Home ENGAGE Initiative: Showcasing Osteopathic Scholarly Activity
Article Open Access

ENGAGE Initiative: Showcasing Osteopathic Scholarly Activity

  • Robert Orenstein
Published/Copyright: May 1, 2016
Download Article (PDF)
Journal of Osteopathic Medicine
From the journal Journal of Osteopathic Medicine Volume 116 Issue 5

The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA) is a vehicle for the dissemination of osteopathic scholarly work. Since 1901, The Journal has strived to reflect the vibrancy of scholarly activity in osteopathic medicine. Our monthly electronic tables of contents are received by more than 100,000 clinicians and scientists, and we have been experiencing growth in numerous areas. Our audience is principally generalist physicians, but our media reach is global. In the past year, many of our articles have been picked up by large media outlets and viewed by millions.1-3

Likewise, the osteopathic medical profession has been experiencing dramatic expansion. Currently, 30 colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) are operating in 42 locations.4 Compared with the 2005-2006 academic year, total enrollment for the 2015-2016 academic year has nearly doubled to more than 26,000 students, and in 2015, 5323 new osteopathic physicians graduated, compared with 2708 graduates in 2006.5 This growth has led to an expansion of graduate medical education (GME) training positions and a continuous infusion of osteopathic graduates into Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education training programs.6 As American Osteopathic Association programs become part of a single GME accreditation system, osteopathic graduates will require research and scholarly writing skills to remain competitive.

In my experience, a common criticism of COMs is that they lack research capacity and function only as “trade schools.” Clark and Blazyk7 examined the number of osteopathic peer-reviewed publications and National Institutes of Health grant funding and concluded that COMs lag far behind schools of other health care professions. The shortage of academic productivity may result from a lack of protected time, investment of research dollars, a clear research mission, and faculty training and mentorship.8 Perhaps the rapid growth of COMs dilutes these resources in efforts to train more DOs for clinical practice. Yet, the expansion of COMs and GME programs and a new primary care workforce presents a huge opportunity for scholarly activity.

We have heard criticisms that the JAOA only publishes research related to osteopathic manipulative medicine and that researchers involved in the basic and translational sciences have not been welcomed to publish. We’ve also heard that faculty at COMs aren’t conducting research. However, we know that there are outstanding basic scientists, clinicians, and educators at these schools who would like to disseminate their work to a broad audience. Therefore, to dispel these myths and engage more faculty and students in scholarly writing, the JAOA created its ENGAGE Initiative. In November 2014, the JAOA reached out to every COM in the United States to give each school an opportunity to showcase who they are, what they do, and how they are preparing the next generation of the US health care workforce. We invited basic scientists to submit papers that review the body of their work and how it impacts human health. We invited those involved in education to submit manuscripts describing the innovative work they may be doing in the education of health care professionals and teamwork in medicine. We invited clinicians to share their reviews while citing the best evidence in their fields. Faculty at a number of COMs have accepted these invitations.

In this issue, we introduce the JAOA’s first installment of the ENGAGE Initiative with articles from the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.9 We hope our readers find this work and future ENGAGE installments inspiring, and we hope these articles will engage faculty and students at other COMs in our endeavor to showcase the exciting scholarly activity in osteopathic medicine.

Dr Orenstein is the editor in chief of the American Osteopathic Association.
From the Infectious Diseases Department at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.

*Address correspondence to The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 142 E Ontario St, Chicago, IL 60611-2864. E-mail:

References

1. Woodfield J . Lifestyle intervention programs improve health of prediabetes, type 2 diabetes patients, study finds. Diabetes.co.uk . February 2, 2016. http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2016/feb/lifestyle-intervention-programs-improve-health-of-prediabetes,-type-2-diabetes-patients,-study-finds-99873063.html. Accessed March 31, 2016.Search in Google Scholar

2. Feller S . Postoperative pain relief method may impact knee replacement recovery time. UPI . November 30, 2015. http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2015/11/30/Postoperative-pain-relief-method-may-impact-knee-replacement-recovery-time/4831448910538/. Accessed March 31, 2016.Search in Google Scholar

3. Schumaker E . Food insecure children are more likely to be obese. The Huffington Post . September 9, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/food-insecurity-linked-to-child-obesity_us_55eefd6be4b03784e276821b. Accessed March 28, 2016.Search in Google Scholar

4. Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. Colleges of osteopathic medicine. American Osteopathic Association website. http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/accreditation/COM-accreditation/Documents/current-list-of-colleges-of-osteopathic-medicine.pdf. Accessed April 1, 2016.Search in Google Scholar

5. Trends in Osteopathic Medical School Applicants, Enrollment, and Graduates . Chevy Chase, MD: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine; 2015. http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/data-and-trends/2016-trends-COM-AEG.pdf?sfvrsn=52. Accessed April 1, 2016.Search in Google Scholar

6. Martinez B , BiszewskiM. Appendix 1: osteopathic graduate medical education. J Am Osteopath Assoc . 2016;116(4):256-262. doi:10.7556/jaoa.2016.050.10.7556/jaoa.2016.050Search in Google Scholar PubMed

