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First publication regarding osteopathic education in a Canadian journal!

 

http://cmej.synergiesprairies.ca/cmej/index.php/cmej/article/view/348

 

Abstract

Background: Doctors of osteopathic medicine (DO) are one of the fastest growing segments of health care professionals in the United States. Although Canada has taken significant leaps in the acknowledgment of US trained DOs, there continues to be a lack of understanding of the profession by Canadian trained physicians. In this article, we provide a brief overview of osteopathic medical education and training in the United States.

Method: Current information of osteopathic training by American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) and American Osteopathic Association (AOA) was presented. Data pertaining to Canadians enrolled in osteopathic colleges was compared with allopathic (MD) and international medical graduates (IMGs).

Results: Doctors of osteopathic medicine programs provide an additional pathway for students interested in pursuing a medical education. Canadian applications to osteopathic colleges are expected to grow due to successful post-graduate US residency matching, increased difficulty of matriculating at Canadian medical schools, and a greater awareness of the profession in Canada.

Conclusions: Given the increasing enrollment of Canadian students in US osteopathic medical schools, we expect that Canadian DOs will play a significant role in shaping health care in both the US and Canada.

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http://www.aacom.org/news-and-events/news-detail/2015/01/14/2015-01-15_ACGME-AOA-AACOM

 

It's official!

 

American Osteopathic Association and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Join the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education

 

Move Achieves Key Milestone in Aligning Residency Program Accreditation for MD, DO Physicians

 

CHICAGO, January 14, 2015 – The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) announced today that the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) are now ACGME member organizations.  The measure took effect January 1 and is a critical step toward implementation of a single accreditation system for all graduate medical education (GME) programs in the U.S.

The single accreditation system will allow graduates of allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) medical schools to complete their residency and/or fellowship education in ACGME-accredited programs and demonstrate achievement of common Milestones and competencies.  Currently, the ACGME and AOA maintain separate accreditations systems for allopathic and osteopathic educational programs.

Election of new members to the ACGME Board of Directors nominated by AOA and AACOM accompanies the establishment of member organization status, and is part of the agreement reached in early 2014 by the three organizations.    

This historic undertaking was driven by a shared desire to align GME structures and standards to improve public health, said Thomas Nasca, MD, MACP, chief executive officer of ACGME.

The partnership has the enthusiastic support of the other ACGME member organizations: the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, American Board of Medical Specialties and Council of Medical Specialty Societies.

“We welcome leaders from the American Osteopathic Association and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine to the ACGME as Member Organizations. Together, we are one step closer to helping to meet the health and health care needs of the American Public,” said Dr. Nasca.

Rapid growth in osteopathic medicine fostered an integration of DO and MD training in recent years. Of nearly 5,000 DO graduates seeking residencies in 2014, 45 percent entered ACGME programs, according to AOA President Robert S. Juhasz, DO, FACOI, FACP who noted that MDs and DOs are already accustomed to working side-by-side.

“The single GME system responds to the dynamic growth and interest in osteopathic medicine, but more importantly it ensures broad access to training for all current and future physicians,” said Dr. Juhasz, who also serves as president of Cleveland Clinic’s South Pointe Hospital. “We are very pleased with the progress we’ve made with the ACGME to create a single GME accreditation system that standardizes training, promotes efficiencies and helps ensure the quality and safety of health care delivery in this country.”

Beginning July 1, 2015, AOA-accredited programs will begin a five-year transition to ACGME accreditation. Osteopathic standards will be added to ACGME standards to define osteopathic programs, and MDs and DOs will remain eligible for all residences.

“We are very pleased to be joining the ACGME as a Member Organization to support the implementation of a single accreditation system for GME,” said Stephen C. Shannon, DO, MPH, president of AACOM. “Standardizing requirements for accrediting the training programs for all physicians in the U.S. is an important step in strengthening the postdoctoral education process and ensuring that the next generation of physicians is equipped to deliver quality health services to patients.”

As member organizations, AOA and AACOM will be integrated into governance and operations of the ACGME. Four osteopathic physicians have been elected to the Board of Directors, two nominated by the AOA and two by AACOM.

