Graduating Osteopathic Physicians Get Results Of DO Match Day

Osteopathic Medical School Graduates Split Participation Between DO and MD Matches

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Feb 09, 2015, 12:48 ET

CHICAGO, Feb. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today 1,997 graduating osteopathic medical students successfully matched to osteopathic residencies, according to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). The other half of the Class of 2015 awaits the results of the MD Match, to be held March 20.

While new osteopathic physicians (DOs) and medical doctors (MDs) work and train together, graduating DOs currently must choose between two systems for their post-graduate education. Those selecting the DO Match typically pursue careers in primary care, as evidenced by today's results.

Of the 2,907 individuals who participated in the AOA Intern/Resident Registration Program, 75% of students and recent graduates successfully matched for a total of 2,179 placements.
Primary care accounted for 54% of all matches with a total of 1,171 placements.
497 applicants matched into internal medicine, up 13% from last year.
General surgery matched 144 applicants, an increase of 12% from last year.
289 applicants matched into emergency medicine, up 8% from last year.
In addition to primary care, 1,008 positions were filled in non-primary care specialty areas.

Osteopathic medicine is one of the fastest growing segments of health care, with one of every four medical students attending an osteopathic medical school. In 2011, about 14% of resident physicians held a DO degree, according to a study published by the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the numbers are rising dramatically.

Those changing demographics helped prompt the American Osteopathic Association, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to begin a five year transition to a single system for graduate medical education accreditation. While that process is underway, the Class of 2015 must choose between the two paths.

New physicians should find a path to practice that fits their philosophical outlook, says fourth-year medical student Alice Chen, who matched today in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx.

"Students should think deeply about what they want their career in medicine to look like," said Chen, a student representative on the AOA Board of Trustees who will graduate from A.T. Still University-School of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-SOMA) in Mesa, Arizona. "I could see how OMM can help people find health, and it really resonated with why I went into medicine in the first place. "

For others, including Jimmy DeMeo, president of the Student Osteopathic Medical Association, the DO Match offered fewer opportunities for him and his fiancée, Tiffany Barkley, who hopes for a career in child neurology. The two Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) students are participating in the "couples match" on March 20 because it offered a more direct path for Barkley.

"In the end, we took our chances at securing a position together," DeMeo said. "Fortunately, for our future colleagues, the single accreditation system should open up more program opportunities that would make it easier for couples to train in the same program."

"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 AOA President Robert Juhasz, DO, who also serves as president of Cleveland Clinic's South Pointe Hospital.

About the AOA
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) represents more than 110,000 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. More information on DOs/osteopathic medicine can be found at www.osteopathic.org.

SOURCE American Osteopathic Association