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You are more than just the sum of your body parts. That’s
why doctors of osteopathic medicine (D.O.s) practice a "whole person" approach to health care. Instead of just
treating specific symptoms, osteopathic physicians concentrate on treating you as a whole.
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Osteopathic physicians understand how all the body’s
systems are interconnected and how each one affects the others. They focus special attention on the
musculoskeletal system, which reflects and influences the
condition of all other body systems.
This system of bones and muscles makes up about
two-thirds of the body’s mass, and a routine part of the
osteopathic patient examination is a careful evaluation of
these important structures. D.O.s know that the body’s
structure plays a critical role in its ability to function. They can use their eyes and hands to identify structural
problems and to support the body’s natural tendency
toward health and self-healing.
Osteopathic physicians also use their ears -- to listen to
you and your health concerns. Doctors of osteopathic
medicine help patients develop attitudes and lifestyles that don’t just fight illness, but help prevent it. Millions of
Americans prefer this concerned and compassionate care,
and have made D.O.s their doctors for life.
Professional Education
To become an osteopathic physician, an individual must
be a graduate of one of the nation’s osteopathic medical
schools. Each school is accredited by the Bureau of
Professional Education of the American Osteopathic
Association. This accreditation is recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education and the Council on
Post-Secondary Education. Typically, applicants to
osteopathic medical colleges have a four-year
undergraduate degree, and complete specific science
courses. Applicants must take the Medical College
Admissions Test (MCAT). Osteopathic medical schools
also require a personal interview to assess the student’s
interpersonal communication skills.
The osteopathic curriculum involves four years of academic study. As a reflection of the osteopathic philosophy, the
curriculum emphasizes preventive medicine and comprehensive patient care. Medical students learn to use
osteopathic principles and techniques for diagnosis and treatment of disease throughout the curriculum.
After completing osteopathic medical college, D.O.s serve
a one-year rotating internship, gaining hands-on
experience in internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology,
family practice, pediatrics and surgery. This experience
ensures that osteopathic physicians are first trained as
primary care physicians -- even if they plan to pursue a
specialty. The internship provides every D.O. with the
perspective to see and treat every patient as a whole
person.
Most D.O.s then choose to complete a residency program
in a specialty area such as internal medicine, surgery,
pediatrics, radiology or pathology. A residency typically
requires from two to six years of additional training.
Licensure
All physicians (both D.O.s and M.D.s) must pass a state
medical board examination in order to obtain a license and
enter practice. Each state board sets its own requirements for the physician to practice in that state.
Complete Care
D.O.s are complete physicians. That means they are fully
trained and licensed to prescribe medication and to
perform surgery. D.O.s and allopathic physicians (M.D.s)
are the only two types of complete physicians in the
United States.
D.O.s practice in all branches of medicine from psychiatry
to geriatrics to emergency medicine. However, D.O.s are
trained to be generalists first, and specialists second. The
majority are family-oriented, primary care physicians.
Many D.O.s practice in small towns where they often care
for entire families and whole communities.
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