Evolution of osteopathic medicine's mission and identity | ||
Years | Identity & Mission | |
1892 to 1950 | Manual medicine | |
1951 to 1970 | Family practice / manual therapy | |
1971 to present | Full service care / multispeciality orientation |
Osteopathic medicine is a branch of the medical profession in the United States. Osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) can become fully licensed physicians (medical doctors) able to practice medicine and surgery in all 50 states and are recognized in 65 other countries, including all Canadian provinces.
Frontier physician Andrew Taylor Still founded the profession as a rejection of the prevailing system of medical thought of the 19th century. Still's techniques relied on manipulation of joints and bones, to diagnose and treat illness, and he called his practices "osteopathy". By the middle of the 20th century, the profession had moved closer to mainstream medicine, adopting modern public health and biomedical principles. American "osteopaths" became "osteopathic medical doctors", ultimately achieving full practice rights as medical doctors in all 50 states, including serving in the U.S. armed forces as physicians.
In the 21st century, the training of osteopathic medical physicians in the United States is equivalent to the training of Doctors of Medicine (M.D.s). Osteopathic medical physicians attend four years of medical school followed by an internship and a minimum two years of residency. They use all conventional methods of diagnosis and treatment. Though still trained in osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), the modern derivative of Still's techniques, they work in all specialties of medicine.