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Osteopathic Medicine:

An Introduction

2006 The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic

Medicine

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What is Osteopathic

Medicine? Osteopathic medicine provides all of

the benefits of modern medicine;

Offers the benefits of hands-on

diagnosis and treatment through a

system of therapy known as osteopathic

manipulative medicine;

Emphasizes helping each person achieve

a high level of wellness by focusing on

health education, injury prevention and

disease prevention.

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Body Unity

Body unity is governed by the premise

that the whole is greater than the sum

of the parts;

This tenet focuses the D.O.s attention

on the whole person, not just on a

specific body part or symptom;

D.O.s consider body, mind and spirit

when treating patients.

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Structure Influences

Function A problem in one

part of the body

may inhibit

function not only

in that area, but

in other parts of

the body as well;

This tenet is one

of the key aspects

of osteopathic

medicine today.

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Self-Healing Mechanism

The body has the

innate ability

to heal itself;

D.O.s focus on

helping the

patient heal by

providing theappropriate

support

mechanisms.

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Rational Treatment

Rational

treatment of

disease,

illness and

injury is

based on the

preceding

premises ofbody unity,

structure

influences

function and

the bodys

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Brief History of

Osteopathic Medicine Osteopathic medicine was founded in the

late 1800s by Andrew Taylor Still;

Disillusioned with the medical

practices of his day, Still sought a

better way to heal patients.

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The Visionary

A.T. Still was a visionary ahead of his

time;

Today, many of his philosophies and

tenets have become the standard of

medical care in the United States.

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Osteopathic Medical

Education Osteopathic physicians complete four

years of medical school after

completing an undergraduate degree.

They complete a one-year internship.

They complete a residency program of

their choice. The length of training

depends on the specialty chosen. Most

residency programs are three years in

length.

Some D.O.s go on to complete sub-

specialty training as well.

Some D.O.s complete graduate training

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Distinctive Features

of Osteopathic Medical

Education In addition to the standard medicalschool curriculum, approximately 200additional hours of training in

osteopathic manipulative medicine areincluded in the first two years,followed by application of thesetechniques during the clinical yearsand residency;

Additional training in anatomy is oftencombined with the osteopathicmanipulative medicine training to helpthe students understandstructure/function relationships;

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More Distinctive

Features Clinical education is largely

community-based;

Osteopathic medical schools rely

on partnerships with community

hospitals and physicians to train

their students;

Osteopathic colleges rely heavily

on volunteer faculty from the

community to train their

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Educational Structure

Today, there are 22 colleges of

osteopathic medicine and three branch

campuses located in 21 states;

Osteopathic education is a parallel

system to the allopathic model in that

the osteopathic profession has it owncolleges, its own board certification,

and its own internship and residency

programs.

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Issues Facing

Osteopathic Medical

Education Today Funding for graduate medical education;

Continuing to focus on the distinctive

aspects of osteopathic medical

education and encouraging osteopathic

students to consistently integrate

these distinctive qualities into

patient care;

Innovation;

Managed care.

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Other Issues Impacting

Osteopathic Medicine Current status of health care system in

this country;

Size;

Limited resources;

Limited $$$$;

Where does the country go from here?

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Food for Thought

In the beginning, Andrew Taylor Still

never intended to create a parallel

system of medicine. He envisioned hisphilosophies and treatment methods as

the standard of care.

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About AACOM The American Association of Colleges ofOsteopathic Medicine is the

representative organization of the 22

colleges of osteopathic medicine in the

U.S.

AACOM operates the centralized

application service for all students

applying to osteopathic medical

schools.

AACOM serves as the umbrella

organization that helps schools work

together on major initiatives to

maximize human and financial resources.

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Distribution

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To Apply to

Osteopathic

Medical School For application information, visit

AACOMs web site at

http://www.aacom.org