7. Clark BC , BlazykJ. Research in the osteopathic medical profession: roadmap to recovery. J Am Osteopath Assoc . 2014;114(8):608-614. doi:10.7556/jaoa.2014.124.10.7556/jaoa.2014.124Search in Google Scholar PubMed

8. Degenhardt BF , StandleyPR. 2013-2022 strategic plan for research: a role for everyone in promoting research in the osteopathic medical profession. J Am Osteopath Assoc . 2013;113(9):654-659. doi:10.7556/jaoa.2013.029.10.7556/jaoa.2013.029Search in Google Scholar PubMed

9. Nottingham KL , RushLJ, BeveryEA. Building primary care research capacity in a college of osteopathic medicine. J Am Osteopath Assoc . 2016;116(5):278-279.10.7556/jaoa.2016.055Search in Google Scholar PubMed

Published Online: 2016-05-01
Published in Print: 2016-05-01

© 2016 American Osteopathic Association

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Articles in the same Issue

  1. BOOK REVIEWS
  2. A View From the Inside: A Collection of Medically Oriented Short Stories
  3. EDITORIAL
  4. ENGAGE Initiative: Showcasing Osteopathic Scholarly Activity
  5. Building Primary Care Research Capacity in a College of Osteopathic Medicine
  6. Correction
  7. Correction
  8. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
  9. Interstate Medical Licensure Compact: Pernicious Myths and Inescapable Facts
  10. AOA COMMUNICATION
  11. Proposed Amendments to the AOA Constitution, Bylaws, and Code of Ethics
  12. ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
  13. Effectiveness of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Among Low-Income Adults in Rural Appalachia
  14. CLINICAL REVIEW
  15. Is Meat Killing Us?
  16. MEDICAL EDUCATION
  17. Premedical Students’ Attitudes Toward Primary Care Medicine
  18. SPECIAL COMMUNICATION
  19. Growing Research Among Osteopathic Residents and Medical Students: A Consortium-Based Research Education Continuum Model
  20. CASE REPORT
  21. Intact Cornual Ectopic Pregnancy and Dermoid Cyst With Intraoperative Rupture
  22. Transient Ischemic Attack After Foam Sclerotherapy in a Woman With a Patent Foramen Ovale
  23. THE SOMATIC CONNECTION
  24. Eye Contact, Appetite, and Vomiting Improved in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder After Visceral Osteopathic Technique
  25. Postural Balance and Gait Improved With an Osteopathic Intervention in a Special Needs Population
  26. Significant Benefit Shown After Lumbar Disk Surgery Rehabilitation by Inclusion of Osteopathic Intervention
  27. Spinal Mobilization Has Peripheral Vasodilation Effects
  28. Multidisciplinary Biopsychosocial Rehabilitation Improves Outcomes for Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain
  29. Manual Therapy for Hamstring Hypertonicity Improves Temporomandibular Dysfunction in Athletes
  30. CLINICAL IMAGES
  31. Aseptic Splenic Abscess and Sweet Syndrome
  32. IN YOUR WORDS
  33. The Benefits of Being a Patient
https://doi.org/10.7556/jaoa.2016.054
Creative Commons
BY-NC-ND 4.0

Articles in the same Issue

  1. BOOK REVIEWS
  2. A View From the Inside: A Collection of Medically Oriented Short Stories
  3. EDITORIAL
  4. ENGAGE Initiative: Showcasing Osteopathic Scholarly Activity
  5. Building Primary Care Research Capacity in a College of Osteopathic Medicine
  6. Correction
  7. Correction
  8. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
  9. Interstate Medical Licensure Compact: Pernicious Myths and Inescapable Facts
  10. AOA COMMUNICATION
  11. Proposed Amendments to the AOA Constitution, Bylaws, and Code of Ethics
  12. ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
  13. Effectiveness of Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Among Low-Income Adults in Rural Appalachia
  14. CLINICAL REVIEW
  15. Is Meat Killing Us?
  16. MEDICAL EDUCATION
  17. Premedical Students’ Attitudes Toward Primary Care Medicine
  18. SPECIAL COMMUNICATION
  19. Growing Research Among Osteopathic Residents and Medical Students: A Consortium-Based Research Education Continuum Model
  20. CASE REPORT
  21. Intact Cornual Ectopic Pregnancy and Dermoid Cyst With Intraoperative Rupture
  22. Transient Ischemic Attack After Foam Sclerotherapy in a Woman With a Patent Foramen Ovale
  23. THE SOMATIC CONNECTION
  24. Eye Contact, Appetite, and Vomiting Improved in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder After Visceral Osteopathic Technique
  25. Postural Balance and Gait Improved With an Osteopathic Intervention in a Special Needs Population
  26. Significant Benefit Shown After Lumbar Disk Surgery Rehabilitation by Inclusion of Osteopathic Intervention
  27. Spinal Mobilization Has Peripheral Vasodilation Effects
  28. Multidisciplinary Biopsychosocial Rehabilitation Improves Outcomes for Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain
  29. Manual Therapy for Hamstring Hypertonicity Improves Temporomandibular Dysfunction in Athletes
  30. CLINICAL IMAGES
  31. Aseptic Splenic Abscess and Sweet Syndrome
  32. IN YOUR WORDS
  33. The Benefits of Being a Patient
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 9.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2016.054/html
Scroll to top button