In October 2011, the ACGME announced the planned implementation of Common Program Requirements under the Next Accreditation System, in which DOs would be prohibited from entering ACGME-accredited training programs. Shortly thereafter, many ACGME training programs prohibited AOA-trained residents from accessing ACGME fellowships. Although some may have believed that this change would affect a small percentage of osteopathic medical school graduates, in my experience, the change impacted all ACGME training programs nationwide. For example, to my knowledge, ACGME programs in the Western United States began labeling any DO attending physician with AOA-accredited residency training to be “unqualified” to participate in training of ACGME residents, even if the ACGME resident had a DO degree. In addition, the University of California, Davis; the University of California, Irvine; and the University of California, San Diego deemed osteopathic medical students “ineligible” for their programs for audition rotations and stated such on their websites. To my knowledge, WesternU/COMP and the Osteopathic Physicians & Surgeons of California also received reports that other institutions were denying osteopathic medical students access to ACGME programs for audition rotations.
The efforts by the AOA and AACOM to negotiate with the ACGME regarding the initial proposed MOU halted the rule change—in other words, AOA-trained and AOA board–certified DOs could again be preceptors in ACGME programs. Unfortunately, osteopathic medical student discrimination continued at numerous ACGME training programs in the Western United States, prominately stating on their websites “DOs need not apply,” thus limiting the access of third- and fourth-year medical school clerkships and audition rotations in the University of California system for osteopathic medical students. Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine tried to gain access for their students for more than 2 years at University of California, Davis without success.