Student Doctor of the Year exemplifies D.O. philosophy

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Media Contact: Sara Plummer | Communications Coordinator | 918-561-1282 | sara.plummer@okstate.edu

Jordyn Austin has known she’s wanted to be a doctor since middle school.

“My mom is a pharmacist, my grandma was a nurse, my other grandmother was a nursing home manager. I think being around all of that sparked my interest,” she said.

And that interest in medicine only grew when she attended OSU Center for Health Sciences’ Operation Orange medical summer camp when she was in high school.

Austin, who grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, is now a third-year medical student at OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation and was recently named the 2023 OSU-COM Student Doctor of the Year.

“I was really excited. I texted all my family, I told my friends,” she said. “I feel like it’s a really big honor. OSU is such a family-oriented school, random people have congratulated me. It makes me feel special, like it’s worth it, all the hard work I’m putting in.”

In addition to classes, labs and studying, Austin has also served as an OSU-COM Ambassador, president of the Oklahoma Osteopathic Obstetrics and Gynecology Student Association and secretary for the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She’s also been a member of the Student American Academy of Osteopathy, Medical Students for Choice and Health Equity Book Club. 

Austin has been involved with several community service initiatives including fundraising for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and volunteering at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. She’s also been active in research co-authoring several peer-reviewed, published articles and posters examining female health conditions and disparities. 

She and 53 of her classmates were also part of the inaugural class at OSU-COM at the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

“It was exciting to be a part of it, to say I was in the inaugural class and be part of all the new things, but it was also challenging,” she said. “The first semester we didn’t have a building, we didn’t have second year students to look up to.”

But Austin and her classmates got to be those mentors to the second class and being part of a smaller campus means the students are closer.

“I do feel really close to them. I could talk to anyone in my class, I know them all,” she said.

Now Austin is out of the classroom and will complete more than a dozen core and elective rotations at clinics and hospitals across the state gaining hands-on, real-world experience before she graduates next year. She has already completed a rotation in obstetrics and gynecology, the specialty she is most interested in pursuing after graduation.

“I like having that human connection. I feel fortunate when patients open up and are forthcoming with what is going on in their lives. They trust you with that,” she said, and it’s part of the osteopathic philosophy. “You’re seeing the entire patient, getting to know them. It ties well with women’s health. There’s a lot of issues related to other things like stress or hormones. As a D.O. and an OBGYN, you have a more preventative approach.”

That passion for patient care is one of the reasons Austin was selected as the 2023 OSU-COM Student Doctor of the Year, said Dr. Natasha Bray, dean of OSU-COM at the Cherokee Nation.

“Jordyn has grown as a professional during her medical school career. The effort she puts into her work whether it be academics, research, leadership roles or community service is astounding,” Bray said. “Her most notable attribute is her compassionate personality that engenders comfort and trust. I know her future patients will benefit from both her zest for knowledge and her deep commitment to serve others.”