AOA Appointees:

  • Karen J. Nichols, DO, MA, MACOI, CS is dean of the Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is a past president of the AOA and was vice chair of AACOM’s Board of Deans until resigning from that board to accept this position.
  • David Forstein, DO, FACOOG is a reproductive endocrinologist and residency program director at Greenville Health System in South Carolina, where he also serves as vice chair for clinical affairs in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

AACOM Appointees:

  • Gary Slick, DO, MACOI, FACP is a medical director at the Osteopathic Medical Education Consortium of Oklahoma (OMECO), director of medical education at OMECO Teaching Health Centers, and professor of internal medicine at OSU Center for Health Sciences.
  • Clinton Adams, DO, FACHE is a professor of family medicine, the senior advisor for strategic leadership and external affairs, and formerly vice president of clinical affairs and dean at the Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific.

About the ACGME
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is a private, non-profit, professional organization responsible for the accreditation of approximately 9,600 residency and fellowship programs and approximately 700 institutions that sponsor these programs in the United States. Residency and fellowship programs educate over 120,000 resident physicians in 128 specialties and subspecialties. The ACGME’s mission is to improve health care by assessing and advancing the quality of resident physicians’ education through accreditation.

About the AOA
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) represents more than 104,000 osteopathic physicians (DOs) and osteopathic medical students; promotes public health; encourages scientific research; serves as the primary certifying body for DOs; is the accrediting agency for osteopathic medical schools; and has federal authority to accredit hospitals and other health care facilities. The AOA accredits more than 1,000 osteopathic GME programs with about 6,900 DO resident physicians.  More information on DOs/osteopathic medicine can be found at www.osteopathic.org.

About AACOM
The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) was founded in 1898 to support and assist the nation's osteopathic medical schools, and to serve as a unifying voice for osteopathic medical education. AACOM’s mission is to provide leadership for the osteopathic medical education community by promoting excellence in medical education, research and service, and by fostering innovation and quality across the continuum of osteopathic medical education to improve the health of the American public. AACOM represents the 30 accredited colleges of osteopathic medicine in the U.S., which are accredited to deliver instruction at 42 teaching locations in 28 states. In the 2014-15 academic year, these colleges are educating over 24,600 future physicians – more than 25 percent of new first-year U.S. medical students. Six of the colleges are public, and 24 are private institutions.

Edited by Mashmetoo
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey Guys,

 

I want to apply to DO schools, but here's my issue.

sGPA - 2.83  

cGPA - 3.34

MCAT - 29

 

I realize my sGPA is low. Can I retake those courses? Will that be a red flag? Retaking 1 could bring my sGPA to 3.5 cGPA to 3.42.

If i retook 2 concurrently, i could possibly achieve sGPA 3.83 cGPA 3.46

I can have the course(s) repeated and completed prior to my apps in June. Even after retake, am I even competitive enough?

 

Just started looking into DO more closely. I like the philosophy and approach to medicine. 

 

Let me know what you guys think. Be real, give it to me straight. I have solid ECs with shadowing, lots of leadership, hospital research (no pubs). 

 

Thanks guys!! Appreciate it.

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Thanks for the feedback ubc2012!

 

I believe for DO, science GPA is only bio, chem and physics. no math, orgo etc. included in the calc. 

Am I wrong about the calculation?

That is incorrect. Science gpa includes "other sciences" as well. Math is not included in the science gpa, but organic chem most definitely is.

 

Look up online AACOMAS course classifications and what is included in the calculation of sGPA.  It is easily google'able

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Updated profile.

 

cGPA 3.42

sGPA 3.67

MCAT 29 

 

MD shadowing, lots of leadership, hospital research (no pubs)

 

Since you're competing with other Canadians (many of whom have super stats) for very limited spots. For some odd reason i don't feel confident because of that cGPA. Am I being paranoid? lol.

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Hi guys - im beginning to think about DO schools, but is it true that its almost a requirement that you must shadow a DO physician for a successful application? 

No it is not an absolute requirment. It would help alot though to set yourself apart and have better chances, but an MD letter is fine.

 

Looking at your stats though a 3.91 and a 30/32 MCAT you should be fine. Keep trying in Canada, you will likely get into Uottawa! 

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Falling, what is your MCAT? They Like upward trends. If you can get your cgpa above 3.0 you'd have a shot if everything else is in line. PM me if you'd like to strategize your best options.

