Learning Osteopathy

[TheNewGuy8]

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend just started med school in July at an Osteopathic school. Her main passion is OMM, she is loving what she's learning and (at the moment at least) wants to pursue OMM/OMT as her speciality (she has her eyes on the program in the bronx).

However, she is already getting very burnt out in the craziness of the process and she is frequently quesitoning whether this is really the right path for her.

my two questions are:

1) Is there any way to learn OMM in the states and practice just OMM? Is it at all a regulated field or would you basically be doing 'bodywork'? To learn it would you have to seek out a Canadian or European school? How long are those programs?

2) What is OMM residency like? Are you looking at 80+ hour weeks and 24+ hour shifts / etc? Or is it more laid back? How about a combined OMM and family medicine residency?

Thanks all!

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[411309]

wait..so she wants to practice OMM but doesnt want the other stuff...shouldnt she be a chiro then?

 

[oms2]

there is no such option available in the us, because a do school in the us is a medical school, it's all or nothing, not cafeteria style/a la carte. furthermore, nobody can practice 'osteopathy'/'osteopathic medicine' in the us without a us do degree and a state medical license.

 

[Bacchus]

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend just started med school in July at an Osteopathic school. Her main passion is OMM, she is loving what she's learning and (at the moment at least) wants to pursue OMM/OMT as her speciality (she has her eyes on the program in the bronx).

However, she is already getting very burnt out in the craziness of the process and she is frequently quesitoning whether this is really the right path for her.

my two questions are:

1) Is there any way to learn OMM in the states and practice just OMM? Is it at all a regulated field or would you basically be doing 'bodywork'? To learn it would you have to seek out a Canadian or European school? How long are those programs?

2) What is OMM residency like? Are you looking at 80+ hour weeks and 24+ hour shifts / etc? Or is it more laid back? How about a combined OMM and family medicine residency?

Thanks all!

In the US she would have to graduate from an osteopathic medical school and complete a residency in neuromuscular medicine/osteopathic manipulative medicine.

After residency she could do strictly OMM granted she is qualified to take and passes her respective boards (COMLEX I, CE/PE, and III along with the board licensing exam for OMM/NMM).

 

[facetguy]

wait..so she wants to practice OMM but doesnt want the other stuff...shouldnt she be a chiro then?

Only if she want to really learn her stuff!

 

[Soccer171983]

what your saying is kinda counterintuitive... You can not just do manipulation without having a pretty strong basis in medicine because the patients are gonna present with a specific complaint like, headaches, back pain, etc. YOu have to be able to use your knowledge base and apply it through omm. Most people that do omm (at least the people i know) do something like fp with an omm/nmm fellowship. I am not sure if there is just like a 1 year internship in omm and thats all you need to do. From my understanding you omm/nmm is usually a fellowship after residency.

 

[AFMD]

what your saying is kinda counterintuitive... You can not just do manipulation without having a pretty strong basis in medicine because the patients are gonna present with a specific complaint like, headaches, back pain, etc. YOu have to be able to use your knowledge base and apply it through omm. Most people that do omm (at least the people i know) do something like fp with an omm/nmm fellowship. I am not sure if there is just like a 1 year internship in omm and thats all you need to do. From my understanding you omm/nmm is usually a fellowship after residency.

I know an ophthalmologist who does omm. There is a fellowship, but you certainly don't need it to practice omm.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I know an ophthalmologist who does omm. There is a fellowship, but you certainly don't need it to practice omm.

Interesting. How often does he do OMM? I'm very curious how specialities outside of NMM, FP, and maybe PMR apply OMM to daily practice.

 

[AFMD]

Interesting. How often does he do OMM? I'm very curious how specialities outside of NMM, FP, and maybe PMR apply OMM to daily practice.

As far as I know not very often. Mostly on friends and family. But, as far as I understand, legally he could open up a purely OMM practice right now if he wanted to.

 

[TheNewGuy8]

As far as I know not very often. Mostly on friends and family. But, as far as I understand, legally he could open up a purely OMM practice right now if he wanted to.

That's sort of my main question. Is just OMM regulated in the states? For instance - if a person trained in osteopathy in Canada moves to the states, can they practice manipulation? Or, if you learn outside the states are you forever removed from practicing within the states?


As a corollary question - can a nurse practitioner learn OMM? I know there are workshops put on for MD's by DO's, but is there any way an NP working in primary care can learn and practice OMM?

 

[group_theory]

That's sort of my main question. Is just OMM regulated in the states? For instance - if a person trained in osteopathy in Canada moves to the states, can they practice manipulation? Or, if you learn outside the states are you forever removed from practicing within the states?

In all 50 states, the practice of OMM falls under the umbrella of "osteopathic medicine", which is a regulated profession by each individual state's board of health profession (whether it is a generic health professional board, the board of medicine, or if there is a board of osteopathic medicine). So in order to practice OMM, one needs to be licensed to practice osteopathic medicine (in the United States). People who are DOs from Canada, UK, France, Australia, Germany who were trained in osteopathy cannot legally practice OMM (and run the risk of being charged with practicing osteopathic medicine without a license). Also, since OMM/osteopathic medicine is a regulated profession, you are also require to have professional malpractice insurance ... and are held to the same standard as a US trained DO who does OMM (so if you miss a tumor, or your action delayed appropriate care, or your action worsen someone's prognosis), then you are subject to civil suits (hiring civil defense lawyers can be expensive, paying civil judgements without medmal can be very expensive, and criminal defense lawyers if the state goes after you for practicing without a license)

As a corollary question - can a nurse practitioner learn OMM? I know there are workshops put on for MD's by DO's, but is there any way an NP working in primary care can learn and practice OMM?

