Osteopathic postdoctoral training institutions

The Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training Institution (OPTI) program was established by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) in 1995 as a support and accreditation structure for osteopathic graduate medical education. Since 1999, when the AOA began to require that all AOA-approved osteopathic internships and residencies take place within this structure, the individual programs have been evolving separately, with little interaction--and with varying degrees of success. The AOA's 2007 Annual OPTI Workshop, scheduled to take place this April, is being organized with the primary goal of improving OPTI collaboration to better define standards for quality and promote program development. In response to common challenges and concerns, workshop participants will also be asked to define and reevaluate internal partnerships and shared goals as components of the larger system.