Explore Osteopathic Medicine – Pre-Health/Pre-Law Advising Center

What is Osteopathic Medicine?

Medical doctors, or physicians, are highly trained healthcare professionals who perform medical examinations, diagnose illnesses, prescribe drugs, and treat patients suffering from injury or disease. “Doctors of osteopathic medicine practice a ‘whole person’ approach to health care; rather than just treating your specific symptoms, osteopathic physicians focus on treating you as a whole.”

They receive special training in the musculoskeletal system so that they better understand how this particular system influences the condition of all other body systems. “In addition, DOs are trained to identify and correct structural problems, which can assist your body’s natural tendency toward health and self-healing. They also help patients develop attitudes and lifestyles that not only fight illnesses, but prevent diseases as well.”

Knowing what differentiates a medical doctor from other healthcare professions is one of the first essential steps of working towards becoming a physician. However, applicants must also consider why they want to be a physician and if medicine is the right profession for them.

Good, Questionable, and Bad Reasons to go into Medicine

Field Description Allopathic (MD) vs Osteopathic (DO) Medicine Osteopathic Medical Programs Medical School and Licensure Early Acceptance Program

Field Description

Work Setting

Physicians serve in all types of communities, from rural to inner city, and in a wide variety of settings, from private practice to clinics and hospitals. They also work in specialized settings, such as homeless shelters, schools, sports programs, prisons, nursing homes, developing countries, and the armed forces.

Physicians also serve in research, studying, and developing new treatments for disease, in academia, sharing their skills by educating medical students, in health organizations, pharmaceutical companies, medical technology manufacturing, health insurance companies, and in corporations with health and safety programs.

Related Careers

Physician assistant, nursing, medical technician, dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, biomedical research, biomedical engineering, and hospital administration.

Information is compiled from the following webpage: A Patient’s Guide to the Physician Assistant. Please note that these are just some notable differences among the fields and are not intended to be comprehensive. It is important to double check with certain schools regarding pre-requisites and program specifics.

CATEGORY	NURSE PRACTITIONER (NP)	PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT (PA)	ALLOPATHIC OR OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (MD/DO)
Total Post High School Education	6-8 years	4-6 years	8 years
Prerequisite Education	B.S. in Nursing (some exceptions) and clinical hours	B.A. or B.S. and clinical hours (for most)	B.A. or B.S. (strongly recommended)
Entrance Exams	May or may not be required	GRE or PACAT (some may accept MCAT)	MCAT
Application Timeline	Varies	Standard	Accelerated
Time in Classroom*	500 hours	1000 hours	2 years
Time in Clinic*	500-700 hours	2000 hours	2 years
Residency	None	Optional (1-2 years depending on specialty)	3-8 years
Degree or Certification Awarded	Master's Degree or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)	Physician Assistant Certified (PA-C)	Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.)
Recertification	1000 professional and practice hours AND ~15 CE credits/year OR exam every 5 years	100 education hours every 2 years AND exam every 10 years	MD: 50 education hours every year & ABMS certification recommended DO: 120 education hours every 3 years & ABMS certification recommended
Salary (US National Average May 2014)	$97,990	$97,280	$202,357 (varies greatly by specialty)
Independent Practitioner	MOST STATES		X
Complicated or High Risk Cases	VARIES	ASSIST	X
Perform Surgery	ASSIST	ASSIST	X
Deliver Babies	X	VARIES BY STATE	X
Write Prescriptions	X	X	X
Conduct Physical Exams	X	X	X
Diagnose	X	X	X
Treat Illness	X	X	X
Order and Interpret Tests	X	X	X
Patient Counseling	X	X	X

*Varies from school to school or program to program

Allopathic (MD) vs Osteopathic (DO) Medicine

	Allopathic (MD)	Osteopathic (DO)
# schools	~200	~44
Average GPA	3.72	3.54
Average MCAT Score	511	504
Average acceptance rate	40%	36%
Application	Primary & Secondary Application + Interviews	Primary & Secondary Application + Interviews
Requirements	AMCAS Application - Transcript - MCAT score - Personal statement - School-specific requirements - Letters of recommendation	AACOMAS Application - Transcript - MCAT score - Personal statement - School-specific requirements - Letters of recommendation
Personal Statement	Explain why you want to go into medical school	Why osteopathic medicine and why do you want to become a doctor
Medical School	2 pre-clinical years + 2 clinical years	2 pre-clinical years + 2 clinical years + 200-500 hours studying osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM)
Residency	National Residency Match Program - USMLE	Either National Residency Match OR Osteopathic Residency Programs - COMLEX and/or USMLE
Differences in surgeons present in each field	Allopathic graduates fill 92% of positions in plastic, neurological, and orthopedic surgery	7% of 2018 DO graduates went into general surgery, while 13% were matched with orthopedic surgery residencies

- Last year 94% of allopathic graduates were matched while 85% of osteopathic students received an MD residency placement

- About 56% of participating osteopathic graduates choose primary care (next is family medicine)

- American Medical Association recognizes and promotes both USMLE and COMLEX exams on an equal basis

Osteopathic Medical Programs

Years of Schooling Required to Become an Osteopathic Physician:

11+ years of education

Undergraduate Preparation (~4 years);
Medical School (4 years);
Residency (3-7 years, depending on speciality);
Fellowship (1+ year, optional).

