Why is identification with osteopathy decreasing in medical students?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Osteopathic Medicine
• Student Engagement

Background:

• Osteopathic identification, crucial for distinguishing osteopathic physicians, is decreasing among students at Lincoln Memorial University - DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (DCOM).
• This trend poses a risk of future osteopathic physicians devaluing core osteopathic tenets.
• Intervention is needed to address this decline in osteopathic identity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors influencing osteopathic identification in medical students.
• To quantify the predictive impact of these factors on osteopathic identification.
• To test the hypothesis that preparedness and osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) skills are key predictors.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of survey data from 1991 DCOM students.
• Paired samples t-tests to assess changes in osteopathic identification from matriculation to graduation.
• Pearson's correlation, multiple regressions, and structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze predictive factors.

Main Results:

• Osteopathic identification decreased by 10-21% (p<0.001) from matriculation to graduation across all classes.
• Perceived OMM skills and happiness to be an osteopath strongly correlated with osteopathic identification upon graduation (r=0.5-0.6).
• OMM skills (effect size 0.4) and commitment to the institution, mediated by OMM skills and preparedness (effect size 0.6), were the strongest predictors.

Conclusions:

• SEM analysis identified OMM skills and institutional commitment as significant predictors of osteopathic identification.
• Interventions should focus on enhancing students' OMM skills and their commitment to their institution, profession, and career.
• Strengthening these areas may help reverse the trend of decreasing osteopathic identification.