OsEAN Virtual International Student Day 2025

Registration Programme Presenters

Join us for the 5th Virtual International Student Day (VISD) on 7th February 2025. The OsEAN VISD organizing committee is excited to extend this invitation for an enriching day of learning and exchange. Mark your calendars for this significant event that continues our exploration into the core aspects of osteopathy. After delving into the history,  philosophy and pprincipals in our previous sessions, we are set to culminate our series with a focus on "Identity" this year.

2023: History
2024: Philosophy and Principles
2025: Identity

This progression underscores our commitment to a comprehensive understanding of osteopathy's evolution, enhancing both your knowledge and practice. We encourage students from all corners of the globe to join this international dialogue. Whether you are just beginning your journey in osteopathy or looking to deepen your expertise, this event is for you.

Attendance is complimentary for students and teachers from OsEAN member schools, with a nominal fee of €25 for others. Please note that while the sessions will be recorded, it is solely for internal use.

Don't miss this opportunity to contribute to and benefit from a vibrant community dedicated to the growth and spirit of osteopathy worldwide.

Register here

7th February 2025 - Friday

Time
Presenter 
Title
09:00 - 09:30 VISD Committee Presenting the day and topicPlay buttonYouTube logo Icon

09:30 - 10:00
Lecture

Amanda Phillips Exploring osteopathic identity - so why the giraffe?
10:00 - 10:30
Lecture
Pierre-Luc L´Hermite

The double facet of identity in osteopathy

10:30 - 10:45

  Q&A
10:45 - 11:15   Break
11:15 - 11:45
Lecture
Erwann Jacquot

An element of professional identity: the evaluation of touch in osteopathy as an experience of the living and lived body.

This presentation will delve into the significance of touch—a core element of osteopathic identity through the lenses of reflexivity, body awareness, narration, and the expression of our theoretical frameworks in relation to professional practice.
This congress, dedicated to students and educators, offers a unique opportunity to share insights on educational practices related to touch and identity. Erwann aims to present findings that will resonate with and motivate the clinicians of tomorrow, making it an important aspect of his teaching vision.

11:45 - 12:15
Lecture
Ana Paula Ferreira The Challenges for Osteopathic Professional Identity
In this presentation, we will address some of the challenges of consolidating the osteopathic professional identity in terms of scope of practice, education, and regulation, which can vary from country to country.
12:15 - 12:30   Q&A
12:30 - 13:00   Lunch Break
13:00 - 13:30
Lecture
Jorge Esteves

Osteopathy as a science of adaptation: A modern reconceptualization of osteopathic person-centred care

Join me for an engaging lecture, "Osteopathy as a Science of Adaptation: A Modern Reconceptualisation of Osteopathic Person-Centred Care," where I will explore the evolution of osteopathy and its potential future as a science of adaptation.
We will revisit foundational principles by pioneers like A.T. Still and J.M. Littlejohn and critically examine the profession’s shift toward a biomedical model. Drawing on enactivism, the free-energy principle, and active inference, I will propose a modern framework for osteopathic care, emphasising embodied interactions, therapeutic touch, and the co-creation of a strong patient-practitioner alliance.
Whether you are a student or teacher, this session offers fresh perspectives and insights into advancing osteopathic practice. I look forward to sharing this journey with you.

13:30 - 14:00
Lecture
Niklas Sposato

Professional Identity: Balancing Knowledge Traditions, Professional Perspectives and Personal Narratives

This session seeks to offer personal reflections while welcoming your perspectives, inviting you to rethink, reconnect, and collectively redefine what it means to be an osteopath today and in the future.

14:00 - 14:15   Q&A
14:15 - 15:00   Open Discussion


We are using the Central European Time zone.
This is a live online event. Lectures will only be recorded for internal purposes.
Presentation language is English.

Jorge Esteves
PhD, MA, BSc, DO
Jorge Esteves Osteopath and cognitive scientist with a special interest in chronic musculoskeletal pain. He is currently a Professor of Osteopathy and Vice-Principal at Malta ICOM Educational, Honorary Professor at the University College of Osteopathy in London, and researcher with Collaboration for Osteopathic Medicine Research in Italy. His current research interests are focused on the re-conceptualisation of osteopathic care under the enactivist and active inference frameworks. This includes a critical consideration of theories and research from enactivism, embodiment and ecological psychology, free energy principle and predictive coding, interoception and allostasis, chronic pain and persistent physical symptoms, and the neurophysiological and psychological effects of affective touch.
   
