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American Osteopathic Association's Council on Postdoctoral Training Chicago, Ill

Dr Belsky has a bold and creative idea regarding osteopathic medical education. Although implementing his proposal would involve a great deal of strategy and collaboration with people outside the osteopathic medical profession, the proposal does offer opportunities for the profession.

Abbreviated undergraduate education was formerly accepted by osteopathic medical schools. As recently as 1960, osteopathic medical schools accepted matriculants without undergraduate degrees. Although all matriculants to osteopathic medical schools today have undergraduate degrees, Dr Belsky is correct in stating that the primary objective of students is obtaining their medical degrees, not pursuing various undergraduate studies. Thus, most students would likely welcome an abbreviated undergraduate curriculum. The saving of 2 years of tuition—especially when education indebtedness is so great—would surely be welcome by students.

The osteopathic medical profession as a whole would accrue a major benefit from Dr Belsky's ideas, specifically from his proposal to require students to practice 1 year of primary care in underserved areas of the United States. With the waning of interest in traditional internships, this proposal would promote student exposure to primary care once again. Of course, the benefit to our nation's underserved urban and rural areas would be substantial, as would the increased visibility of the osteopathic medical profession to the public.

As Dr Belsky points out, many issues would have to be worked out to implement such a model. Still, innovation is always worth considering if valuable benefits may result. Such benefits might even include the saving of osteopathic medical education, the future health of which is threatened by declining participation in osteopathic residencies and lack of training opportunities.

Does any college of osteopathic medicine have the willingness to consider Dr Belsky's proposal as a pilot program?

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