Neurology is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the spinal cord and the peripheral nerves. Neurological practice relies heavily on the field of neuroscience, the scientific study of the nervous system.
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin. It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical doctor who manages diseases related to skin, hair, nails, and some cosmetic problems.
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.
A podiatrist is a medical professional devoted to the treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. The term originated in North America but has now become the accepted term in the English-speaking world for all practitioners of podiatric medicine. The word chiropodist was previously used in the United States, but it is now regarded as antiquated.
Hospital medicine is a medical specialty that exists in some countries as a branch of family medicine or internal medicine, dealing with the care of acutely ill hospitalized patients. Physicians whose primary professional focus is caring for hospitalized patients only while they are in the hospital are called hospitalists. Originating in the United States, this type of medical practice has extended into Australia and Canada. The vast majority of physicians who refer to themselves as hospitalists focus their practice upon hospitalized patients. Hospitalists are not necessarily required to have separate board certification in hospital medicine.
The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) is a private osteopathic 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.
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.
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is the body responsible for accrediting all graduate medical training programs for physicians in the United States. It is a non-profit private council that evaluates and accredits medical residency and internship programs.
The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is a non-profit organization established in 1933 which represents 24 broad areas of specialty medicine. ABMS is the largest and most widely recognized physician-led specialty certification organization in the United States. The other certification organizations in the United States are the American Board of Physician Specialties and American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists.
A fellowship is the period of medical training, in the United States and Canada, that a physician, dentist, or veterinarian may undertake after completing a specialty training program (residency). During this time, the physician is known as a fellow. Fellows are capable of acting as an attending physician or a consultant physician in the specialist field in which they were trained, such as internal medicine or pediatrics. After completing a fellowship in the relevant sub-specialty, the physician is permitted to practice without direct supervision by other physicians in that sub-specialty, such as cardiology or oncology.
The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is a non-profit, independent medical association of American physicians who practice in family medicine and its sub-specialties. Founded in February 1969 as the American Board of Family Practice (ABFP), the group was the 20th medical specialty to be recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties and was formed out of a need to encourage medical school graduates to enter general practice. It adopted its current name in 2005.
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.
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 American Board of Nuclear Medicine (ABNM) certifies physicians as specialists in the practice of nuclear medicine. Diplomates of the ABNM are called nuclear medicine physicians. The ABNM is one of the 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
Larkin Community Hospital (LCH) is a for-profit 146-bed general medical, surgical and psychiatric teaching hospital in South Miami, Florida. In the last year with available data, LCH had about 7,523 emergency department visits and 5,792 admissions. Physicians at the hospital performed 794 inpatient and 739 outpatient surgeries.
In 2006, hospice and palliative medicine was officially recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, and is co-sponsored by the American Boards of
The American Osteopathic Board of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (AOBNMM) is an organization that provides board certification to qualified Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), and Medical Doctors (MD) in the medical specialty of osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine (ONMM). The AOBNMM is one of 18 medical specialty certifying boards of the American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). As of December 2022, over 1000 osteopathic physicians hold active certification with the AOBNMM.
The American Osteopathic Board of Pediatrics (AOBP) is an organization that provides board certification to qualified Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of medical diseases in infants, children, and adolescents (pediatricians). The board is one 18 medical specialty certifying boards of the American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), and was established in 1940. Certification in pediatrics has grown to over 1,000 diplomates over the last decade. It was reported in 2011, 477 osteopathic pediatricians held active certification with the AOBP. With single accreditation in place both osteopathic and allopathic residency training candidates are eligible to examine for certification with the American Osteopathic Board of Pediatrics.
