The D.O. will see you now By Tanya Albert Henry
W
hile doctors of allopathic medicine (M.D.’s) still account for the vast majority of practicing physicians in Georgia and the rest of the nation, 2019 marked the highest number of doctors of osteopathic medicine (D.O.’s) ever – with more than 120,000 in the U.S., according to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
AOA reports that nearly 7,000 new physicians graduated from osteopathic medical schools last year. And today, one of every four medical students attend a college of osteopathic medicine. Overall, the profession has grown by more than 60 percent in the past decade – a nearly 300 percent increase over the past 30 years per AOA’s ‘2019 Osteopathic Medical Profession Report.’ Georgia now boasts two osteopathic medical schools, the newest campus opening in South Georgia last fall. There were nearly 1,700 practicing D.O.’s in Georgia in 2019 – up from about 1,600 in 2018 – representing 1.6 percent of the state’s practicing physicians, keeping in mind that there were less than 1,000 D.O.’s in Georgia in 2006. So, what is the driving force behind this increase and what makes D.O.’s unique? In part, there are simply more osteopathic schools of medicine in the U.S. Georgia’s new campus was one of three that opened last year, with others opening in Tennessee and Florida. There are now 38 osteopathic schools that offer instruction at 59 locations, a 150 percent-plus increase from the 23 colleges and branch campuses in 2005. But that growth would not be possible without demand. In addition to a shortage of physicians, many believe that there has also been a change in mindset in what some patients expect from their physician. They want physicians who will spend more time listening, focusing on wellness, and “treating the whole person” – which are the cornerstones of osteopathic philosophy and training.
“Today’s patients are more informed as a practical matter, and many are looking for specific qualities in a physician,” says H. William Craver III, D.O., a general surgeon who became the dean of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) South Georgia in Moultrie after serving in that role at the PCOM Georgia campus in Suwanee since 2010. “We want every osteopathic medical student to graduate with an understanding of how to treat the patient as a whole and focus on wellness.” The D.O. philosophy Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., D.O., designed the osteopathic medicine model in Kirksville, Missouri in the 1870s and 1880s. He then opened the first school of osteopathy in 1892 to “promote the body’s innate ability to heal itself,” a philosophy that continues to be instilled in today’s D.O. students. Osteopathic medicine, which is known for producing a lot of primary care physicians, emphasizes the need for physicians to create partnerships with their patients to assess how one’s lifestyle and community affect their health. D.O.’s help patients manage acute and chronic illnesses, while preventing disease and promoting wellness. A D.O. is educated and trained to view their patients’ body parts and functions as interconnected, with one part impacting the others. For example, Dr. Craver says that if a patient comes in with knee pain, a D.O. is trained to check their ligaments and cartilage, but they are also trained to look at the bigger picture. He explains that, “Sometimes there may be knee pain that is coming from a problem with the hip or the ankle, or it could be a problem with your back that is changing your gait, and perhaps that is causing the pain to show up in your knee.” Dr. Craver says it comes down to making sure that the physician is coming back and evaluating the whole person and then asking what they as a physician can do to help the
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