PHILADELPHIA—The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME), an independent, nonprofit organization that provides competency assessments for osteopathic medical licensure and related health care professions, presented the NBOME Clark Award for Patient Advocacy to Donald H. Polk, DO, at the organization’s annual Board of Directors Gala on December 13.
Polk is a practicing and board-certified osteopathic family medicine physician in rural Tennessee and has been an active member of the medical staff at Wayne Medical Center in Waynesboro, Tenn., since 1975. During his tenure there, he has served as secretary, vice chief of staff, chief of staff, medical director, and director of emergency services.
As a member of the NBOME National Faculty, Polk served on standard-setting panels for the COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE in 2012 and 2015. He was elected to the NBOME Board in 2016 and has served on the Executive, Finance and Nominating committees. He previously served on the Standards and Assurances Committee and was chair of the Nominating Committee.
His longstanding public service on the Tennessee Board of Osteopathic Examination (1996-2016) positioned him for leadership roles at the Federation of State Medical Licensing Boards (FSMB) and with the American Association of Osteopathic Examiners (now called the American Society of Osteopathic Medical Regulators).
He had frequent opportunities to advocate at the national level for the importance of osteopathically distinctive assessment for licensure. In 2014, Polk was elected the Chair of the FSMB Board of Directors, only the third DO in over 100 years since FSMB was founded.
Polk has held numerous offices on the boards of the Tennessee Osteopathic Medical Association and the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians and served each of these organizations as the state chapter president.
Polk has had a distinguished and decorated military career. He was commissioned Captain Medical Corps in the Tennessee Army National Guard and was active in both military and medical organizations. He was selected to attend the U.S. Army War College, and as he was promoted through the officer ranks, he was appointed Tennessee State Surgeon.
Polk was promoted to Brigadier General and served four years before retiring. For his service to our country, he was awarded the distinguished Legion of Merit.
Polk received his doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from the Kansas City College of Osteopathic Medicine (now the Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine).
The NBOME Clark Award for Patient Advocacy recognizes individuals who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to patient safety, patient protection, and quality of care, specifically in their advocacy for osteopathic distinctive assessment for licensure. The award is named after longtime NBOME Board public member and leader in medical regulation and state medical licensure, Gary R. Clark.
Previous NBOME Clark Award for Patient Advocacy Recipients
- 2024 | Ken Simons, MD
- 2023 | R. David Henderson, JD
- 2022 | Susan I. Belanger, PhD, MA, RN
- 2021 | J. Michael Wieting, DO, MEd
- 2019 | Kim Edward LeBlanc, MD, PhD
- 2018 | Barbara E. Walker, DO
- 2017 | Martin Crane, MD
- 2016 | Gary R. Clark