You are a DO candidate if you want to see the patient beyond the clipboard, to listen to and truly see the person you are treating. The Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MU-COM) recognizes the power of the osteopathic medical philosophy, which treats the root cause of illness—not just symptoms—and promotes a lifetime of wellness.
Upon graduation, just like any MD, you will be a fully trained and licensed physician who can choose to practice any medical specialty. However, your DO training will emphasize a much more caring, respectful, and effective approach to the healing of the whole person—an approach that appreciates the body’s innate ability to heal itself.
This holistic approach to patient care means that osteopathic medical students learn how to integrate the patient into the healthcare process as a partner. Our DO program will train you to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds and provide the opportunity to practice these skills in the classroom and learning laboratories frequently, with standardized and simulated patients.
You will also be trained in the benefits of hands-on diagnosis and treatment through a system of therapy known as osteopathic manipulative medicine. Working in partnership with your patients, you will break down the barriers to good health by considering the impact that lifestyle and community have on the health of each individual.
DOs are licensed to practice the full scope of medicine in all 50 states. They practice in all types of environments, including the military, and in all types of specialties, from family medicine to obstetrics, surgery, and aerospace medicine. The osteopathic medical profession also has a proud heritage of producing primary care practitioners.
Regardless of the specialty you will eventually choose to practice, the strong foundation of primary care will make you a better physician with the ability to offer your patients the most comprehensive care available in medicine today.
Osteopathic medicine was founded by Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO, in the late 1800s in Kirksville, Missouri. He recognized that the medical practices of the day often caused more harm than good. He focused on developing a system of medical care that would promote the body’s innate ability to heal itself and called this system of medicine osteopathy, now known as osteopathic medicine.
DOs are trained to look at the whole person from their first days of medical school, which means they see each person as more than just a collection of organ systems and body parts that may become injured or diseased. This holistic approach to patient care means that osteopathic medical students learn how to integrate the patient into the healthcare process as a partner.
The osteopathic medical profession has a proud heritage of producing primary care practitioners. In fact, the mission statements of the majority of osteopathic medical schools state plainly that their purpose is the production of primary care physicians. Osteopathic medical tradition preaches that a strong foundation in primary care makes one a better physician, regardless of what specialty they may eventually practice.
