Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O.; referred to in Australia as DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 42 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licensed as a physician or surgeon and thus have full medical and surgical practicing rights in all 50 US states. As of 2023, there were 186,871 osteopathic physicians and medical students in DO programs across the United States. Osteopathic medicine (as defined and regulated in the United States) emerged historically from the quasi-medical practice of osteopathy, but is now aligned with conventional, science-based medicine. As of 2024, 28% of all U.S. medical students were DO students, while 11% of all U.S. physicians were osteopathic physici...