Even doctors need to get a pass. And in the medical world, the equivalent of a pass is a medical license.
If you want to practice medicine, then you will need a license to do it. Physician licensing is state-specific.
You can’t get a license unless you have graduated from an osteopathic medical school and successfully completed a minimum of six months of a residency (and then you qualify only in the Virgin Islands). For many states, the minimum requirement to get a license is one year, in others it is two years of residency after graduation from DO school.
The Federation of State Medical Licensure Boards provides state-specific requirements for licensure, including contact information.
Some states have a DO board that grants licenses and others have a licensure board that handles both DOs and MDs.
It takes some time too. Most states require three months to complete the paperwork for initial licensure. If there are any issues, or difficulty in obtaining documents, it can take six months.
Can I get a license without an osteopathic internship?
There are five states (Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) that require osteopathic physicians to show that they have the broad-based training of a generalist before they will be granted a license. This can be demonstrated by the completion of an Osteopathic Internship, and in some states a transitional year, or the equivalent which includes a month of intern-level training in medicine, surgery, ob/gyn, and pediatrics.
CME and the Newly Licensed Physician
As soon as you get a license, you have to think about how you are going to keep it through Continuing Medical Education. State requirements are typically 50 hours or fewer each year, with the requirements for continuing medical education being less than the requirements to maintain board certification.