Nonetheless, these 26 minimum competencies in geriatrics were developed for allopathic medical students. Although appropriate for osteopathic medical students, these competencies obviously were not developed with osteopathic principles and practice (OPP) in mind. “Osteopathic principles” refers to the philosophy of the profession, whereas “practice” refers to the application of this philosophy to general clinical practice, and more specifically to osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). Osteopathic philosophy includes 4 key principles
9: (1) the body is a unit; the person is a unity of body, mind, and spirit; (2) the body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing, and health maintenance; (3) structure and function are reciprocally interrelated; and (4) rational therapy is based on an understanding of the basic principles of body unity, self-regulation, and the interrelationship of structure and function. The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) House of Delegates and
The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association10 have officially adopted these tenets.
10 Within the osteopathic medical profession there is a movement to more deeply integrate OPP into osteopathic medical education, the presumption being OPP enhances patient care and the profession's long-term viability. Therefore, OPP should be moved from the periphery toward the center of osteopathic medical education.
11 One step toward this goal is the development of minimal OPP competencies for osteopathic medical students that are specific to each specialty area.
11,12 This approach was endorsed by the AOA Core Competency Task Force.
12 In 2008, Gugliucci and Giovanis
13 published curricula standards for osteopathic medical students in geriatric medicine that included competencies relating to OPP. However, these OPP-related competencies say only that osteopathic medical students should know about osteopathic manipulative methods, prevention strategies appropriate for the elderly, and interrelationships of structure and function.
13,14 While this is a good beginning, these suggested competencies lack specificity and are limited in scope.