Gaining Osteopathic Medical Credentials

Completion of an AOA-approved first postdoctoral year of training (OGME-1) is essential for the continuation of postdoctoral osteopathic training and future credentialing. All AOA-approved residency training programs require satisfactory completion of OGME-1 training. Likewise, completion of AOA-approved postdoctoral training is required to sit for osteopathic specialty certification board examination. It is important to note that some states deny licensure to osteopathic physicians unless they have completed AOA-approved postdoctoral training.

To obtain an AOA-approved OGME-1 position in an osteopathic internship or residency, students must register for and participate in the AOA Intern/Resident Registration Program (the "Match"). An overview of the operation of the Match is provided here.  Additional information can also be obtained from the Match web site at: www.natmatch.com/aoairp.

Preparing for the Match

The AOA Opportunities database of internship and residency positions contains current information on all AOA-approved internship and residency programs. Students must apply directly to those institutions and programs in which they are interested.

Information on the structure of the first postdoctoral year of training is provided elsewhere on this web site. Some OGME-1 positions are offered as internship positions and some as residency positions. However, students should note that all OGME-1 positions, whether internship or residency, will be offered to students through the Match, as described below in the Program Types Offered in the Match section.

The AOA has implemented the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) for students to use to apply to programs. ERAS is a separate and distinct service from the Match. ERAS is used by students to apply to programs, while the Match determines the final placement of students into programs. To get more information on the use of ERAS to apply to osteopathic programs, click the Education link in the top toolbar of this page, and select "Postdoctoral Training" from the menu.

Interviews are conducted according to schedules announced by individual training institutions. Students and institutions are responsible for contacting each other to arrange interviews. It is advisable for students to interview with several programs in order to make an informed decision regarding the best program for their individual needs. All interviews must be completed prior to the submission of Rank Order Lists for the Match by January 22, 2010.

Prior to submitting preferences for the Match, students and institutions are expected to communicate openly and honestly with each other, to ensure the best possible match of students and training programs. Institutions must provide complete and accurate information to applicants concerning the position(s) available, including all eligibility requirements for appointment.

Students and institutions may express their interest in each other and may discuss their expected rankings of each other. Institutions may inform their most preferred applicants that they are in a favored position, and students may similarly inform their most preferred programs. However, institutions and students must not make statements implying or requesting a commitment, and must not pressure each other to reveal their ranking intentions. Although institutions or students may volunteer how they plan to rank each other, they must not request such information. Volunteered information must be limited to "very likely", "likely", or "unlikely" to be ranked in a preferred position.

Students and institutions must not make any verbal or written commitments or contracts for appointment prior to the release of the Match results. Any such verbal or written commitments are non-binding and have no effect on the Match. Institutions shall not impose or enforce local requirements in an attempt to subvert the fair application of these rules. Institutions violating Match rules by requesting ranking information from students, or by requiring students to make verbal or written commitments or contracts before the release of the Match results, may be sanctioned by the AOA and prohibited from recruiting in the subsequent Match.

The Rank Order Lists submitted by students and programs for the Match will be the sole determinant of their respective preferences for the Match. Only the official Match results constitute binding obligations between students and institutions.

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Participating in the Match

The Match is administered on behalf of the AOA by National Matching Services Inc. (NMS). Each student must register directly with NMS in order to be eligible to participate in the Match.

Students register for the Match online via the Match web site www.natmatch.com/aoairp. As part of the registration process, students must agree to comply with and be bound by the terms of the Applicant Agreement and pay a registration fee. The AOA charges a fee of $60.00 U.S. to each student who registers for the Match. This registration fee is non-refundable, non-transferable, irrevocable, and is collected by NMS on behalf of the AOA when the student registers for the Match. 

It is recommended that students register for the Match by October 9, 2009. Additional information on registering for the Match is provided on the Match web site at www.natmatch.com/aoairp.

Following completion of the Match registration, NMS will send a confirmation by e-mail directly to each student who registers for the Match.

By the end of November, additional information on preparing and submitting Rank Order Lists for the Match, as well as the procedures for obtaining Match results, will be availble to applicants and programs registered to participate in the Match.

Following interviews, students will identify on their Rank Order Lists, in numerical order of preference (first choice, second choice, etc.), the programs where they would like to be matched. Students should include on their Rank Order Lists only those programs where they would agree to accept a contract. Likewise, institutions identify on the programs' Rank Order Lists the students to whom they are prepared to offer contracts, in numerical order of preference.

Students and institutions may list as many or as few choices as they wish on their Rank Order Lists. However, listing too few choices may decrease the probability of a match taking place or a position being filled. Furthermore, students and programs should list choices in true order of preference, without consideration for how they will be ranked by the other party.

Match participants will be required to enter their Rank Order Lists for the Match online via the Match web site. All students and programs must submit their completed Rank Order List no later than January 22, 2010.

The specific rankings submitted for the Match are confidential; students and programs do not receive information about the rankings submitted by other students and programs.