Interesting question because the scope of practice for an NP is decided by the board of nursing. I guess it will depend on the state. Some states have NP very independent and letting them do whatever they want, while others will restrict it to their supervising or collaborating physician's scope of practice (ie if their supervising doc is an ENT, they shouldn't be doing large joint injections, and if their supervising doc is an MD, they shouldn't be doing OMM). I think it is up to each state to decide, and to be honest, not sure if the state board of nursing will accept OMM/OMT as an extension of "advance practice of nursing". As far as billing goes, MDs/PAs/NPs can use the same CPT code as DOs when it comes to OMT billing, whereas chiropractors must use their own specific chiropractic codes.

MD doing OMT is also interesting since the definition of "medicine" is very broad and MDs (as well as DOs) are seen as physicians with an "unrestricted license" to practice medicine.

 

[Siggy]

But, as far as I understand, legally he could open up a purely OMM practice right now if he wanted to.

Well, an unrestricted medical license is just that... unrestricted. If a psychiatrist wanted to do transplant surgery, legally he could. Of course he would be held to the standard of a transplant surgeon when it comes to malpractice, but there's nothing illegal about it.

 

[Wolverines83]

That's sort of my main question. Is just OMM regulated in the states? For instance - if a person trained in osteopathy in Canada moves to the states, can they practice manipulation? Or, if you learn outside the states are you forever removed from practicing within the states?


As a corollary question - can a nurse practitioner learn OMM? I know there are workshops put on for MD's by DO's, but is there any way an NP working in primary care can learn and practice OMM?

In order to bill insurance for OMM she'd need to be a US trained DO.

I think she could be an MD with OMM training as well but that's a moot point since she's already in DO school.

So I guess she could do OMM as a Canadian/Euro trained osteopath but she couldn't bill for it and she would be hung high and dry if the gubmint ever found out she was "masquerading as a physician."

Osteopath from other country doesn't equal US trained DO. Even though "osteopath" is in there, they're not synonyms. Not a knock on the other countries but it seems they loosely use the term osteopath to represent what we call chiropractors.

 

[UltimateDO]

In the US she would have to graduate from an osteopathic medical school and complete a residency in neuromuscular medicine/osteopathic manipulative medicine.

After residency she could do strictly OMM granted she is qualified to take and passes her respective boards (COMLEX I, CE/PE, and III along with the board licensing exam for OMM/NMM).

Actually you just need to complete a traditional rotating osteopathic internship after DO school and get your license, there is no legal requirement for OMM/NMM residency or boards. There is a very well known OMM practitioner in NJ who only has an internship and is extremely competent and successful.

 

[dsoz]

There is a physician that I shadowed in Portland that has an OMM ONLY practice. He is double boarded in FM and OMM, but his practice is only OMM. It was a great place to shadow and learn about what it means to be a DO.

It is possible to have an OMM only practice. It is not just doing what a chiropractor does. I have seen both, and there is a difference.

Search "Osteopathic Advantage Portland" and you could find his website.

dsoz

 

[Textbookversion]

Why not PT? Or a massage therapist? No reason to become a physician if all you want to do is manipulation.

 

[TeamZissou]

Why not PT? Or a massage therapist? No reason to become a physician if all you want to do is manipulation.

Uh yes there is. Do not imply there is no difference in my manipulation skills (on avg as a DO) vs others. You cannot discount the knowledge of the body's physiological processes and pathology you gain from being a physician.

 

[n3xa]

Uh yes there is. Do not imply there is no difference in my manipulation skills (on avg as a DO) vs others. You cannot discount the knowledge of the body's physiological processes and pathology you gain from being a physician.

This. All of this.

 

[SpecterGT260]

Uh yes there is. Do not imply there is no difference in my manipulation skills (on avg as a DO) vs others. You cannot discount the knowledge of the body's physiological processes and pathology you gain from being a physician.

True, but the OP makes it sound like these things are not high on the priority list for his GF.

 

[Dharma]

Why not PT? Or a massage therapist? No reason to become a physician if all you want to do is manipulation.

Much to learn you have.

Uh yes there is. Do not imply there is no difference in my manipulation skills (on avg as a DO) vs others. You cannot discount the knowledge of the body's physiological processes and pathology you gain from being a physician.

And according to other OMM folks (who also actually make a bit of sense), a thorough understanding of anatomy and physiology is a necessary prerequisite for competent practice. $hit, even A.T. Still said some 100 years ago that a foundation in anatomy, physiology, histology, and biochemistry must be laid down first. His explanation is that it's all anatomy, even down to the microscopic level.

I know of a DO who practices mostly OMM in an FM practice... but completed an ACGME FM residency. When asked why, he responded that he wanted to be sure he could take care of everyone who walked through his door, and if not, be able to decipher what the pathology could be and get them to the right place/specialist ASAP. Couldn't do that without the skills of learned physician. Chances the non-physician would miss the zebras and the patient would be worse off because of the non-doc's lack of experience/knowledge.