Osteopathic Medicine
Osteopathic practitioners approach medicine based on the musculoskeletal system. Doctors of Osteopathy (DO) incorporate osteopathic manipulations and structural diagnosis in addition to the techniques used by allopathic physicians. DOs are fully licensed to diagnose, prescribe and conduct surgery. DOs and MDs exist as equals and, with the increasing emphasis on primary care, DOs are a "hot" area. Most states allow DO students to take DO or MD boards and in some states such as California they are equal. Currently there are 22 schools of osteopathy with about 7140 applicants and approximately 3079 seats. Residencies can be done in allopathic or osteopathic hospitals. Shadowing a DO physician is an excellent approach to determining if osteopathy fits you.
The academic requirements are very similar to those for the allopathic schools. The MCAT is required. The average GPA of accepted students in 2006 was 3.38 and the average MCATS were 8.02 VR, 7.72 PS and 8.3 BS. All osteopathic schools use a centralized application service called AACOMAS. Information concerning osteopathy can be obtained from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.
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