OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
In 1874, Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., began the field that he called
osteopathy and which is now known as osteopathic medicine.
Dr. Still's motivation for beginning the new field (in which the
physician has the Doctor of Osteopathy degree or D.O.) was a concern about the
extensive use at the time of questionable medical practices and treatments.
He developed osteopathy as a method of treatment that emphasized the
musculoskeletal system and a concern for the human patient as a complete entity.
Today, qualifications for licensure for M.D.’s and D.O.’s are the same in
all 50 states. Residency programs
are available to D.O. graduates under the auspices of either the American
Osteopathic Association or the American Medical Association(51% of DO graduates
went to MD residencies in 2001); D.O.’s can take
both M.D. and D.O. examinations for board certification, but M.D.’s can take
only the M.D. board exams. The
major distinction between the D.O. and M.D. is that the D.O. receives specialized
training in the treatment method known as manipulation that was pioneered by Dr.
Still, in addition to core medical training common to all physicians, both D.O.
and M.D. Typically, an osteopathic
physician spends four years in medical school, one year in a rotating internship
and two to six years in residency training.
They use all scientifically accepted methods of diagnosis and treatment,
including the use of drugs and surgery. D.O.'s
can specialize in the same areas as M.D.'s, but a much greater percentage of
them enter general practice and those specialties involved in primary care
(family practice, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, and internal medicine); a
recent study revealed that about 50% of the D.O.'s in America are involved in
primary care, compared to 45% of M.D.'s. The
emphasis that the profession places upon primary care bodes well for the future.
Medical policy making organizations such as the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services agree that primary care is the area of greatest medical need,
now and in the foreseeable future. Further, as the field becomes better known to
the public, it is likely that osteopathic physicians will experience increases
in patient loads. Allopathic (M.D.)
and osteopathic (D.O.) medicine continue to move closer together in modes of
practice and philosophy. Increasingly,
D.O.s and M.D.s are finding themselves as collaborators in joint practices or
working together in hospital settings but osteopathic medicine will continue to
retain those aspects of training, modes of practice and philosophy that make it
unique.
There are
52,000 practicing osteopaths in the United States.
Most of them received their training at one of the twenty colleges of
osteopathic medicine here. These
schools have a total enrollment of approximately 11,500; they accept 3,100 new
students each year; women represent about 45% of the total enrollment.
More than forty-five percent of osteopathic medical students come from small towns
of less than 50,000 people or medically underserved areas of large cities; 40%
of osteopathic medical students plan to locate their practices in similar
communities. About 30% of graduating
seniors go on to a traditional osteopathic one-year rotating internship; the
others enter residency programs directly. Average student indebtedness at time of graduation in
2002 was $ 131,200.
There were 7,289 applicants for admission to colleges of osteopathic
medicine in 2004, an increase of 7% from 2003. Admission requirements are the same as for schools of
allopathic medicine; all the required courses are available at Oglethorpe.
For further information, contact the American Association of Colleges of
Osteopathic Medicine, 5550 Friendship Boulevard - Suite 310, Chevy Chase,
Maryland 20815-7231; telephone
301-968-4100; on the web, http://www.aacom.org
The Georgia Osteopathic Medical Association (http://www.goma.org)
and the American Osteopathic Association (http://www.aoa-net.org)
are good sources of information also.
