What is osteopathic medicine?
A Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) is a fully trained physician able to provide all aspects of healthcare to patients and can practice in all medical specialties. D.O.s are licensed to perform surgery, prescribe medicine and utilize manipulative treatment. Osteopathic medicine is a philosophy of caring for people, not just treating symptoms. D.O.s believe in a whole person philosophy. They help their patients develop attitudes and lifestyles that don’t just fight illness, but prevent it. They give special attention to how the body’s nerves, muscles, bones and organs work together to influence health.
- D.O.s practice a whole person approach to medicine. Instead of treating specific symptoms or illnesses they regard the body as an integrated whole.
- D.O.s receive extra training in the musculoskeletal system - the body's interconnected system of nerves, muscles, and bones. This training provides osteopathic physicians with a better understanding of the ways in which an injury or illness in one part of the body can affect another.
- Osteopathic physicians focus on preventive health care.
- Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is incorporated in the training and practice of osteopathic physicians.
- D.O.s are trained to use their hands to diagnose injury and illness and encourage the body's natural tendency toward good health.
- By combining all other medical procedures with OMT, D.O.s offer their patients the most comprehensive healthcare available in medicine today.
- The founder of osteopathic medicine, Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, recognized the body’s ability to heal itself and stressed preventative medicine, eating properly and keeping fit. This is something that seems so obvious to us today, but wellness was a new concept for that time.
D.O. training
- typically have a four-year undergraduate degree with an emphasis in the sciences
- complete four years of basic medical education
- complete a residency program
- are fully trained and licensed to prescribe medication and perform surgery
- must pass comparable national and state licensing examinations
- practice in fully accredited and licensed healthcare institutions
History of Osteopathic Medicine
Osteopathic medicine was developed in 1874 by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still. He was dissatisfied with the effectiveness of 19th century medicine and believed that many of the medications of his day were useless or even harmful. Dr. Still was one of the first of his time to study the attributes of good health so that he could better understand the process of disease.
In response to the way medicine was being practiced, Dr. Still founded a philosophy of medicine based on ideas that date back to Hippocrates, the father of medicine. The philosophy focuses on the unity of all body parts. He identified the musculoskeletal system as a key element of health. Dr. Still recognized the body’s ability to heal itself and stressed preventative medicine, eating properly and keeping fit. This is something that seems so obvious to us today, but wellness was a new concept for that time.
His concepts were revolutionary:
- The role of the physician is to seek the health of patients, not simply to treat disease of symptoms.
- The human organism is self-regulating and self-healing.
- Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated.
- Disease in any body system will affect the entire body.
- The work of the physician includes assisting the patient’s own body in fighting disease.
- All qualified individuals, regardless of race or sex, should be given the opportunity to become a physician. Dr. Still’s medical school was the first to have an anti-discrimination policy, which it had from its beginning.
Who do I call for more information?
D.O.s practice throughout the United States and throughout the world. It is estimated that 60,000 D.O.s practice in the U.S. If you want more information about osteopathic medicine, or on how to become a D.O., please contact our office of student recruitment and admissions at 918-561-8421.
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General Information
OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine is one of nine colleges of Oklahoma State University and is the Center for Health Sciences branch campus in Tulsa. The main OSU campus is in Stillwater, 64 miles west of Tulsa.
- Public institution founded in 1972 and merged with OSU in 1988
- Approximately 540 employees, including residents. Approximately 100 full-time faculty in basic and clinical sciences
- Offices are currently located at the:
- Main Campus (1111 W. 17th Street)
- 2401 Office Building (Clinical Financial Services)
- Phoenix Building (Rural Health and AHEC)
- Health Care Center (23rd and Southwest Boulevard)
- Houston Parke (635 W. 11th Street)
- Houston Center (717 S. Houston)
- Physicians Office Building (802 S. Jackson)
- The OSU Health Care Center (23rd and Southwest Boulevard) and other OSU Physician Clinics, provide an essential clinical learning setting for student doctors, interns and residents - while also caring for people of the community. Services are offered in:
- general health care
- ophthalmology
- ear, nose, and throat
- osteopathic manipulative therapy
- internal medicine
- high risk and general obstetrics
- gynecology
- gastroenterology
- pediatrics
- behavioral medicine
- diabetes foot care
- parent-child clinic
- women's health
- orthopedic survery
- plastic and reconstructive surgery
- respiratory medicine
- Total operating budget is $128 million
- One of 26 osteopathic medical colleges in the U.S.
