The pull toward the vacuum: osteopathic medical education in the 1980s

During the 1980s, the two major influences in osteopathic medical education were the increasingly large number of new DOs seeking internships and residencies and the loss of training sites as a result of the shrinking osteopathic hospital network. Owing mainly to a declining interest in primary care by young MDs, allopathic postdoctoral program directors, particularly in primary care specialties, began to actively recruit osteopathic physicians. An oversupply of positions on the allopathic postdoctoral side and an undersupply of residency positions in osteopathic postdoctoral programs contributed to a crossover trend. The programs approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education have made significant inroads in attracting DOs. It has reached the point where two out of every three DOs currently training in a primary care residency can be found in an allopathic program. If it continues, this pattern will have a significant impact on the character of osteopathic medical education.