How can we spread the word about Osteopathy?

medicine1 · Feb 5, 2005

I am from New Mexico, and most people I talk to have either never even heard of Osteopathy or have many misconceptions about Osteopathy.
We need something more than brochures.
What can we do as a community?

OnMyWayThere · Feb 6, 2005

medicine1 said:
I am from New Mexico, and most people I talk to have either never even heard of Osteopathy or have many misconceptions about Osteopathy.
We need something more than brochures.
What can we do as a community?

It sounds very lame, but I honestly feel that having an Osteopathic physician in shows like ER will reach millions of viewers in America and inform them that 2 types of physicians exist... just 1 of many steps that may be taken to educate the public and not the solution to the problem. I am from California and many, many people whom I've spoken to about my acceptance do not know about our profession either. It doesn't bother me that much anymore but I do feel the AOA should make an effort to educate America, especially when they're so stuck on differences between DO and MD. Maybe the new generation that enters the AOA will make an effort to change things... and people who are very concerned today should voice their concerns and get some power within the AOA.

medicine1 · Feb 6, 2005

Also, every single bookstore that I have been to, seems to be quite short with any DO books. I can only find DO books on-line.
I had to special order A.T. Still's third and last book, Osteopathy "Research and Practice." They have four major TV programs that have MDs, but no DOs
Dr Vegas, ER, House MD, etc.

Idiopathic · Feb 6, 2005

medicine1 said:
Also, every single bookstore that I have been to, seems to be quite short with any DO books. I can only find DO books on-line.
I had to special order A.T. Still's third and last book, Osteopathy "Research and Practice." They have four major TV programs that have MDs, but no DOs
Dr Vegas, ER, House MD, etc.

Well, Im sure that the continuous opening of new schools is exactly the way to go about it. 🙄

The first step is convincing the world that DO schools are more than just cash cows and that they actually serve a purpose, as most do.

medicine1 · Feb 6, 2005

I see tons of MD students that have either written about their life, or have written about their medical educational experience/s.
I have not found a single DO autobiography at any of my local bookstores (Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc.).

medicine1 · Feb 6, 2005

We definitely need more DO schools...Unfortunately economics plays a huge role.... There are now more scholarships that provide money for DO school.
The Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship, National Health Service Corps, and the NIH Loan Repayment Program. Hopefully more and more DO students will apply for these programs. We should also encourage our local business to donate money, and in return provide services at a reduced rate, etc.

Fantasy Sports · Feb 6, 2005

medicine1 said:
We definitely need more DO schools...Unfortunately economics plays a huge role.... .

Yes, we need more DO schools that pop up just to make money without proper residency training.

Yes, we need more DO schools so that we (the AOA) can sucker unsuspecting students into the profession, take their money for 4 years, and then not give them a residency position (or give them the residencies that MDs and IMGs dont want)

Yes, we need more DO schools since there are not enough students having to migrate between hospitals every rotation to find one.

Yes, we need more money for podiatry schools and branch campuses.

Yes, we need a lot of DOs who, without residency training, will start practicing pseudo-medicine in order to remain legal and pay back their huge loans.

Or maybe, just maybe, DO schools should increase the number of quality residency positions and local clinical rotations and improve the QUALITY of education being given.

Otherwise, we might as well just call them trade schools...

medicine1 · Feb 6, 2005

I know you have stressed the idea of increasing good, quality AOA approved residency programs, but in order to do this we must increase our number. We can do this. There is a lot of money out there, we must be creative, and smarter than the ACGME/AOAGE Machine. Touro University-Nevada has been making remarkable affiliations, and the truth of the matter is that there are plenty of residency positions open. The secret is to get into a good clerkship rotation that works well with you, while receiving good letters of recommendation and or good marks with the program director. 🙂

Do you have a solution to 'the residency issue'? We must become active within our community, and find a source of money, that will help us achieve our goals.

