For A&E Television Networks to present a televised special on Osteopathic Medicine. sign now

Osteopathy is an approach to healthcare that emphasizes the role of the musculoskeletal system in health and disease. Many osteopaths see their role as facilitating the body's own recuperative powers by treating musculoskeletal or somatic dysfunction. In the United States, Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.s) are fully licensed medical physicians and surgeons, practicing in all clinical specialties along with their M.D. colleagues. Just like M.D.s, D.O.s practice the full scope of medicine.

In addition to the Hippocratic oath, Osteopathic medical students take an oath to maintain and uphold the "core principles" of osteopathic medical philosophy. Revised in 1953, and again in 2002, the core principles are:
1) The body is a unit, and the person represents a combination of body, mind, and spirit.
2) The body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing, and health maintenance.
3) Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated.
4) Rational treatment is based on an understanding of these principles: body unity, self-regulation, and the interrelationship of structure and function.


Between 1980 and 2005, the number of osteopathic graduates per year increased over 250 percent (Academic Medicine, Vol. 81, No. 9 / September 2006.). In 2007, there were 25 colleges of osteopathic medicine in 28 locations. One in five medical students in the United States is enrolled in an osteopathic medical school (http://www.osteopathic.org/pdf/about_the_aoa.pdf). By 2020, the number of osteopathic physicians will grow to 95,400, say expert predictions, according to the American Medical Association (American Medical News. 16 Jun 2003.).

Being an increasingly important sect of the american medical community as demonstrated above; we, the undersigned, would appreciate seeing a special devoted to Osteopathic Medicine on one of your television networks. Osteopathic Medicine is a rapidly growing medical field with an incredibly rich history which we, the undersigned, believe would make both a fascinating and educational television program.