To D.O. school that accepts you
Absolutely agreed. I'm an idealist, so brace yourself for a mouthful of mushy garbage (but garbage I believe in). Your inquiry is legit. Like most of us, you are asking a question that seeks to ascertain how we can acheive the best possible osteopathic education. It makes sense to determine which school is "best" and apply. Afterall, these rankings are available. Medical schools are 'ranked' by The US News and World Report.
How they are ranked:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-graduate-schools/2009/04/22/how-we-calculate-the-graduate-school-rankings.html?s_cid=related-links:TOP
Interestingly enough, although most DO schools are listed in the report, none (at least none of which I checked out) are ranked?!? Hmm, it seems they are giving priority to allopathic programs? Imagine that. Now, I understand that your question has probably been asked to fill that void - and, personally, I think it is a valid question. Since the US News and World Report ranks schools in terms of 'primary care' and 'research', it would be nice to know who is "best". This 'data' is not available. With a relatively narrow list of osteopathic schools to choose from, the best we can do is apply broadly and hope to get in somewhere. Each school is unique in terms of location, mission statement, year of establishment, strength of OMM program, etc. Ranking these is possible, but subjective, hence ranking schools may be useless to determine which school is best for any given individual.
Here's where the mushy garbage starts. After taking Chocolate Bear's advice, and reading "The D.O.s - Osteopathic Medicine in America", I have a much clearer perspective regarding the history of osteopathic medicine. From one man's vision arose a myriad of competing schools, most of which were diabolically working against each other to attract students. To make a long story short, eventually the AOA was formed to UNIFY the efforts of these schools - ensure each was supporting the osteopathic mission, regulating degree requirements, etc. After all, D.O.s were a minority, struggling for recognition in the face of allopathic oppression and persecution. In terms of standing together, I would hope that continue to do so today. It is within us to do so. As a minority (based on sheer numbers alone), it is up to our generation to ensure that the osteopathic philosophy does not get lost along the way. It is exciting that osteopathic medicine has virtually evolved to adopt a modern medicine approach to diagnosis and treatment. Drugs, surgery, OMM - we got it all! What's most important to me, is the philisophy. While I have read and agreed with numerous posts stating that OMM is rarely used or only used as an adjunt, etc., I believe that OMM is only one component used (or not) in today's osteopathic field. Simply put, I believe that it is important to retain the ideals of our field as the backbone of our approach in treating people. While many students shoot that down as propaganda, I won't - it's something i believe in (I never said MDs don't feel the same way
😉).
With that said, I hope to one day become an osteopathic physician. I will not compare my school to others as better or worse, but will be thankful that I got in somewhere, and appreciate the fact that I am on a massive team of DO's across the country, practicing a shared apporach that will hopefully never die.
Ok, go ahead and persecute me
