A Career In Osteopathy

1. Background

In the field of sports medicine, physicians and physical therapists work closely together. A sports injury is rarely treated without a follow-up by a physical therapist. There are two types of major physicians: doctors of medicine (M.D.s) and doctors of osteopathy (D.O.s). The length of education for both types of physicians is about the same, except they both attend different schools. Doctors of osteopathy work in the prevention of injuries, holistic health, and in disorders of the muscles and bones. D.O.s are licensed to practice the whole spectrum of medicine, but many mainly focus on the musculoskeletal system. Osteopaths use a technique called osteopathic manipulative treatment to relieve soreness, relax muscles, and restore

range of motion. A large percentage of sport medicine physicians are orthopedic surgeons. Osteopaths may specialize in diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment injuries, or they may do surgery and postoperative care. They have the option in working in a solo practice or with a group. Osteopaths are also given the privilege in being able to perform surgery and prescribe medication. I feel that the description of this career and everything about it interest me. As a child I have always thought about becoming a doctor because knowing everything that happens with the human body is interesting the way it functions and how problems can occur with it. My mother has also been in the medical field for a few years already, and within that time I have gone to work with her a couple of times to see what goes on in that field. I enjoy helping people and interacting with them which is why I have interest in a career like this one. I also like to play sports such as basketball, soccer, and swim which make me an athlete and those are the same people I would be helping. I know a lot of work, dedication, and time will need to be put into reaching the medical field but I am willing to strive for success and reach my goal to become what I want! In trying to become a doctor of osteopathy, there is a lot of information to know such as the history, education, experience, salary, location, and much more.
2. History
Depending on your point of view, sports medicine is either old or rather new. Sports medicine is an old science trace as far back as 46 BC to the birth of Hippocrates, often called the father of medicine. People called sports medicine doctors, gymnasts in ancient Greece during the Hippocrates’ time. During this time, Hippocrates himself was a gymnast for some of the early Olympic Games (Moe 5). It is also said to have been that the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) started sports medicine with his scientific paper on walking habits of animals and humans. He observed that a person walking in a straight line make a shadow “zigzag”. Out of this observation done by Aristotle, it may have been the beginning of biomechanics, the study of human movement (Moe 5). Another philosopher, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) studied and reported on the movement of human beings when faced with such variables as uphill grades and wind resistance. “We might call da Vinci the father of modern exercise physiology, the study of bodily changes during exercise” (Moe 6). In the modern times, back in World War I and World War II, innovations were forced in sports, medicine, and sports medicine. In the decade of the 1950’s many innovations were seen in sports medicine. In the 1960’s men and women began to realize that their habits contributed to heart disease, obesity, and other health problems. Then in the 1970’s, running became symbolic of the exercise movement. Followed by the 1980’s, fitness centers became the rage and the emphasis on cardiorespiratory conditioning continued. Lastly, in the 1990’s people began to pay attention to both cardiorespiratory conditioning for the heart and lungs and musculoskeletal fitness for strength and endurance. Physicians trained in sports medicine to repair injuries to ankles, knees, elbows, and shoulders. In the future, sports medicine is likely to become more overlapping and more competition and cooperation among those in various sports medicine careers.
3. Education and Experience
In becoming an osteopath or working with sports medicine, a lot of schooling and time is taken up.

Those who choose to work in this field must be dedicated and committed into doing all they have to in order to progress. The training for this career is long, difficult, and expensive. A minimum of three years of college working on a bachelor’s degree and scoring high on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) are required for entrance into any college of osteopathic medicine. Some osteopathic colleges offer a four-year program and a few offer an accelerated three-year program. After completion of the program, the Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) degree is given and a twelve-month internship is then required. If those who choose to specialize further, additional residencies are necessary; these last from one to five years (Miller 54). Once a D.O. is in practice, they must complete at least 150 credit hours of continuing medical education. There are currently 30 accredited osteopathic medical schools in the United States that grant the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree (Miller 68). The admission requirements in becoming an osteopathic doctor requires a grade with a 2.0 or higher in 8 semester hours of Biological Science, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, and 6 semester hours of Humanities and English. There must be 3 semester hours of English included. A minimum cumulative and science GPA of 3.0 is required. A letter of recommendation is required as well

from a physician and the pre-professional committee.
4. Salary and Geographic Location
It is good to know where this career is most prosperous, geography-wise and knowing what the salary is, is important to know what kind of lifestyle one could have with becoming an osteopathic doctor.

