THERE ARE OVER 43,000 OSTEOPATHIC physicians in the United States, providing a system of medical care based on a philosophy that the human body has self-healing abilities. In order to facilitate those abilities, the osteopathic doctor practices a "whole person" approach. While the goal of traditional medical doctors is to treat specific symptoms, osteopathic physicians concentrate on treating the patient as a whole. It is important to make this distinction. Osteopaths, who are trained outside the United States are not physicians. Their practice is limited to non-invasive manual therapies, including touch, physical manipulation, stretching and massage to increase the mobility of joints, to relieve muscle tension, and to help energize the body's own healing mechanisms. Those trained in the United States are known as osteopathic physicians (or Doctors of Osteopathy or DOs), and they practice the entire scope of modern medicine. They receive all the training and provide the same healthcare services as medical doctors (MDs). DOs understand how all the body's systems are interconnected and how each one affects the others. They are trained to identify and correct structural problems, which can assist the body's natural tendency toward health and self-healing. They also help patients develop attitudes and lifestyles that help prevent disease. Those who choose a career in osteopathic medicine are people who value taking a holistic approach to healing. As society shifts towards a greater understanding of what makes us sick and what our bodies are capable of, osteopathic physicians are seeing an increase in the number of patients they see. Osteopathy in the US is fully accepted as a mainstream medical career. Today, millions of Americans have chosen this type of individualized, compassionate care, and have made DOs their primary care physicians. In terms of training and education, osteopathic physicians (DOs) are actually indistinguishable from medical doctors (MDs). They are trained in similar schools, go through the same number of years, learn the procedures, and pass the same examinations. They have the same rights and privileges to practice medicine. The difference is in how they choose to treat the patient. When MDs might reach for the prescription pad, a DO might prescribe a change of diet or environment instead. Like their MD colleagues, DOs can specialize in over a hundred different areas of practice. Because of their total-person philosophy, many gravitate to specialties in primary care fields such as family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, and emergency medicine. DOs are also specially trained in manual medicine for treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. This makes them uniquely qualified to specialize in rehabilitation and sports medicine. In fact, many DOs are employed as professional sports and college team physicians. DOs have an extensive scientific background. They must excel in science classes like biology, chemistry, and anatomy. They learn all of the traditional medical techniques, but they also receive additional training in muscular-skeletal manipulation. They also complete a residency in a specialty. Osteopathic physicians spend a significant amount of time and money on medical school, dedicating upwards of seven years of their life to study in some cases. As a result, they do have a higher-than-average median salary. Earnings can reach well into the six figures, making it quite an attractive job for compassionate individuals with a love of healing and science. There is a growing shortage of healthcare professionals in this country. This makes it an ideal time to get into the medical field, particularly the area of osteopathic medicine, which is set to see phenomenal growth throughout this upcoming decade.