Osteopathy, unlike osteopathic medicine, which is a branch of the medical profession in the United States, is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. In most countries, practitioners of osteopathy are not medically trained and are referred to as osteopaths.
Osteopathic medicine is a branch of the medical profession in the United States that promotes the practice of science-based medicine, often referred to in this context as allopathic medicine, with a set of philosophy and principles set by its earlier form, osteopathy. Osteopathic physicians (DOs) are graduates of American osteopathic medical colleges and are licensed to practice the full scope of medicine and surgery in all 50 U.S. states. The field is distinct from osteopathic practices offered in nations outside of the U.S.—in which practitioners are generally considered neither parts of core medical staff nor of medicine itself; rather, they are considered alternative medicine practitioners. The other major branch of medicine in the United States is referred to by practitioners of osteopathic medicine as allopathic medicine.
Midwestern University (MWU) is a private medical and professional school with campuses in Downers Grove, Illinois and Glendale, Arizona. As of the 2022–23 academic year, a total of 2,758 students were enrolled at the Downers Grove campus and 3,782 were enrolled at the Glendale campus.
The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) is a private medical school on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, with branch campuses in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, and Monroe, Louisiana. VCOM also recently added Bluefield University to its list of campuses. Founded in 2002, VCOM graduated its first class of 139 students in June 2007.
Des Moines University (DMU) is a private medical school in West Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1898, Des Moines University is the second oldest osteopathic medical school and the fifteenth largest medical school in the United States. DMU's three colleges—the College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, and College of Health Sciences—offer nine academic degrees, including master's and doctorate degrees.
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) is the representative member organization for the more than 176,000 osteopathic medical doctors (D.O.s) and osteopathic medical students in the United States. The AOA is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and is involved in post-graduate training for osteopathic physicians. Beginning in 2015, it began accrediting post-graduate education as a committee within the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, creating a unified accreditation system for all DOs and MDs in the United States. The organization promotes public health, encourages academic scientific research, serves as the primary certifying body for D.O.s overseeing 18 certifying boards, and is the accrediting agency for osteopathic medical schools through its Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. As of October 2015, the AOA no longer owns the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), which accredited hospitals and other health care facilities.
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) is a private medical school with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and additional locations in Suwanee, Georgia and Moultrie, Georgia.
Tyler C. Cymet, D.O., FACP, FACOFP, FACHT is a physician in Baltimore, Maryland. Cymet attended Emory University for his premedical undergraduate degree and majored in psychology and anthropology. He then attended medical school at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine to acquire his medical degree, served as an intern at the Midwestern University Graduate Medical Education system, performed a Primary Care Internal Medicine residency at Yale University, and did additional training at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.
Touro University Nevada (TUN) is a private university in Henderson, Nevada. It is part of the Touro College and University System. Touro University Nevada is a branch campus of its sister campus Touro University California.
Most physicians in the United States hold either the Doctor of Medicine degree (MD) or the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree (DO). Institutions awarding the MD are accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). Institutions awarding the DO are accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). The World Directory of Medical Schools lists both LCME accredited MD programs and COCA accredited DO programs as US medical schools. Foreign-trained osteopaths do not hold DO degrees and are not recognized as physicians in the United States or in other jurisdictions.
Americares is a global non-profit organization focused on health and development that responds to individuals affected by poverty, disaster, or crisis. The organization addresses poverty, disasters, or crises with medicine, medical supplies and health programs.
The New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYIT-COM) is a private medical school located primarily in Old Westbury, New York. It also has a degree-granting campus in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Founded in 1977, NYIT-COM is an academic division of the New York Institute of Technology. Formerly the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, it is one of the largest medical schools in the United States. As of 2023, the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine has a 100 percent match rate, with all members of the Class of 2023 placed into residencies, and U.S. News & World Report ranks the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine #49 among medical schools in the United States with the most graduates practicing primary care.
Elizabeth Alex is an American former news anchor who was the lead anchor for KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri until 2013. She currently serves as Executive Director of University Relations at Kansas City University.
A.T. Still University (ATSU) is a private medical school based in Kirksville, Missouri, with a second campus in Arizona and third campus in Santa Maria, California. It was founded in 1892 by Andrew Taylor Still and was the world's first osteopathic medical school. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. ATSU includes three campuses on 200 acres with seven schools and colleges.
Rocky Vista University (RVU) is a private, for-profit medical school with campus locations in Englewood, Colorado, Ivins, Utah, and Billings, Montana. The school opened in 2006 as the only modern for-profit medical school in the United States although other for-profit schools have since opened. RVU's College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM) grants the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree and admitted its inaugural class of medical students at the Parker, Colorado campus in August 2008.
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licensed as a physician or surgeon and thus have full medical and surgical practicing rights in all 50 US states. As of 2021, there were 168,701 osteopathic physicians and medical students in DO programs across the United States. Osteopathic medicine emerged historically from the quasi-medical practice of osteopathy, but has become a distinct and proper medical profession.
The College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) is a private, non-profit medical school for osteopathic medicine located in downtown Pomona, in the U.S. state of California. The college opened in 1977 as the only osteopathic medical school west of the Rocky Mountains. COMP was the founding program of Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU), which now has 8 colleges in addition to COMP, each offering professional degrees in various fields of healthcare. COMP has a single 4-year program, conferring the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree. Graduates are eligible to practice medicine in all 50 states and more than 85 countries.
The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME), founded in 1934 as the National Osteopathic Board of Examiners for Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons, Inc., is a United States examination board which sets state recognized examinations for osteopathic medical students and began administering exams in February 1935. The NBOME is an independent, nonprofit organization and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The NBOME states that its mission is "to protect the public by providing the means to assess competencies for osteopathic medicine and related health care professions." The NBOME conducts research to monitor the quality of the COMLEX examinations.
Health & Help is an international non-governmental humanitarian aid organization, providing medical care in developing countries. The organization opened its clinics in Central American countries with poorly developed infrastructure and low-income population, with little or medical care in most of the regions. The project was founded in 2015 by Viktoria Valikova, MD, an infectious disease specialist from Ufa, Russia, who has been working in Central America since 2014, and Karina Basharova, the CEO of the project. The first clinic opened its doors in early 2017[1][2]. There are two Health & Help medical facilities in Central America, located in rural parts of Guatemala and Nicaragua. Health & Help staff includes multinational volunteer physicians and other medical professionals as well as photographers, coordinators, assistants, construction workers and home-based specialists[3].
International Medical Relief (IMR) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) headquartered in Colorado, United States. Its primary objective is to offer healthcare services to marginalized and underserved populations worldwide. IMR achieves this by enlisting healthcare professionals and volunteer doctors who donates their time and expertise.