 

I'm writing the MCAT this summer. I won't be able to break 3.0 for my cgpa. A full degree of 2.0 is a huge weight to carry.

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I'm writing the MCAT this summer. I won't be able to break 3.0 for my cgpa. A full degree of 2.0 is a huge weight to carry.

Have you looked into the AACOMAS retake policy? If you have a number of very low grades (below C), then retaking those would potentially boost your GPAs. Try do a bit of calculating and see if you could retake the few courses with the lowest grades. Some DO schools like KCUMB have strict cutoffs (>3.25 for cGPA and sGPA), and it would be best to boost your cGPA to be above that for higher chances

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  • 2 months later...

Potential DO applicant. I'm a bit confused with the updated ACGME policy. Does this mean that previous DO residencies are now considered ACGME residencies? Meaning both MD and DO applicants can apply to them? Or are DO applicants now able to choose between applying to a ACGME residency, or their respective DO residency? Thank you!

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Potential DO applicant. I'm a bit confused with the updated ACGME policy. Does this mean that previous DO residencies are now considered ACGME residencies? Meaning both MD and DO applicants can apply to them? Or are DO applicants now able to choose between applying to a ACGME residency, or their respective DO residency? Thank you!

DO applicants have already been able to apply to ACGME residencies no problem. Much like CaRMS(Canadian MD) vs NRMP(ACGME), if you match to a program through one residency match, you are pulled from the other.

 

Example, this year the AOA match happened before the ACGME(NRMP) match, so if you applied both, and matched to the first one(AOA) you would be pulled from the ACGME match. 

 

The new merger, essentially will put AOA (DO) residencies under the umbrella of ACGME (MD) residencies.  In theory, previously considered AOA residencies will now be ACGME accredited - but still only DO students will be able to apply to them, unless there is a new competence for MD students to take to gain OMM competence. This has yet to be decided or figured out.  The end goal though, would likely be a combined match - so that you as a DO you could apply to both AOA and ACGME programs, without having to worry about being pulled. 

 

 

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DO applicants have already been able to apply to ACGME residencies no problem. Much like CaRMS(Canadian MD) vs NRMP(ACGME), if you match to a program through one residency match, you are pulled from the other.

 

Example, this year the AOA match happened before the ACGME(NRMP) match, so if you applied both, and matched to the first one(AOA) you would be pulled from the ACGME match. 

 

The new merger, essentially will put AOA (DO) residencies under the umbrella of ACGME (MD) residencies.  In theory, previously considered AOA residencies will now be ACGME accredited - but still only DO students will be able to apply to them, unless there is a new competence for MD students to take to gain OMM competence. This has yet to be decided or figured out.  The end goal though, would likely be a combined match - so that you as a DO you could apply to both AOA and ACGME programs, without having to worry about being pulled. 

 

 

 

I see, appreciate the feedback. It seems that this a great step for Canadians in DO schools wishing to come back to Canada after the completion of their ACGME residency. 

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I see, appreciate the feedback. It seems that this a great step for Canadians in DO schools wishing to come back to Canada after the completion of their ACGME residency. 

TBH, it doesn't really change all that much - DOs already matched ACGME, and yes the added benefit of being able to apply to AOA residencies that are now going to be ACGME accredited is a bonus, but not the difference between not matching v.s. matching.

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TBH, it doesn't really change all that much - DOs already matched ACGME, and yes the added benefit of being able to apply to AOA residencies that are now going to be ACGME accredited is a bonus, but not the difference between not matching v.s. matching.

 

You're right, but it may save some future studying (Only have to write the COMLEX). I'm just wondering whether there are any Canadian DO's practicing in Canada. For instance, how would a DO graduate from a ACGME residency be treated in Canada? Would they be able to practice? 

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You're right, but it may save some future studying (Only have to write the COMLEX). I'm just wondering whether there are any Canadian DO's practicing in Canada. For instance, how would a DO graduate from a ACGME residency be treated in Canada? Would they be able to practice? 

Yes there are at least a dozen. And they would have no different barriers than an MD with ACGME training. 

 

When you're licensed and "have the paperwork" - no one cares about anything else.

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