The AOA established the Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training Institution (OPTI) in 1995. Each OPTI is a community-based training consortium comprised of at least one college of osteopathic medicine and one hospital. Other hospitals and ambulatory care facilities may also partner within an OPTI. Community-based health care facilities such as ambulatory care clinics, rehabilitation centers and surgicenters now have the resources and support necessary to provide physician training with an OPTI’s assistance.
The following graph and table illustrate the growth in osteopathic physician enrollment in postdoctoral training programs for each academic year since 2005-06. They also illustrate the growth in number of DOs in primary care residencies. Today, over 47% of DOs in AOA residency programs are in primary care residencies, which include general practice, family practice, pediatrics, internal medicine, and obstetrics/gynecology.
