VCOM 2017 Annual Report

inspired by osteopathic medicine

Jan Willcox, DO, FACOFP Dean for the Virginia Campus T his is an exciting time for the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) and the osteopathic profession, which is now one of the fastest-growing healthcare professions in the nation. There are more than 100,000 osteopathic physicians in the United States, with over 65 percent more physicians practicing osteopathic medicine than there were a decade ago. Nearly one in four medical students in the United States attends an osteopathic medical school. Osteopathic physicians are licensed in every state to practice the full scope of medicine and surgery, using the most current scientific knowledge to promote health and prevention and to diagnose and treat patients with disease. They prescribe medications, perform surgery, and utilize osteopathic manipulative medicine as a tool to diagnose and treat patients. The philosophy of osteopathic medicine originated from the teachings of Virginian Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO, over 100 years ago, and is based on the principle that, given optimum conditions, the human body has the ability to heal; that the structure of the human body is directly related to function; and the health of the individual is related to the wellness of the body, mind, and spirit.

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