After 22 years of teaching, healing, and mentoring at VCOM, David G. Harden, DO, is retiring as discipline chair for Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) and associate professor of OMM and Family Medicine at the Virginia campus. Although he is hanging up his white coat, Dr. Harden remains committed to the life of service that has defined his career as a physician, educator, mentor, and missionary.
Dr. Harden never imagined becoming a physician. But after pursuing biology, he discovered osteopathic medicine was a philosophy that aligned well with his studies and medical perspective. And after eight years practicing family medicine in Virginia, he joined a newly founded VCOM in 2004. Family practice had deepened his dedication to the osteopathic approach. Treating an entire family, he noted "was extremely osteopathic because it represents an integrated philosophy and approach to health care."
When VCOM’s founding provost and current president Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO, invited him to join the faculty, Dr. Harden immediately recognized that the college's mission reflected his own values. Over the next two decades, he helped educate future physicians while continuing to care for patients, support outreach initiatives, and build a balanced life that included family, traveling, music and martial arts.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Harden became a trusted mentor to VCOM students and watching them become physicians was one of the greatest rewards of his career. "VCOM has phenomenal and dedicated students," Dr. Harden said. "It's humbling for me to watch them become physicians because they are already incredible people when they start."
Those students have carried his influence into their own practices. Former student Makoto Yoshino, VCOM-Virginia ’14, observed that Dr. Harden showed him what “a true osteopathic physician can be on a professional level, but also on a personal and humanistic level."
Colleagues admired those same qualities. "He has a great depth of character and truly embodies the osteopathic philosophy of body, mind, and spirit," said Laura Robison.
Mark Rogers, DO, discipline chair for sports medicine at VCOM-Virginia noted that "Dr. Harden has impacted countless students, residents, fellows, and faculty throughout his career, who are now better serving their patients because of him."
Dr. Harden's commitment to caring for underserved populations also became a defining part of his career. His passion for medical missions began during medical school and continued as part of the VCOM faculty. continued as part of the VCOM faculty. "Whether VCOM is helping in Central America or downtown Roanoke, it is a mission that the school takes seriously," Dr. Harden said. "And, my love for treating populations in need continued."
Longtime VCOM colleague Blaise Costa, PhD, wrote that Dr. Harden had "a rare gift for putting people at ease and brings a sense of warmth and calm that turns even difficult moments into something more manageable... the kind of physician patients hope for but don't always find."
Dr. Harden is grateful for the career he’s had and acknowledges the technological changes that have happened in that time. "When I began practicing medicine, many of today's technologies didn't exist,” he said. “I've watched the profession evolve through incredible advances, and now artificial intelligence. The changes have made healthcare more precise and efficient, but [AI] will never replace sitting down with a patient, listening to their story, using your hands to examine them, and applying sound clinical judgment. Manual diagnostic skills, good conversation, and a compassionate ear will always be at the heart of good medicine."
While his daily presence on campus will be missed, Dr. Harden's legacy will continue through the thousands of physicians he has taught and the countless patients they will serve.
