Osteopathic medicine is a medical discipline that originated in the United States. In 1874, Dr. Andrew Taylor Stills started practicing and teaching a new type of medical practice. He thought traditional medicine (MD) as taught at the time was corrupt and placed too much emphasis on treating symptoms instead of the root causes of illness.
Dr Stills’ criticism of traditional medicine was well founded. Prior to the Flexnor Report (1910), there was no universal medical curriculum, nor any accrediting body regulating medical education. Anyone could open a medical school, and there were a large number of for-profit and low quality schools. In some places in the US, medicine and quackery were synonymous.
Osteopathic medicine is distinct from osteopathy which is a pseudo-scientific alternative medical practice of manual manipulation of muscle tissue to improve health that is practiced in many countries.
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Common Questions About Osteopathic Medicine
- Do DO schools provide the same or very similar training to MD schools?
Yes. Today the curricula for allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) medicine are nearly indistinguishable.
There are a few small differences. Osteopathic medical schools still teach some osteopathic manual manipulation (OMM) techniques, although fewer than 25% of their graduates use these techniques in their medical practice.
Osteopathic (DO) medical schools use a different set of national standardized exams for licensing than allopathic (MD) medical schools do. DO schools use COMLEX (Comprehensive Osteopathic Medicine Licensing Exam) and MD schools use USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam). Some DOs will take both COMLEX and USMLE exams. COMLEX exams are required for graduation and state medical licensing, but some residency programs require or strongly prefer USMLE scores for Match purposes.
Prior to 2020, osteopathic medical schools and allopathic medical schools operated completely separate Match services, each with its own set of residency programs. However, in 2020, the 2 separate systems merged into a single match under the NRMP (National Residency Matching Program).
In the most recent NRMP Match (2026) the match rates for MDs and DOs were virtually identical. (93.5% for MDs; 93.2% for DOs)
- Can DO students match into competitive specialties?
Yes. DOs can and do match into dermatology, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery and all the highly competitive specialties.
It may be more difficult for DO students to build the necessary portfolio for competitive specialties since osteopathic medical schools are not required to support research facilities and activities that MD schools are required to have. Because of this, DO students will need to seek out their own opportunities for specialty-based research. Also since osteopathic medical schools typically do not have a home hospital where they train their students, the med student aiming for one of the competitive specialties must be willing to find their own placements for clinical rotations and sub-Is in their desired specialty.
- Since most DO schools do not have an affiliated hospital, where are clinical rotations done?
DO students may rotate through a variety of different clinical facilities. Some rotations may be done at a private medical practice or clinic, at a community hospital which can be local to the school or at some distance away; at a secondary or tertiary academic affiliated hospital where they train side-by-side with MD students. Some osteopathic medical schools expect their students to arrange all their own elective rotations; others will work with their students to find elective placements for them. All osteopathic medical schools provide clinical rotation sites for their 3rd year students to do their required clinical rotations.
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- How much do DO schools value their specific missions (e.g. primary care in underserved communities) in the admissions process?
Osteopathic medical schools, just like their allopathic cousins, take their missions quite seriously and mission-fit is one the qualities that is considered when making admission decisions.
- Compare cost between MD and DO schools.
With the exception of a few state-sponsored schools, all osteopathic medical schools are privately owned and operated. There are both not-for-profit and for-profit osteopathic medical schools. The tuition costs for a private MD and a private DO school are quite comparable. Because many DO schools are located in smaller towns and more rural areas, the cost of living in these areas may be lower than at a medical school located in an expensive urban area.
- Can DOs go into academic medicine?
Yes. There are DOs on faculty at academic hospitals all over the US.
- Which DO schools give geographic preference to applicants?
Due to receiving state funding, the following schools give preference to in-state applicants
MSUCOM —>Michigan
OU-HCOM —> Ohio
WV-COM —>West Virginia
TCOM —>Texas
SHSU-COM —>Texas
Rowan-Virtua SOM —>New Jersey
UNCO-COM —> Colorado
Additionally, a number of other osteopathic medical schools have some preference for students who come from the same general geographic region where the school is located.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/well/osteopath-doctor-health.html?unlocked_article_code=1.s1A.ONDI.vUn3TvdgY-VX&smid=url-share
So Your Doctor Is a D.O. Does That Matter?
By most measures, osteopathic medicine is a profession in its prime.
The number of doctors of osteopathic medicine, or D.O.s, has grown 70 percent in the last decade and is expected to continue expanding.
More than a quarter of all medical students in the United States are training to become D.O.s, thanks in part to limited slots in traditional medical schools and ever-growing openings at osteopathic schools (14 campuses have opened in the last five years).
And in recent years, the field has gained prestige as its doctors have risen to the highest medical posts in the country: leading top medical systems, overseeing NASA’s medical team, running the most followed medical page on social media and, during the last three administrations, overseeing the medical care of the president of the United States.
Yet the changing face of medicine has largely been invisible to the public. Beyond vague notions that D.O.s are more holistic, or stereotypes that they were rejected from traditional medical schools, very few patients know how a D.O.’s training might shape their health care. One of the most commonly searched questions on Google about D.O.s, who have had full rights to practice medicine in the United States since 1973, is whether they are physicians.