The
American Osteopathic Association
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) is the representative member organization for the more than 197,000 osteopathic medical doctors ( D.O.s) and osteopathic medical students in the United States. The AOA is headquartered in Chicago, Illi ...
's (AOA) Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA)
accredits medical schools granting the
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become li ...
(DO) degree in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The
US Department of Education
US or Us most often refers to:
* ''Us'' (pronoun), the objective case of the English first-person plural pronoun ''we''
* US, an abbreviation for the United States
US, U.S., Us, us, or u.s. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Albums
* ...
lists the Commission as a recognized accreditor.
Accreditation standards
There are many requirements for the accreditation of a college of
osteopathic medicine
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic Medical school in the United States, medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Medicine (M ...
. Accreditation requires that the college have a clearly defined mission, with resources to attain it, and evidence that successful achievement of the mission is likely. Accreditation also requires that the college incorporate the science of medicine and osteopathic principles and practice into the curriculum.
In order for a new school to open or for an established school to receive approval to grow in size, the school must also demonstrate that it has access to enough
clerkship sites for the third and fourth year students.
Standards also require training in
internal medicine
Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...
,
obstetrics/gynecology,
pediatrics
Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...
,
family practice,
surgery
Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...
,
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior.
...
,
emergency medicine
Emergency medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (or "ER doctors") specialize in providing care for unscheduled and undifferentiated pa ...
,
radiology
Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...
,
preventive medicine
Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...
and
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
.
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commission On Osteopathic College Accreditation
School accreditors
Osteopathic medical schools in the United States
Osteopathic medicine