Osteopathic Medical School Applications Reach Record Highs

Applications to U.S. colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) have already reached record highs again this year, with many applications yet to be received before the mid-April deadline. The application numbers reflect a six-year period during which several new osteopathic medical schools have been built and thousands of additional potential medical students have applied to enter one of the fastest-growing health care sectors.

Some 11,650 individuals are hoping to fill one of the 4,462 total fall 2008 seats available at the nation’s 25 COMs and their branch campuses, compared with last year’s record-setting 11,460. The growth represents an increase of more than 4 percent over this point in the application cycle last year.

Active osteopathic physicians now number more than 53,000, or 7 percent of the nation's 744,000 physicians, and over 3,100 more are graduating each year. By 2010, COMs will graduate about 4,500 DOs annually. 

Like their MD counterparts, osteopathic physicians (DOs) are licensed to practice the full scope of medicine in their choice of medical specialty. And new DOs may be especially helpful in mitigating the impact of the impending primary care physician shortage.

The osteopathic medical profession has a heritage of producing primary care practitioners. The majority of osteopathic medical school graduates choose careers in primary care, and the COMs continue to focus on the importance of primary care in their mission statements and educational models.

In response to the nation’s changing demographics, COMs also are focusing on recruitment of underrepresented minority students and on recruitment of students from rural and other underserved areas of the country. And the colleges’ efforts have been recognized: Just recently, Hispanic Business magazine included four COMs in its list of the 20 best U.S. medical schools for Hispanic students.

The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), working in cooperation with its member colleges, other health care associations, and the nation’s osteopathic physicians, will continue to promote growth and quality in osteopathic medical education, with a constant eye toward finding new ways to improve the health of the American public. 

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 promote excellence in osteopathic medical education, in research and in service, and to foster innovation and quality among osteopathic colleges to improve the health of the American public.

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