Ana Paula Ferreira
D.O.MRO (Br), Ph.D.
Ana Paula A. Ferreira - Virtual_International_Student_Day 2025

Ana Paula A. Ferreira is an osteopath who graduated from the Instituto Brasileiro de Osteopatia (IBO) and has been registered with the Registro Brasileiro dos Osteopatas (RBrO) since 2002. She has been working in private practice in Rio de Janeiro and as a teacher of osteopathic training since 2002. She volunteered from 1998 to 2004 at the first public osteopathic outpatient clinic in Rio de Janeiro. Ana Paula is a former chair of the RBrO, which is leading the regulation process of osteopathy as a profession in Brazil, and has served on that board since 2007. She also served on the board of the IBO from 2009 to 2013. Ana Paula earned her Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Sciences at UNISUAM RJ in 2015, earning a Ph.D. from the same program in 2020. Ana Paula was the Chair of the Osteopathic International Alliance - OIA (2020-2022) and is an international affiliate member of the American Academy of Osteopathy and a member of the Board of Trustees of the COME Collaboration – Center for Osteopathic Medicine Collaboration. She is also a Director of the Brazilian Academic Consortium of Integrative Health – CABSIN and the General Coordinator of the CABSIN Osteopathy Committee. She was part of the team developing palpatory research at Pedro Ernesto University Hospital/ UERJ in Rio de Janeiro and has published many papers on the validity of palpation methods. She is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney. 

   
Erwann Jacquot
MSc medical education, MSc in the Science and Technique of Physical and Sports Activities, DO
Erwann Jacquot - OsEAN VISD 2025 Join us for a presentation by Erwann, osteopath and educator.
Graduating from CEESO in 2014, he furthered his studies with an MSc in pedagogy in health science at the Medical University of Strasbourg in 2017, where his thesis focused on the professionalization criteria in clinical reasoning for final-year students.
Additionally, Erwann holds a master's degree in physical education and sports sciences, specializing in adapted physical activity, from Paris Cité University, where he explored the use of a body portfolio to enhance the learning of osteopathic touch.

Currently teaching at the CIDO osteopathic school in Saint Etienne, Erwann is also pursuing doctoral research at Paris Cité University, investigating the theories of body and tactile care in osteopathy.
   
Pierre-Luc L´Hermite
PhD, DO
Pierre Luc LHermite - VISD 2025 His
   
Amanda Phillips
DO, MSc.
Amanda Phillips - VISD 2025

Having worked as a mathematics and geography teacher for many years, Amanda decided to retrain as an osteopath in 2000, after seeing the benefits of osteopathy for her youngest daughter, then aged 3. Since graduating, in 2005, she has worked in both private practice and osteopathic education, teaching anatomy, physiology and research skills.

Amanda loved the academic challenge of her own osteopathic education but, during training, found it difficult to envisage herself ever becoming an osteopath. Over the years, she has encountered many students who have experienced similar difficulties and, in 2018, she decided to formally explore what factors may be inhibiting students' developing professional identity, and joined the University of Cambridge to study for her doctorate. Her research, titled, 'Not just ‘becoming’, but ‘feeling like’ an osteopath: a qualitative study to explore influences on students’ self-narratives as osteopaths,' is now in its final stages, and aims to identify factors which will enable the development of students' osteopathic professional identity. Her first article, 'Professional identity in osteopathy: A scoping review of peer-reviewed primary osteopathic research,' was published in the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine in 2022.

Amanda is committed to excellence in osteopathic education, and believes that there is scope for osteopathic curricula and osteopathic educational practice to better address students' learning needs, as well as the changing demands of 21st century patients. She is passionate about the potential of osteopathic care in today's society, an enthusiasm which she aims to convey to her students in her capacity as a Clinical Tutor at the College of Osteopaths, UK.

   
Niklas Sposato
Med.dr. (PhD), MSc (Osteopathy)
Niklas Sposato - VISD 2025 Dr Niklas Sinderholm Sposato has been in clinical practice since 2001. He holds a PhD in Medical Science from the University of Gothenburg and an MSc in Osteopathy. With extensive experience as a clinician, researcher, and educator, he has made significant contributions to osteopathic education both in Sweden and internationally.
Currently, Dr Sinderholm Sposato is affiliated with the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and serves as a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney. His work focuses on person-centred care, the integration of evidence-based practices within osteopathy, and the exploration of the relationship between respiratory and musculoskeletal systems, particularly in chronic conditions.
In addition, he has served as Programme Director at the Scandinavian School of Osteopathy and as a Visiting Lecturer at institutions across Europe. His academic work bridges clinical practice and research, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and advancing the osteopathic profession.
   

News

  • We want to thank you for being a part of our journey this year. May your holidays be filled with peace, laughter, and cherished moments with loved ones. Here’s to a bright and beautiful season, and an even more wonderful year ahead!

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The idea for the Virtual International Student Day was born during the beginning of the pandemic. Meanwhile we are organising the 5th VISD with topic "Osteopathic identities in a changing world: Identity"

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