A Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) is a fully trained and licensed physician who prescribes medications, performs surgery and utilizes all accepted scientific methods to maintain and restore your optimum health. Today's D.O. provides comprehensive medical care, including preventive medicine, diagnosis, appropriate use of drugs, surgery, manipulative procedures, and hospital referral. And that care is provided with the "D.O. Difference": an emphasis on the human body as one complete system that performs best when all of the body's components function together harmoniously.

Early in training, the D.O. surgeon learns to treat the complete patient. He or she works closely with your primary care physician to consider all your medical needs. This approach to understanding the needs of the patient doesn't just happen. An osteopathic physician has attended an undergraduate college or university and then has successfully completed four years of osteopathic medical education before receiving the Doctor of Osteopathy degree.

But your osteopathic surgeon's education doesn't stop there. Following the four years of osteopathic medical school, the D.O. physician must complete a one-year internship (including experience in general practice, internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology), and then another four to six years of specialized training to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to become your surgeon.