- Governed through OSU by the nine-member Board of Regents for Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges
- Accreditation by the Bureau of Professional Education of the American Osteopathic Association and the North Central Association
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Student Profile
- Total enrollment for 2011-12 is 374 students
- 86 percent come from Oklahoma
- 52 percent are male
- 48 percent are female
- 27 percent are members of a minority population
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Research and Sponsored Projects
Research continues its significant growth as projects are developed. Total annual publications among biomedical science faculty have increased nearly three-fold in the past decade. Extramural funding over the past decade has also increased five-fold, with the largest focus in the neurosciences. The Center for Applied and Integrative Neuroscience has numerous faculty participants from both biomedical and clinical sciences. Currently, research teams are focusing on broad disease-related topics relevant to HIV/AIDS, autism, diabetes, childhood immunizations, bioterrorism, respiratory disorders. These research teams are comprised of members of both our biomedical and clinical faculty and staff and utilize translational techniques to address these disease-related issues as they relate to the health of Oklahomans and the surrounding population.
Others areas of interest include but are not limited to neurological disorders (chronic pain mechanisms, epilepsy, neurodegenerative disorders, cellular and immune response to drugs of abuse and neurotoxicology) and brain injury, genetics, cardiovascular disease and stroke, otitis media, and muscular disorders. Clinical research has goals in prevention of high risk behaviors, diagnosis, and new treatments of diseases and their symptoms. Biomedical research involves projects by faculty and investigative teams of scientists who seek to translate molecular research into new medical therapies.
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Clinical Research
- The College has several ongoing trials testing the efficacy of new drugs in HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular diseases, upper respiratory illnesses, asthma, and otitis media (ear aches) in children. Testing of new antibiotics and vaccines is also ongoing. Original research is being conducted in topics such as psychological factors in cardiovascular disease, endocrine factors of post-partum depression, chronic sub-clinical infections and research and development of a patented systems of delivery for cognitive rehabilitation exercises.
- Sponsored projects range from health care delivery programs to support for the family medicine residency program and Indian health care. These projects total more than $4.5 million and include federal, state and private grants.
Students are encouraged to supplement their medical education through research activities and are supported in part by the Student Research Fellowship Program through the Auxiliary to the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association.
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Alumni Profile
- Alumni number: 2,484
- Approximately six out of ten physicians are in primary care (which includes family practice, pediatrics, and general internal medicine) and approximately one in four are in Oklahoma communities with populations of 10,000 or less
- Around 36 percent of graduates practice in a range of specialties, from dermatology to neurology, surgery to psychiatry, anesthesiology to gastroenterology
- Approximately 35 are active military physicians
- The OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine Alumni Association actively supports osteopathic medical education through emergency loan funds, honors and awards, and financial support
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Curriculum
- OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine is a four-year professional college offering the doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) degree
- The curriculum offers a student-centered approach that teaches through hands-on experiences, problem-based approaches and small group learning. Subject matter is taught using a spiral method where information is continuously reintroduced in greater depth and complexity.
- The first year concentrates on the basic sciences and clinical skills, the second year integrates the basic and clinical sciences, and the final two years are devoted to clinical rotations in major medical centers, community hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices.
- There are more than 20 residency and fellowship programs affiliated with the College throughout the region – Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Durant, Tahlequah, Joplin, Mo. and Pine Bluff, Ark. – including a wide variety of primary care and specialty medicine.
- A three-year family medicine residency with 27 approved positions is one of the major residency programs offered. Residents have clinical rotations at OSU Health Care Center, OSU Medical Center, private clinics in rural settings, and the OSU Wellness Center in Stillwater, Okla., as well as a strong didactic program taught by dedicated faculty.
- A Plus-One Sub-Specialty residency in neuromusculoskeletal medicine is also available at OSU-CHS for primary care residents who want fellowship training in osteopathic manipulative medicine.
- The College offers a graduate program in biomedical sciences, with M.S., Ph.D., D.O./M.B.A. and D.O./Ph.D. degree options. A Master of Forensic Sciences Administration and an M.S. in Forensic Sciences are offered. An M.S. in Natural and Applied Sciences-Health Care Administration also is available.
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