Since its founding over a century ago, osteopathic medicine has provided medical treatment in both primary care and specialty care throughout the United States and around the world. While the D.O. profession is relatively small (over 55,000 physicians), it continues to have a tremendous impact in many communities by making patient care more accessible and filling critical physician shortage areas. D.O.s also distinguish themselves in the medical profession through specialty care, research and leadership positions in a number of the nation's top medical and health organizations.

Like their M.D. counterparts, D.O.s are fully-licensed physicians and practice within every specialty of medicine. In addition, both complete four years of medical school as well as graduate training through internship, residency, and fellowship programs.

Other features the osteopathic profession provides include:

• D.O.s use the 'whole patient' approach in treating patients. Rather than focus on a specific illness, D.O.s are also taught to emphasize the overall physical well-being of the patient. This integrated approach to medical care promotes a partnership between the physician and patient in both health maintainence and overall wellness.
  
   
• In addition to the typical scientific and clinical training given at M.D. schools, D.O. students are also trained in the area of manipulative medicine. It is a hands-on technique for the diagnosis and treatment of patients. D.O.s are able to manipulate the musculoskeletal system (structure and/or tissue) to allow the body's own healing elements to work against the ailment(s). Such techniques have been used in treating allergies, sprains and strains, to labor pain for expectant mothers.
  
   
• D.O.s emphasize prevention as a means of achieveing overall good health. They understand the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
  
   
• D.O.s can do their graduate training in osteopathic, allopathic (M.D.) or military residency programs. A majority of D.O.s currently receive their training through M.D. residency programs.
  
   
• A majority of D.O.s who practice today are in primary care
  
   
• D.O.s are well regarded for their commitment to service in underserved rural communities throughout the United States.
  
   
• There are over 55,000 D.O.s in practice in the United States today. The American Osteopathic Association projects that there will be 80,000 D.O.s in practice by the year 2020.
  
   
• D.O.s comprise 8 percent of all military physicians.
  
   
• D.O.s handle approximately 100 million patient visits per year.

More information is available on the AOA website.

A Brief History of Osteopathic Medicine

How did this school of medicine develop in the United States? The history of the osteopathic profession provides some answers. The osteopathic profession began in America in the late 1800s with one man's vision. Andrew Taylor Still, an M.D., was a typical frontier doctor, having been trained through apprenticeship and medical lectures. He helped both settlers and Indians face the epidemics of the day: cholera, malaria, pneumonia, smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis and spinal meningitis. When three of his own children died during a meningitis epidemic that killed thousands of people in Missouri, Dr. Still realized the ineffectiveness of the medical treatment available at the time.

As he looked for answers, Dr. Still began to observe the interdependence of the body's structure and function. In 1874, he first articulated his new philosophy, which focused on manipulation designed to treat the patient by improving the body's ability to function. He was one of the first in his time to study the attributes of good health so that he could better understand the process of disease. He pioneered the concept of wellness more than 100 years ago, and stressed such preventative measures as eating properly and keeping fit.

His treatment methods showed results and he soon had more patients than he could handle. Gradually, he began to teach a few others about his art and science, which he had named 'osteopathy.' Soon there was a need for a school where osteopathic medicine could be taught. The first school of osteopathic medicine was chartered by the State of Missouri on May 10, 1892, and the first class enrolled in October, 1892. Students learned academic subjects, heavily grounded in anatomy and physiology. Year by year, the number of students increased. By 1896 there were 430 students in osteopathic schools in the country.

The first law licensing osteopathic physicians was passed in Vermont in 1896. In 1897, a group in Missouri organized the American Association for the Advancement of Osteopathic Medicine, which later became the AOA, the American Osteopathic Association. Headquartered in Chicago, it is the accrediting body for osteopathic colleges and health care institutions across the country. Accrediting standards are parallel in many respects to the AMA's standards for allopathic medical colleges and hospitals.

Between the 1890s and the early 1900s, the profession saw continued growth and legal recognition, the development of educational meetings and publications and the beginnings of organized research programs. As a result of a U.S. Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing in 1957, legislation was enacted that made D.O.s eligible for military commissions. Full practice rights for D.O.s in all 50 states were attained in 1973.