Education and Advocacy
The NBOME works tirelessly to identify biases, clarify information, and educate on osteopathic distinctiveness and the COMLEX-USA credential. We join efforts with our fellow osteopathic organizations to increase awareness and acceptance of DO credentials for all students, residents, and physicians. We conduct our advocacy efforts through engagement, outreach, and connection, which have yielded very positive outcomes. The record-setting match rate of 91.6 percent for DO graduates during the 2023 NRMP Main Residency Match is a testament to the recognized value of osteopathic distinction in healthcare.
The NBOME advocates for a holistic review of applications for undergraduate and graduate medical education programs, and encourages training directors and other recruitment personnel to evaluate all applicants based on their unique experiences, attributes, and competencies.
Our advocacy efforts have helped lead to consensus statements supporting COMLEX-USA as part of a holistic residency application process for DOs in these specialties:
If licensure examinations are used as part of a holistic review process, then COMLEX-USA should be used to evaluate DOs, as the only examination aligned with the education and practice of osteopathic medicine.
We will continue our advocacy efforts to alleviate undue barriers DO applicants face and we encourage you to join us in these efforts.
“I really appreciate your help and advocacy on our behalf. I know at times it may seem like a small thing (eg: changing the wording on a website) but to DO students it means a lot. The website of a program is, oftentimes, the first thing we see and our best source of information as we don’t have direct avenues of contact with PD and other faculty.” – OMS-II
“THANK YOU SO MUCH! Thank you all so much for the work you do and for keeping me updated. I so appreciate it. I also appreciate these two programs making those changes, because these things I’m finding on FREIDA really do impact me (and I’m sure many others). As someone with a lot of debt and a limited amount of financial resources, us students have to ensure our money is being spent applying to places we feel like we have a shot at, and the things I see in FREIDA actually DID deter me from applying to these programs, until now.” – OMS-IV
IF YOU…
- Felt excluded from a program for being an osteopathic student
- Been required to pay a significantly higher tuition or fee rate than MD students
- Had your COMLEX-USA scores rejected for application
- Been required to submit USMLE scores to apply for a program
Reach out to us at advocacy@nbome.org so that we can pursue this matter directly with the appropriate program, institution, and/or specialty leadership. Your name and email will only be used for communication between you and the NBOME. Unless you specify otherwise, our outreach on your behalf will be kept confidential.
