want to return to our roots and to practice in the area after we graduate,” explained Bryan as he outlined the twins’ goals. Keenly aware of the estimable reputation of LECOM in the full complement of medical training and the education of osteopathic principles, the brothers are certain that the superlative skills that they attained at LECOM will serve them well as they venture into the underserved medical areas of their bucolic homestead. “Going through medical school with an identical twin was a great experience and a challenge for both of us, but I feel that sometimes it was a greater challenge for the physicians and patients with whom we worked,” noted Brandon. The twins rotated through many of the same hospitals and therefore, they worked with the same physicians. During their internal medicine rotations at Clarion Hospital, they were on the same medicine service. “I’ll never forget a particular patient who had suffered from a minor stroke that had caused diplopia and ataxia. I saw the patient early the next morning, and she was doing quite well. Her double vision symptoms had subsided,” recalled Brandon. “Bryan and I were making rounds later that morning and, upon entering herroom, the patient gasped. She thought that her diplopia had returned and that she was having another stroke. It took some convincing to reassure her that she was, in fact, seeing double - but it wasn’t from a stroke, she was seeing identical twins,” chuckled Brandon. Brandon Doverspike, DO
Bryan Doverspike, DO
DOVERSPIKE DUO
Dedicated to Practicing Rural Medicine in their Hometown Class of 2014 LECOM Medical School graduates, Brandon and Bryan Doverspike plan to return to their Western Pennsylvania hometown after completing theirrespective residencies. Brandon will be entering family medicine after finishing his residency at Clarion Hospital. Bryan is pursuing an OB/GYN practice and he will be in residency at York Memorial Hospital. The Porter Township natives are successful LECOM graduates and one of the few sets of identical twins ever to have attended LECOM. The scholarly pair graduated in 2006 from Redbank Valley High School in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania with a firm and focused determination to attend LECOM. “We
The Doverspike twins realize that their time at LECOM will serve as the last time during which they will be together as they go their separate ways in residency. “We owe so much to LECOM for all that we have attained and it would be our dream to return to the New Bethlehem area to practice and to share those skills,” said Brandon. The twins are sons of Debra and Kevin Doverspike and their family roots in the Township of Porter extend to the close-knit community that they call home. At LECOM, they received the exceptional training, knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed for each of the siblings to achieve their highest potentials. Now, they will take those many tangibles back to their beginnings where they will truly make a difference in the place that they call “home” - and their hearts will follow. There is something special in the telling of this story of two identical twins that makes it more than just an interesting tale of remarkable birth pattern. It is, moreover, an account of a scholarly journey of experiences and sensitivity to human emotions that recommends it so highly as a tale of inspiration and dedication to the place of one’s birth; and that place will be doubly blessed with a pair of practicing physicians. @1LECOM | LECOM CONNECTION 33