Osteopathic medicine in the United States

Osteopathic medicine in the United States
Andrew Taylor Still (founder)
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) Medicine US Medical education Schools Physicians Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine AOA AACOM AAO COMLEX MD & DO Comparison Specialty Colleges AOA BOS
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Osteopathic medicine is a branch of the medical profession in the United States that promotes the practice of science-based medicine, often referred to in this context as allopathic medicine, with a set of philosophy and principles set by its earlier form, osteopathy. Osteopathic physicians (DOs) are graduates of American osteopathic medical colleges and are licensed to practice the full scope of medicine and surgery in all 50 US states. The field is distinct from osteopathic practices offered in nations outside of the U.S., whose practitioners are generally not considered part of core medical staff nor of medicine itself, but rather are alternative medicine practitioners. The other major branch of medicine in the United States is referred to by practitioners of osteopathic medicine as allopathic medicine.^[1]

By the middle of the 20th century, the profession had moved closer to mainstream medicine. American "osteopaths" became "osteopathic medical doctors," ultimately achieving full practice rights as medical doctors in all 50 states.^[2][3]

In modern medicine in the U.S., any distinction between the MD and the DO professions has eroded steadily. The training of osteopathic physicians in the United States is now virtually indistinguishable from the training of "allopathic" physicians (MDs).^[4] Osteopathic physicians attend four years of medical school like their MD counterparts, acquiring equivalent education in medicine and surgery; DOs also attend the same graduate medical education programs (ACGME-accredited residencies and/or fellowships) as their MD counterparts to acquire their license as physicians and surgeons. DOs use all conventional methods of diagnosis and treatment and practice across all specialties of medicine and surgery. Though still trained in osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) during medical school,^[5] the modern derivative of Andrew Taylor Still's techniques,^[6][7] the majority of practicing physicians with a DO degree do not practice OMT in their daily work.^[8] There are ongoing debates about the utility of maintaining separate, distinct pathways for educating physicians in the United States.^[9][10]