Basic HTML Version
30
COM Outlook . Summer 2012
Osteopathic
Physicians
Chronicling an
Uphill Battle...
Silencing Stigma: Historical Reflections
Illuminate the Decline of D.O. Bias
By Scott Colton, APR
Director of Medical Communications
physicians who battled rampant prejudice at every turn, the profes-
sion eventually achieved legislative parity with its allopathic brethren
as well as near-universal acceptance nationwide. In this insightful
look back, three osteopathic pioneers who have a longstanding link to
NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine—William Levin, D.O., Arnold
Melnick, D.O., M.Sc., FACOP, and Howard Neer, D.O., FACOFP,
share their memories of those trying, but never dull, times.
Confronting Overt Osteopathic Intolerance
From the 1940s through the 1960s, when the profession was
experiencing significant growing pains, Drs. Levin, Melnick, and Neer
were at various stages in their development as osteopathic practitio-
ners in locales stretching from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Miami,
Florida. Nevertheless, the common denominator connecting them as
D.O. compatriots was their ongoing battle to overcome overt osteo-
pathic bias from a variety of sources.
“The first actual bias I ever faced occurred in 1959 when I filled
out several school physicals for some schoolchildren and the teachers
would not accept them because the family was told I was not a real
doctor,” said Dr. Levin, who graduated from Philadelphia College of
n June 22, 1874, a revolutionary thinker named Andrew Taylor
Still, M.D., made history when he first articulated the principles
of osteopathic medicine. That momentous incident in the annals of
medicine would also presage the dawn of what would become a
protracted and often-rancorous battle with the allopathic (M.D.) profes-
sion, pharmaceutical companies, and the U.S. government to earn
similar practice parity and rights.
Over the ensuing 138 years, the profession has advanced mightily
to become one of the fastest-growing health care disciplines, with
over 20 percent of all U.S. medical students now attending one of the
29 U.S. colleges of osteopathic medicine as well as their four branch
campuses and four additional teaching locations.
Although the profession has come a long way, especially in the
past 40 years, it’s important to acknowledge one inexorable statis-
tic in regard to analyzing the physician landscape that exists in the
United States today: M.D.s rule—at least from a numbers perspec-
tive. According to recent figures, there are over 78,000 osteopathic
physicians, but that number is significantly dwarfed by the nearly one
million allopathic physicians comprising the physician workforce.
However, thanks to the dogged efforts of numerous osteopathic
O