ve done my medical training all across the U.S., and I think Oklahoma State University is one of the best osteopathic training sites in the country and is only getting better,” she said, and by serving as editor in chief of the AAO Journal, she hopes to bring more awareness to OSU-COM and its mission. “I’m really proud of working at OSU because of its demonstrated commitment to osteopathic medicine, rural medicine and tribal medicine.” 

Ching grew up in rural Hawaii and said there are a lot of similarities between rural Oklahoma and where she grew up— so much so that she feels at home in Tulsa and with OSU Medicine. 

“I’m lucky to have a second family with OSU. It’s such a unique experience in OMM to be able to work closely with students throughout their four years of medical school, interact with them in residency and then when they are in practice,” she said. “It’s extremely fulfilling as an educator to watch medical students develop and become pillars of the medical community.”

Ching attended Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her family medicine residency at Doctors Hospital Family Practice in Columbus, Ohio before coming to Tulsa for NMM/OMM fellowing at OSU Medicine. 

She is board certified in Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine/OMM and Family Medicine and OMM.