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Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Curriculum
Students in a lecture class with their school issued laptops
Des Moines University's College of Osteopathic Medicine curriculum will prepare you for a lifetime of success. The integration of self-directed inquiry and evidence-based practice into the curriculum will help you learn to evaluate clinical research.
Students gain extensive training in osteopathic manual medicine, physical diagnoses and preventive and evidence-based medicine. Medical humanities and bioethics are integrated throughout the curriculum, and a wide array of electives allow students to explore different topics and individualize their education.
You will develop critical thinking skills to guide you through gray areas of medical ethics. Equally important, you will understand the ways effective communication with patients affects their health and recovery.
The four years of study are divided into pre-clinical and clinical phases:
- The first year of the osteopathic medicine curriculum focuses on fundamental scientific principles that form the foundation of medicine.
- The second year builds on the science foundation and follows an integrated organ system approach that encompasses basic and clinical sciences.
- The curriculum uses a combination of lectures, case-based and small-group discussions and laboratory exercises.
- During the third and fourth year, students are fully immersed in clinical training with clinical rotations at hospitals and clinics.
See a full list of osteopathic medicine courses.
Curriculum features:
- Intensive OMM training in years 1 & 2
- Wide selection of electives in years 1 & 2
- Surgical skills course
- Large number of standardized patient encounters correlated with the systems courses.
- Simulation lab course
- Preventive Medicine course (includes nutrition). All students are required to do a Personal Wellness Profile
- Geriatrics course
- Chronic care elective available for all 4 years
