A recent article released by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) explores the special role osteopathic medical colleges and their graduates play in helping to mitigate primary care workforce shortages. The article focuses on both the growth in osteopathic medical education and the higher proportion of new DOs pursuing primary care specialties compared with new MDs. AACOM Vice President Tom Levitan, MEd, is quoted extensively in the piece, including mention of osteopathic medical students’ increasing interest in primary care practice as they progress through their studies: “…nearly 22 percent of students entering the nation's colleges of osteopathic medicine in 2004 said they were interested in primary care. When those students graduated in 2008, slightly more than 29 percent chose primary care specialties.”

To view the article online, visit http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090519dos-prim-care.html