• Stephen K Stacey and Peter H Seidenberg.
• From the Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Director of Osteopathic Education, La Crosse-Mayo Family Medicine Residency Program, Mayo Clinic Health System, La Crosse, WI (SKS); Professor and Chair, Department of Family Medicine Director of Medical Student Research, LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine, Shreveport, LA (PHS). stacey.stephen@mayo.edu.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2024 Nov 15.

AbstractOsteopathic physicians (DOs) comprise a growing portion of family physicians. In 2023, more DO seniors matched into family medicine than MD seniors, and nearly a quarter of US DO seniors matched into family medicine. Family medicine benefits from the osteopathic philosophy of whole-person care, though this provides challenges regarding research in family medicine. Notably, among students entering family medicine, MD students report an average of 2.4 research activities compared with 1.7 for DO students, marking the lowest values across specialties. There are multifarious reasons for the limited research exposure of osteopathic medical students, and 2 may be amenable to change. First, osteopathic trainees have relatively limited research exposure. Second, osteopathic manipulation training emphasizes techniques that are not compatible with current theories of anatomy and pathology. The reduced research emphasis among osteopathic trainees can be addressed by strategies that focus on enhanced research exposure and a cultural shift toward fearless reevaluation of these inconsistent beliefs. Improvements in research training and culture among osteopathic trainees (including medical students and residents) will directly benefit osteopathic medicine, family medicine, and patients.© Copyright by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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