(nicedream) · Feb 6, 2005

I, for one, believe that vis-a-vis perception in the eyes of the public, quantity and volume is the way to make the profession known and recognized. We are a very small minority folks - why do you think nobody has heard of it? It's not because we're not on TV - it's because we're not out there on the streets with our shingles hanging as much as MD's (which incidentally is of course also the reason we're not on TV). Joe Public doesn't give a crap about residencies or rotations - Joe Public doesn't have any clue what a residency is (by the way, there are plenty of residencies available to all US-graduated medical students). Furthermore, Joe Public doesn't have a concept of "cashcow" schools. What impresses people the most? When something can call itself "the biggest" or "the most well-known." Isn't it valid to ask why, if osteopathic medicine is equal to or superior to allopathic medicine, it only accounts for about 5% of practicing physicians? We live in a world of capitalism and natural selection; growth = success.

Fantasy Sports · Feb 6, 2005

medicine1 said:
I know you have stressed the idea of increasing good, quality AOA approved residency programs, but in order to do this we must increase our number. We can do this. There is a lot of money out there, we must be creative, and smarter than the ACGME/AOAGE Machine. Touro University-Nevada has been making remarkable affiliations, and the truth of the matter is that there are plenty of residency positions open. The secret is to get into a good clerkship rotation that works well with you, while receiving good letters of recommendation and or good marks with the program director. 🙂

Do you have a solution to 'the residency issue'? We must become active within our community, and find a source of money, that will help us achieve our goals.

I really think the AOA has completely misrepresented what is going on here.

You don't need to increase the number of DO schools to increase the number of AOA-approved residency programs. These are independent, and in the case of DO schools, sometimes mutually exclusive events.

There is NOT a lot of money out there. If there was would TCOM have lost a major hospital affiliate? If there is so much money, why do DO students oftentimes have to rotate to hospitals hundreds of miles away to finish off a specific rotation?

The problem is, the AOA is hoping that the MD schools schools can take up the surplus DOs who can't match into DO programs because of the lack of slots. The problem is MD schools don't have a lot of money to expand residency programs, and even if they did, they give their own first dibs.

So yes, in certain fields and in certain areas there are residency positions that are open. But they are almost always the ones no one wants. You guys should band together and demand that the AOA stop opening up schools left and right and instead spend money on residency positions that EVERY DO wants.

Honestly, we are probably only another decade away from a new Flexner-esque report if DO schools keep expanding like they do. And if this is to occur, and the ACGME residencies became MD-only as a result, you guys are in for a world of hurt. That's why you should support creating DO residencies instead of DO schools.

San_Juan_Sun · Feb 6, 2005

OnMyWayThere said:
It sounds very lame, but I honestly feel that having an Osteopathic physician in shows like ER will reach millions of viewers in America and inform them that 2 types of physicians exist

Yeah, let's start a massive postcard campaign telling ER we want DOs on our shows. This is sure to be an effective use of time and money. Better yet, we can send postcards to regular soap operas and stuff too. And we should include helpful storylines for the writers of these shows! How about one where a DO accidentally injects himself with undiluted botulinin toxin? Now that's good TV!

To the OP: I'm a New Mexican too. As you know, most people in NM don't know what a DO is, but that's okay. You can go home, be a good doc, and be the first thing people think of when they hear "DO". Also, be active in helping the community, or maybe serve in government. We don't need to convine the world that cranio-sacral rocks, we just need to show them that we're good docs helping in communities where any physicians are hard to find (and harder to keep around). Good luck.

OSUdoc08 · Feb 6, 2005

Easy:

commercials, billboards, word of mouth

JohnDO · Feb 6, 2005

Being excellent physicians is a good way to reach people one at a time.

dcratamt · Feb 6, 2005

How about a couple Super Bowl ads. Seriously though, a couple ads on TV and the problem would be fixed. Even if only one out of every 100 people sees it the word will spread.

djquick83 · Feb 6, 2005

As much as I hate to say this, please keep the profession underground. It will only lead to more ppl applying and schools making the standards for admission as competitive as MD schools. If that happened, I know I would never have made it into DO school even though Im sure I would make a geat doctor myself in the future. Besides, the less people there are to perform OMM means that there is just that many experts in the field. if everybody practiced it, it wouldnt be as special as it is now, cause u could get it from your ordinary physician as well. Lets keep it between us DO's and those who are interested in taking that route. Just my .02.

