Osteopathic medical schools, becoming common in rural areas, steer graduates to practice there

Dr. Valerie Goodman, an osteopath,
examines Mary Elizabeth Gardner at
Goodman's office in Centreville, Md.

Many osteopathic medical schools are springing up in rural locations, usually to recruit applicants from rural areas and then hope those doctors practice in the region. Osteopathy emphasizes total body health through muscles and bones and de-emphasizes the use of drugs.

Since 2000, the number of U.S. osteopathic schools has increased from 19 to 34, offering about 1,900 new training slots, writes Ankita Rao of Kaiser Health News. In 2011, there were about 74,000 osteopathic physicians, compared with about 29,500 in 1990.

Osteopathic physicians constitute seven percent of all U.S. physicians, but are responsible for 16 percent of patient visits in communities with populations of fewer than 2,500, according to a report from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. Eighteen percent of osteopathic medical school graduates, a toital 2,045 doctors, practice in rural areas, according to a 2010 study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. America's population is only 16 percent rural, and only 9 percent of traditional doctors practice in rural areas.

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, Va., founded in 2003, has 1,100 students. James Wolfe, president of Edward Via, told Rao, "Our philosophy is 'Recruit from, educate in, return to.'"

Founded in 1997, the osteopathic college at the University of Pikeville in far Eastern Kentucky has graduated more than 700 physicians, 62 percent of whom practice in Appalachia, according to from the school. Part of its mission statement is to have a program that "produces graduates who are committed to serving the health care needs of communities in rural Kentucky and other Appalachian regions." The graphic below shows the osteopathic medical schools in the U.S.