Students Seek More Information on Future of Osteopathic Profession

answers to questions about this merger are very difficult to find

stop living in the past. MDs treat holistically too

Adding more committees will only delay this years. Last year this merger wasn't going to happen now the two sides have worked stuff out. Any recent DO grad knows the aoa doesn't represents our interests. It represents mythical osteopath "core" principles. Stop acting like we are better or worse than mds. Sure discrimination exists but the older do's perpetuate it. The longer you avoid change and pronounce our superiority the longer it will take to move on and become one.

Out of curiosity, this organization wants more evidence, why does the same organization not push for more evidence based medicine among osteopaths. We need more research into OMT to prove that we should be superior to MDs. If the same people that fought for the merger fought for better research, our profession would be further along than it already is.

As Chair of the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents, I am deeply involved in this issue and hope to facilitate an awareness of the many informational resources that exist to help us understand the complexities of this issue. I agree that students need to be informed to make a good decision and not one based on emotion or fear. Many of the concerns posed in this petition have been addressed at meetings that AACOM and AOA have hosted for students and through web-based FAQ material at http://www.aacom.org/news/latest/Pages/SingleGME_FAQs.aspx. The most direct source of answers to the student questions raised on this site are in the AACOM Student Primer [http://www.aacom.org/news/latest/Pages/StudentPrimer.aspx], and I hope that you will take the time to read it. Also, all state and specialty delegates, including student delegates, are invited to view the legal documents outlining this single GME accreditation system, and both bodies have made significant efforts to elicit constant student and resident opinions. SOMA, COSGP, and CSA recently drafted a resolution (available on AOA Website under resolution H-808) – after months of meetings and considerable debate, information-gathering from perspectives on all sides, and surveys of student opinions – which has generated thousands of supportive emails. I would also encourage students to listen to the student podcast with past COSGP Chair Tara Hughes and Dr. Stephen Shannon, President of AACOM (http://www.aacom.org/podcasts/Pages/default.aspx). The answers to these questions are readily available, and I hope all students will invest in learning the facts, as our futures, the profession we all love, and our patients may be significantly impacted by these decisions. (SOMA Resolution - http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/events/annual-business-meeting/house-resolutions/Pages/default.aspx under H-808)

I second this. It's the 21st century. Get over yourselves. We are all doctors so let's work towards making things simpler, not the opposite. Merger or not, we will still be DO's

Despite the AOA's offer to open its GME positions to allopathic graduates, there has been no mention of any promise on the part of the ACGME to reduce the discrimination against osteopathic graduates that exists in certain specialties. My attempts to contact the AOA regarding this issue have thus far gone unanswered. It is not enough to merely tell us that this is good for our profession. I am not opposed to the merger completely but would like for the AOA to treat us with some respect and provide more information about a process that will have a very large impact on our careers.

While I am in favor of the merger as an "ideal to strive for," I have to agree that there are too many unknowns. Since the memorandum was released, I do have concerns about the merger and some of its implications for the Osteopathic profession. We need more information before an informed decision can be reached.

I would also love to hear real facts abou the merger. I really think in the long run this will be very bad for the DO profession but everyone answers questions very superficially.