Many schools require a bachelor’s degree. Although not all schools list a bachelor’s degree as a requirement for admission, few students are admitted without one. For those schools that do not require a bachelor’s degree, completing a bachelor’s degree is highly recommended. Admission to medical schools is highly competitive, and a bachelor’s degree significantly strengthens a student’s application and provides students with greater options for advancement and career opportunities.

Choosing a Major for Professional Schools in Health

Degree Conferred

Upon completion of osteopathic medical school, students are awarded the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO).

Matriculation Statistics

Based on data acquired by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

	Applicants	Matriculants	Percentage of Applicants that Matriculate
2023
National Applicants	23,412	9,062	39%
UH Mānoa Applicants	21	7	33%
2022
National Applicants	24,328	8,855	36%
UH Mānoa Applicants	24	10	42%
2021
National Applicants	28,013	7,637	27%
UH Mānoa Applicants	32	8	25%

Additional Applicant Information

Osteopathic Medicine Program in Hawai`i: Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC) through A.T. Still University Osteopathic Medical School in Arizona

Curriculum for 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th-year students will be completed at the WCCHC. Students will receive instruction via live podcasts while interacting with on-site faculty.

Gap Year

Students may choose to take a gap year after they graduate with their undergraduate degree. A “gap year” is the period of time between the end of your undergraduate education and the start of your professional school. A gap year might be a year or more depending on each person’s particular circumstances. Students may choose to participate in longer-term engagement activities during their gap year. Taking a gap year would change when to apply to professional school, please see a PAC peer advisor to help you plan when to apply and fit in a gap year experience.

Gap Year Presentation Recording

Post-Baccalaureate and Special Masters Programs

There are a large number of Post-Baccalaureate and Special Master's Programs offered across the nation. Although these programs vary greatly in terms of degree offerings, course curriculum, and program duration, they are all geared to help students in preparation for professional school by taking relevant graduate-level courses or to meet the necessary prerequisite courses for their intended program.

Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Programs

Combined Degree Programs

Many osteopathic schools offer combined degree programs: DO/PhD to combine medicine with research or teaching; DO/MBA to combine medicine with business administration; DO/MPH to combine medicine with public health; and so on. Combined degrees can be offered concurrently, sequentially, or in combination, and often extend the number of years in medical school.

Medical School and Licensure

What to Expect in Osteopathic Medical School

Osteopathic schools use a variety of curricula, including lecture-based, system-based, and problem-based learning (PBL), or a hybrid. Traditionally, medical education has followed a 2+2 model (2 years of basic sciences plus 2 years of clinical rotations), although many schools are moving toward curricula that integrate science and clinical instruction throughout the four years of medical school. In addition to the standard medical curriculum, osteopathic training includes instruction in osteopathic manipulative medicine, or OMM.

JABSOM's Problem Based Learning (PBL) Demonstrations
- Due to COVID-19 demonstrations are via Zoom
- Held twice a year (August/December)

The Licensing Examination(s)

The Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX-USA) is a three-step examination for osteopathic medical licensure in the United States. Near the end of their second year of medical school, students must pass COMLEX Level 1 before continuing. The two-part COMLEX Level 2-CE/PE which can be taken in any order, is administered during the third or fourth year, and helps to determine admission to residency programs. Osteopathic medical students may instead opt to take the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE), the licensing exam given to allopathic medical students. Students are assigned to internship/residency programs through a computerized process called “The Match.”

Upon graduation from medical school, new DOs work as interns/residents under the supervision of an attending physician. DOs have the option of completing the American Osteopathic Association (AOA, osteopathic)-accredited internships/residencies or Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME, allopathic)-accredited residencies. As of July 2020, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) will complete a transition to a single accreditation system for graduate medical education in the U.S. There will still be osteopathic-focused residency programs which will emphasize the unique principles and practices of the osteopathic medical profession. Interns/residents must pass the COMLEX Level 3 (or USMLE Step 3) after starting a residency program, and apply for licensure from the medical boards of their states before they can become fully licensed. All physicians must be licensed to practice.

Commercial Test Prep Companies for the USMLE/COMLEX

*Note PAC does not endorse any particular test preparation resource and this is not an exhaustive list.

Cram Fighter

Early Acceptance Program

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) Early Acceptance Program

LECOM and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) have developed a special Early Acceptance Program (EAP) that grants five qualified students a provisional early acceptance to LECOM’s Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree program each academic year using rolling admissions process. Students have the option of attending the main campus in Erie, Pennsylvania which includes an additional location at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA or a branch campus in Bradenton, Florida.

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