The Work of Our Hands

This feature began as a regular section in the original Inter Linea: The Journal of Osteopathic Philosophy back in 1999. The journal version of Inter Linea was published between 1999 and 2002 and totaled 12 issues.

The title “Work of Our Hands” comes from a booklet compiled by the Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation that was published in 1969. It contains 14 pages of writings from William Sutherland, DO. They based the title of this booklet on a favorite biblical passage of Dr. Sutherland’s, the 19th Psalm.

Establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands, establish it.

I centered this feature upon Dr. Sutherland’s love of this biblical passage. It aptly describes the mysterious qualities of the hands-on work we call Osteopathy. The “Work of Our Hands” is a personal venture. The work we do as Osteopaths is personal and intimate.

This feature communicates stories related to Osteopathic practice. These stories are humanistic rather than clinical. They are not case histories, rather they are personal accounts and events that shaped my life as a clinician and as human being.

I wrote and published seven of the twelve “Work of Our Hands” that were included in the original 12 issues of Inter Linea: The Journal of Osteopathic Philosophy. I have included these seven stories and plan to periodically update this online version on Inter Linea with new anecdotes relating to my unique practice of Osteopathy.

I hope you enjoy these learning experiences and appreciate the profound effect my patients have had upon me over the years.

Steve Paulus, DO

• Hello, Mr. Carlin...
• I’m Too Old to Train Another Osteopath
• Mrs. Finley’s Secret
• Call Me by My True Name
• The Test of Excellence
• Hearing the Call of Osteopathy
• A Letter to Elizabeth