Additional Information
Both osteopathic physicians (DOs) and medical doctors (MDs) complete four
years of basic medical education. They then complete internships and residencies
in order to specialize. This typically takes another three to six years.
DOs can specialize in any area of medicine, such as family practice, surgery,
obstetrics or pediatrics.
"[T]he general public wants patient-centered health care. And that is what
DOs provide regardless of what specialty they go into," says Dr. Michael J.
Sampson. He's an osteopathic physician in Atlanta.
DOs receive training in osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) -- hands-on
techniques -- during their medical education. They use OMT to diagnose, treat
and prevent illness or injury.
Most people who study osteopathic medicine have first earned a bachelor's
degree in the life sciences. That's according to the American Association
of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). Sixty-six percent of osteopathic
college entrants in 2009 had a life sciences degree. The next largest category
was social sciences, at 10 percent, followed by physical sciences, at 8 percent.
According to AACOM, nearly one in five U.S. medical students is on track
to become an osteopathic physician.
There are 26 osteopathic medical colleges across the United States whose
graduates work as osteopathic physicians. The U.S. is the only country that
trains osteopathic physicians as full-fledged physicians who can prescribe
medications, perform surgeries, treat emergencies and specialize in all medical
specialties just like MDs.