The salary of the osteopathic physician is comparable to the practicing M.D. Median income per year after expenses is currently between $140,000 to $300,000. An osteopathic doctor’s salary is based on a diversity of years of work experience, geographical location, field of specialization, and type of employer. “According to the Health Care Training Center website, the average salary for an osteopathic physician based on the type of specialty is as follows: An osteopath in the field of radiology receives a highest median salary of about $276,684 per annum when compared to osteopaths in other specialties. An osteopath in a pediatric field receives a lowest average salary of about $142,254. Other physicians of osteopathy receive an annual salary of average salaries of about: a surgeon earns about $249,504, in internal medicine field earns about $149,136, psychiatrist earns about $162,469, an oncologist receives about $235,381, ob gynecologist earns about $220,180 and a neurologist earns about $178,564” (http://www.healthcare-salaries.com/physicians/osteopath-salary). The best paying states for an osteopathic physician are Washington $290,000, Arizona $182,466, California $179,010, Florida $147,782, New Jersey $128,380, Ohio $140,000, and Pennsylvania $111,000. An osteopath working

in a private practice earns around $169,631 per annum while a self-employed osteopath receives about $203,473. Most osteopathic physicians work primarily in private practice. Majority of D.O.s are general practitioners. Areas where they work are hospitals, research, teaching, military service, medical administration, the government, and public health.
5. Interview Analysis
Being able to work in the medical field as a D.O. takes a long time, is very hard and expensive. I interviewed someone I knew that has this same career and was wondering what it is like to become one and how long it took. The D.O. I interviewed is named Gary Arends. One thing I really wanted to know was why he became this type of physician and what made him want to work in the medical field since it is very difficult and time consuming. According to Arends the reason for choosing this specialty was because he likes to help people in a positive way and have them be able to do what they want to do. Arends is also an athlete and enjoys helping athletes since he knows how it feels not being able to play when injured. An estimate on how many patients are seen is about 200-400 a month, depending on how many are seen daily. It takes about twelve more years of schooling after high school to become a D.O. It took Arends a full twelve years to complete his schooling: undergrad 1990-1994; graduate school 1995; medical school 1995-1999; internship/fellowship/residency 1999-2003. He has currently been practicing since 2003. There are many key challenges when going into this field of medicine because it is difficult and consumes a lot of time, dedication, and work. “Sports Medicine is a very small, but growing field. This means that there are not as many sports-specific job opportunities available. I am lucky enough to do 100% non-operative pediatric orthopaedics (which is what I want to do), but 90%+ of others with my same training have to do a lot of primary care along with a few musculoskeletal patients added into their schedules on a daily basis” (Arends). Those trying work in the medical field and becoming an osteopathic physician should not be in it for the money. This is a type of career that should be thought out well in wanting to major in it because once you start down the road to taking out huge loans for medical school; it may be very hard (financially) to change your mind. Medical school costs the same whether wanting to be a pediatrician vs. a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon for example. Specialists make more money than primary care physicians, but they also have more commitments on their time. School loans never stop accruing interest. Do whatever it takes to keep the loans as minimal as possible.
6. Reflection
After researching this career, I learned that sports medicine is very important and many people are getting injured every day. Osteopaths are seeing over 10 – 15 injured patients a day, which averages to about 200 – 400 patients a month. A lot of time and dedication is needed in the process of becoming an osteopath because schooling is long and not so easy. If an individual is unsure whether they still want to become an osteopath and instead an M.D., the schooling is about the same amount of years and both earn about the same salary. Becoming an osteopath is very expensive and a lot of loans may be needed to help pay for schooling. One who chooses to become an osteopath will still be paying off the loans for several years after already being in the field. An osteopath has the option of working in a solo practice or with a group and has the ability to perform surgery and prescribe medication. I think that this career is very interesting and I would like to engage myself into reaching this goal to become an osteopath, not for the money, but because I enjoy playing and watching sports and would like to help others who also enjoy sports like I do. I do plan on applying for scholarships and financial aid to help me pay for my education as well. I will dedicate myself to school and focus on my education until I reach my goal in becoming what I want no matter how long it takes and how much it costs. I will take all the advice given to me and use it when I do begin this career.