I have been disturbed by comments made in the past 24 hours regarding the fact that White House physician is an osteopathic physician (DO). The @AAFP strongly supports our DO members and their contributions to our health care system -- a thread.

The @AAFP proudly represents over 10,000 osteopathic physicians & thousands of osteopathic family medicine residents/medical students. They are valued & respected members of our organization and the comments being made by reporters and others are ill-informed and not appropriate.

Osteopathic physicians are fully educated, trained and licensed physicians. In the U.S., the DO degree affords identical rights and privileges to the MD degree.

Like their allopathic or MD physician colleagues, DOs must complete medical school, a residency program in the specialty of their choosing (hopefully family medicine) and successfully pass a series of exams throughout their education and professional careers.

Osteopathic physicians can write prescriptions, perform surgery or complete any function performed by their MD colleagues. They are able to practice in all U.S. states and territories, serve in the military and be members of the Public Health Corps.

Historically, osteopathic medicine has placed an emphasis on the ability of the body to self-regulate and heal and therefore the profession has centered around wellness, health promotion and disease prevention.

Osteopathic physicians also learn a hands-on diagnosis and treatment technique called osteopathic manipulative medicine. This technique is an added value DOs bring to their patients, but it is not the sole basis of their medical training.

Again, osteopathic physicians are valued members of the @AAFP and the American health care system. To learn more about osteopathic medicine I would recommend this resource from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) https://www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/about-osteopathic-medicine