[Link]Dr. David C. Mason, one of the most respected and impactful practitioners at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth has been selected as the 2024 Educator of the Year by the American Osteopathic Foundation.

Mason will receive the award at the AOF's 2024 Honors Gala in San Antonio in conjunction with the American Osteopathic Association's OMED conference on Sept. 20.

Established in 1997, the AOF's Educator of the Year award recognizes the role educators play in the development of osteopathic medical students, residents and the profession.

The designation Educator of the Year is awarded to an individual who not only emulates the osteopathic profession's highest standards of excellence in teaching but who is passionate about osteopathic medicine, has made a significant impact on the academic advancement of osteopathic students and has made long-standing contributions to the profession in the academic arena.

"I am thrilled to be recognized for doing what I am passionate about," Mason said. "Mentoring physicians in training to embody the distinctive features of osteopathic practice and incorporate them into their chosen specialty has been the primary focus of my career."

Mason has been with TCOM since 2010 and is currently the assistant dean of osteopathic clinical education and a professor in the Department of Family and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. He just completed a year-long term as the Texas Chapter of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians' president.

A champion in the classroom for medical students and residents alike, in 2004 Mason was honored as an AOA Mentor Hall of Fame member and in 2005 he received the Family Medicine Resident Award for Clinical Teaching. He was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2005 and in 2008 received the distinction of Fellow from the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians.

Mason has a vast array of teaching expertise, that includes a visiting professorship with the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. At TCOM, he led growth and development of OMM integration into medical practice and systems courses for Year 1 and Year 2 students as well as the four week clinical rotation in OMM and content expert for OMM integration into all rotations for Year 3-4 clerkships.

[Link]Mason is the medical director for HSC's Institute for Translational Research and was the program director for the Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine Residency and the Integrated Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and Family Medicine Residency at Medical City Fort Worth.

He is an international and nationally renowned lecturer, having given 120 presentations and lectures since 2001 from China to Puerto Rico and all across the United States.

"Osteopathic medicine is different, but only if our graduates practice differently," Mason said. "The two essential tools we employ to train physicians how to practice are our focus on our patients and the use of our hands."

He has been a board member on national committees of the American Academy of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, chairing the Educational Council of Osteopathic Principles, the American Osteopathic Family Physicians, and The American Academy of Osteopathy as a board member. He serves as a board member for the Texas Medical Foundation-Health Quality Institute and the American College of Graduate Medical Education Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine Residency Review Committee.

Mason is board-certified in both Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine/Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and Family Medicine. Mason has been named a Top Doctor by Fort Worth Magazine for Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine four times and received the WOW (What Others Want) award for clinical service from HSC Health.

Before arriving at TCOM, Mason spent nine years at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine from 2001 to 2010. He earned his Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine from the school in 1996 and completed his residency training in Family Medicine at the university in 1999. Mason earned a Healthcare Management Executive Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2014.

The Educator of the Year Award, one of the AOF's highest annual awards, recognizes one physician who over the last 12-24 months has shown they consistently uphold and raise the standards of Osteopathic medical education.

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