Resident and Faculty Attitudes Toward Osteopathic-Focused Education.

CONTEXT: The transition period for the single accreditation system for graduate medical education under the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) began on July 1, 2015, and will end June 30, 2020. As of February 5, 2018, 82.6% of residency programs accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) have applied for or achieved ACGME accreditation and 160 programs have applied for or achieved osteopathic recognition. OBJECTIVE: To assess baseline attitudes of osteopathic and allopathic faculty and residents in AOA-accredited and dually accredited residency programs regarding the value of osteopathic-focused educational curricula and mentors. METHODS: A survey was emailed to 60 program directors of AOA-accredited programs and dually accredited residency programs, some of which had obtained ACGME osteopathic recognition. The survey was to be completed by residents and faculty. Items were formulated to obtain baseline measurements regarding the level of awareness of osteopathic principles and practice (OPP), attitudes regarding osteopathic culture, and the weighted importance of aspects of the osteopathic curriculum. Principal components analysis with Varimax rotation was used. Comparison analysis was accomplished by either independent t tests for subscale scores or Mann-Whitney U tests for item-level scores. RESULTS: A total of 327 people responded to the survey (115 faculty members, 211 residents, and 1 no response). Of the 60 program directors contacted, 53 replied with at least 1 program representative. One hundred twenty-nine of all 211 residents (61.7%), including 107 of 134 osteopathic family medicine residents (79.9%), agreed that they intended to use OMT when in practice. The curricular component item with the lowest total survey score, indicating the highest-ranked level of importance, was the ability to work with osteopathic faculty (mean [SD], 1.98 [0.98]). Of the items measuring osteopathic awareness, statements with the strongest level of agreement from all respondents were "I have seen OMT performed on a patient or a peer" and "I am familiar with the basic tenets of OPP." CONCLUSION: Residents in AOA-accredited programs value osteopathic mentors and OMT, and they generally intend to use OMT when in practice. Respondents from programs with osteopathic recognition had more favorable attitudes toward osteopathic culture and curriculum than did respondents from programs without osteopathic recognition.

Attitudes of Family Medicine Program Directors Toward Osteopathic Residents Under the Single Accreditation System.

BACKGROUND: Between 2015 and 2020, residency programs accredited through the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) are preparing the single graduate medical education (GME) system through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess the attitudes of family medicine program directors in programs accredited dually by the AOA and ACGME (AOA/ACGME) or ACGME only toward the clinical and academic preparedness of osteopathic residency candidates and (2) to determine program director attitudes toward the perceived value of osteopathic-focused education, including osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) curricula. METHODS: A survey was sent to program directors of AOA/ACGME and ACGME-only accredited family medicine residency programs. Items concerned program directors' perception of the academic and clinical strength of osteopathic residents at the onset of residency, the presence of osteopathic faculty and residents currently in the program, and the presence of formal curricula for teaching OMT. The perceived value of osteopathic focus was obtained through a composite score of 5 items. RESULTS: A total of 38 AOA/ACGME family medicine residency program directors (17%) and 211 ACGME family medicine residency program directors (45.6%) completed the survey (N=249). No difference was found in the ranking of the perceived clinical preparation of osteopathic residents vs allopathic residents in programs with and without OMT curricula (P=.054). Directors of programs with OMT curricula perceived the academic preparation of their osteopathic residents vs allopathic residents more highly than those without OMT curricula (P=.039). Directors of AOA/ACGME programs perceived both the academic preparation and clinical preparation of their osteopathic residents more highly than those at ACGME-only programs (P=.004 and P=.002, respectively). CONCLUSION: Directors of AOA/ACGME programs, as well as those whose programs have an osteopathic focus in curricular offerings, were more likely to rank the academic preparation of osteopathic residents higher than directors of ACGME-only programs and those without OMT curricula. Further research is needed to determine the value of osteopathic recognition in attracting strong family medicine residency candidates.

Incorporating Osteopathic Curriculum Into a Family Medicine Residency.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Literature review reveals that doctors of osteopathic medicine (DO) physicians desire to maintain their osteopathic identity and enhance their osteopathic skills during residency training. An effective osteopathic curriculum has enhanced the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Family Medicine Residency Program's recruitment of strong osteopathic residency candidates. UMKC has been a dually accredited family medicine residency since 2006. The study sought to determine resident attitudes toward osteopathic identity and principles and the perceived effectiveness of our osteopathic curriculum. METHODS: An anonymous survey was sent to osteopathic residents and recent graduates still working within the Truman Medical Center (TMC) system. The survey questions assessed the perceived importance of osteopathic principles and the perceived effectiveness of the residency program's current osteopathic curriculum. RESULTS: The response rate of DO physicians representing seven colleges of osteopathic medicine (COM) was 29/30 (97%). Respondents agreed that the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) program is one of the strengths of our family medicine residency program. Respondents planned to utilize osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT) in their own practice. Osteopathic principles stratified in order of importance were: OMT benefits our patients, maintaining hands-on OMT skills, and learning to integrate OMT into your office treatment regimen. CONCLUSIONS: Our residents value integrating OMT into their practices as a benefit to their patients, to maintain osteopathic skills, and to learn to integrate OMT into their office treatment regimen. They generally agreed that the AOA accredited program is one of the strengths of our residency program. They intend to utilize OMT when they are in practice.