NSU Horizons Winter 2008 - 2009

33 horizons For Roger Alvarez, the decision to study osteopathic medicine was based on a belief that he could make a differ- ence in his patients’ lives by using a ho- listic approach to treat them. Alvarez, a fourth-year medical stu- dent at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, was attracted to osteopathic medicine’s non- traditional way of seeing patients. He liked the fact that osteopathic doctors spent a lot of time with their patients, looking at how one part of their bodies affected another. “This type of medicine drew me in and resonated with my personal views of health,” Alvarez said. “Part of the appeal of osteopathic medicine comes from the recognition of something miss- ing from traditional medicine.” For most people, however, osteopath- ic medicine is a foreign term they aren’t familiar with, even though the profes- sion has been around since 1874. De- spite the unfamiliarity, the profession has grown exponentially in the last de- cade thanks to its unique approach to health care. Osteopathic doctors look at the pa- tient’s entire body to diagnose a problem. They do so by examining the whole pa- tient and asking questions about social, environmental, and cultural factors that might affect the patient’s condition. These physicians also practice osteopath- ic manipulative treatment, when neces- sary, to heal patients. Manipulation is the doctors’ use of their hands to correct the muscles, nerves, and bones that make up the body’s musculoskeletal system. Osteopath- ic physicians believe this system affects many ailments. Students who graduate from osteopathic medical schools are given a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree, or D.O. Those who complete their medical training at allopathic medical schools are given a Doctor of Allopathic Medicine degree, or M.D. Both D.O.s and M.D.s must pass similar national licensing examinations in order to practice. Like M.D.s, D.O.s become specialists in a variety of areas such as cardiology, emergency- room medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, family medicine, and oncology, among many others. The only major differences are that D.O.s use osteo- pathic manipulative treatment and take a more holistic approach to treat patients compared to allopathic physicians, and relative- ly more D.O.s go into primary care than M.D.s. Like allopathic medical schools, student enrollment at os- teopathic medical schools has increased partly because of the national shortage of physicians. The need for doctors, along with the nontraditional approach of osteopathic medicine, has attracted students like Alvarez. As a result, the number of applicants for spots at NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, and to osteopathic medical schools across the country, has been on the rise this decade. Roughly 1,977 applicants applied for 181 spots at NSU’s medical school in 2002, according to statistics from NSU’s Health Professions Division. In 2008, that number nearly dou- bled to 3,463 applicants for 231 spots. In 2002, there were 36,107 applicants to osteopathic medical schools throughout the country, according to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). In 2008, the applicant pool more than doubled to 83,392 applicants. Despite the rising popularity of osteopathic medicine, many people are still not familiar with it. Public Confusion Although both osteopathic and allopathic doctors go through rigorous training that includes medical residencies, which can last from three to seven years, the M.D. degree is a lot more recognizable to the public. There are several factors that influence osteopathic medicine’s lack of public awareness. First, are the numbers. In 2006, there were 921,904 M.D.s practicing in the United States compared to 58,940 D.O.s, according to the latest data from the American Medical Association and the American Osteopathic Association. “A major factor that has contributed to osteopathic medi- cine’s lack of visibility among the lay public is simply the rela- tively small size of our profession,” said Lawrence Jacobson, D.O., vice dean of NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. “Many communities this day still have not had an osteopathic physician practicing medicine in their vicinity.” Because of its relatively small size, Jacobson said, the pro- fession has not, until recent years, grown to a point that has What We Don’t Know Might Cure Us By Ken Ma c Medicine