Buster Douglas · Feb 6, 2005

medicine1 said:
What can we do as a community?

Put your school's sticker on the back of your car. Work hard. Explain what a DO is when people ask.

daveyboy · Feb 6, 2005

Aside from those doing FP, public awareness really isn't going to do alot to bring patients to the private practice of a specialist. The vast majority of physicians get their new patients by referal from other physicians.

The best way to increase awareness about DO's would be a consistent display of competence in your chosen specialty, which would give other docs a reason to refer patients to you. If a patient asks what a DO is, you can explain it, and then get on with being a doctor.

TV characters do not generate referals.

OnMyWayThere · Feb 7, 2005

San_Juan_Sun said:
Yeah, let's start a massive postcard campaign telling ER we want DOs on our shows. This is sure to be an effective use of time and money. Better yet, we can send postcards to regular soap operas and stuff too. And we should include helpful storylines for the writers of these shows! How about one where a DO accidentally injects himself with undiluted botulinin toxin? Now that's good TV!

To the OP: I'm a New Mexican too. As you know, most people in NM don't know what a DO is, but that's okay. You can go home, be a good doc, and be the first thing people think of when they hear "DO". Also, be active in helping the community, or maybe serve in government. We don't need to convine the world that cranio-sacral rocks, we just need to show them that we're good docs helping in communities where any physicians are hard to find (and harder to keep around). Good luck.

The question wasn't on how to help our communities and be good doctors. You might have missed it but the OP was asking more in the lines of public awareness and yes, it would help a great deal to put that information where almost every American spends some time, the television.

dcratamt · Feb 7, 2005

daveyboy said:
Aside from those doing FP, public awareness really isn't going to do alot to bring patients to the private practice of a specialist. The vast majority of physicians get their new patients by referal from other physicians.

The best way to increase awareness about DO's would be a consistent display of competence in your chosen specialty, which would give other docs a reason to refer patients to you. If a patient asks what a DO is, you can explain it, and then get on with being a doctor.

TV characters do not generate referals.

We have been competent for over 100 years; people still don't recognize. Time for billboards and TV i say.

dcratamt · Feb 7, 2005

djquick83 said:
As much as I hate to say this, please keep the profession underground. It will only lead to more ppl applying and schools making the standards for admission as competitive as MD schools. If that happened, I know I would never have made it into DO school even though Im sure I would make a geat doctor myself in the future. Besides, the less people there are to perform OMM means that there is just that many experts in the field. if everybody practiced it, it wouldnt be as special as it is now, cause u could get it from your ordinary physician as well. Lets keep it between us DO's and those who are interested in taking that route. Just my .02.

I have thought the same thing myself 👍

medicine1 · Feb 7, 2005

If DOs only make up 5% of the physician population, than how many Neurosurgeons make up the Physician population? What is the percentage of Orthopedic Surgeons? What is the percentage of primary care physicians?
We as a minority cannot help all those in need, nor are we a large enough group to be taken seriously, yet. There are people out there that are successful and they want to keep everyone else out. We must expand and grow, and learn from our predecessors. Keeping ourselves small will not help us as a whole, but only benefit a few.

medicine1 · Feb 9, 2005

I am glad to see more and more recognition and scholarships going to D.O. students, physicians, teachers, and researchers. Exempli gratia, HPSP, NIH research initiative, NHSC scholarship, etc. Perhaps this will help more and more people learn about us, and get more recognition and understanding in the USA, and around the world.

How can we spread the word about Osteopathy?

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