How are Osteopathic Physicians trained?
Doctors of Osteopathy (DOs) are fully licensed physicians who graduate from a 4 year Osteopathic medical school covering all branches of conventional medicine and surgery. In addition, they also get 200-400 hours of training in manual diagnosis and treatment. This training allows the osteopathic physician to effectively treat disorders and diseases in ways which are unique to the profession. DOs and MDs often train side by side during their internships and residencies. Osteopathic physicians can prescribe medications, do surgery, order tests and radiologic studies and deliver babies. They can be found in every specialty from Dermatology to Cardio-Thoracic surgery.
