Could New Programs Eliminate Debt for Tomorrow’s Osteopathic Primary Care Physicians?
This is the time of year when osteopathic medical school graduates celebrate the culmination of their undergraduate medical studies and transition to their residencies. But even as they celebrate, many find that they also are under considerable financial stress. On average, today’s medical school graduate is shouldering more than $151,000 in educational debt. And in some cases, this debt is serving to drive graduates away from primary care career choices (osteopathic medicine’s traditional emphasis) and toward more lucrative medical specialties. Nevertheless, osteopathic medical school graduates continue to pursue primary care fields (internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics) in proportions significantly surpassing those of their allopathic colleagues. Forty percent of those that matched in the 2010 AOA residency match will be entering osteopathic primary care programs. And of the 1,444 DO graduates participating in the 2010 ACGME match, 55 percent will be entering primary care p