There are rare circumstances when, at the last moment, an approved program is discontinued or does not participate in the Match process. If this should happen, any student's Rank Order List indicating such a program will be processed without that program; this will have the effect of moving the remaining programs up in the preference ranking. Similarly, if a program has ranked a student who has withdrawn from the Match or does not submit any rankings, the program's Rank Order List will be processed without that student, which will have the effect of moving the remaining students up in the preference ranking.

COUPLES: Two students who are participating in the Match at the same time and who wish to coordinate their matches (e.g., obtain positions in the same location) may participate in the Match as a "Couple". Students who wish to participate as a couple must each register separately for the Match. After both students have registered, they can then update their profiles to indicate they are part of a couple and identify their partner. The matching of couples to positions in proximity to each other involves special procedures which allow the members of a couple to submit "pairs" of program rankings. Obtain additional information regarding the submission of Rank Order Lists by couples.

The Match places individuals into positions based entirely on the choices submitted in the Rank Order Lists. The result of the Match is that each student is placed with the most preferred program on the student's Rank Order List that ranks the student and does not fill all its positions with more preferred students. Similarly, each program is matched with the most preferred students on its list, up to the number of positions available, who rank the program and who do not receive positions at programs they prefer. The results of the Match are binding for both the students and the institutions. Additional information about the Match process is available on the Match web site at www.natmatch.com/aoairp.

Note: The Match process recognizes only EXACT matches between students and specific PROGRAMS offered by institutions. Thus, if a student and an institution have a preference for each other, but the student lists (for example) a Match Code Number that represents a traditional rotating internship program, while the institution lists the student only on a Rank Order List for a family practice program, A MATCH WILL NOT OCCUR. The student and institution are responsible for coordinating their choices and for ensuring their Rank Order Lists contain the correct Match Code Numbers for the specific programs involved.

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OGME-1 Requirements for Specialty Training

Each specialty has selected one of the following 3 options for the OGME-1 training of its students:

• Option 1: The OGME-1 year is an integral part of the residency, and is considered the first year of residency training. Students will match directly into the specialty residency program.
  
   
• Option 2: The OGME-1 year consists of a prerequisite preliminary year of training, providing a designated curriculum for the specialty, but no residency credit is given for the OGME-1 year. Option 2 specialty programs will make arrangements for the OGME-1 preliminary year for their students.  In the Match, students will match to one program that incorporates both the specialty residency program and the prerequisite OGME-1 year. Thus, for purposes of the Match, there will be no practical difference between Option 1 and Option 2 specialties.
  
   
• Option 3: The specialty requires completion of a traditional rotating internship prior to beginning a residency program. These specialties are not offered through the Match.Students interested in these specialties will need to match to a traditional rotating internship for OGME-1, and then seek specialty residency training independently of the Match. 

Get additional information on the options for OGME-1 training, including lists identifying which specialties have selected each option.

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Program Types Offered in the Match

All programs offered in the Match provide OGME-1 training beginning in 2010 and meet the requirement of approved osteopathic OGME-1 training. However, the programs offered in the Match can be classified into two types:

• Traditional Rotating Internship: These programs involve a one-year commitment between the student and the institution for an OGME-1 internship position only, commencing in July 2010. These positions will be of interest to students who wish to pursue an Option 3 specialty (dermatology, public health and preventive medicine, proctologic surgery), who are undecided on future plans or are planning on entering ACGME training after OGME-1. Institutions have some flexibility in designing the composition of a traditional rotating internship. When interviewing for positions, students should discuss and negotiate directly with the institution about the curriculum included in a rotating internship.
  
   
• Residency: These programs involve a multi-year commitment between the student and the institution for training in a specialty. These programs combine both an OGME-1 position commencing in July 2010 followed by continued training in an OGME-2 residency position in the specialty in July 2011. (Note: The trainee must successfully complete OGME-1 training in order to continue into the OGME-2 position.) Both Option 1 and Option 2 specialty programs will be offered as residency programs in the Match.
  
  For Option 1 specialties, each program will be represented by a unique Code Number in the Match, and students will match directly into a specialty residency program.
  
  Option 2 specialties will arrange for the prerequisite OGME-1 year for their students prior to the Match, so that the OGME-1 preliminary year and the specialty residency training starting in OGME-2 will be offered together, as a single program in the Match. The program will be represented by a single, unique Code Number in the Match, and will be ranked by the students as a single program in the Match. While in most cases the OGME-1 and subsequent specialty training will be in the same institution, this will not necessarily always be the case; a program could include an OGME-1 preliminary year at a different institution that is affiliated with the institution offering the specialty residency. In this case, the program will be listed in the Match under the institution that offers the specialty residency training, but the institution that provides the OGME-1 training will be identified in the description of the program.

By the beginning of November, a list of the specific internship and residency programs offered by each institution participating in the Match will be available on  the Match web site .

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Students with Military Commitments

Students with military commitments will participate in the government's military matching program, which is completed prior to the AOA Match process. Students who have been assigned to a military program cannot participate in the AOA Match and must inform NMS of their military position by January 22, 2010. The procedure for notifying NMS will be included in the Rank Order List instructions available to students by the end of November. NMS will then inform the AOA on behalf of the student.

Students who have not been assigned to a military program, but who have a military commitment, may fully participate in the AOA Match. It is the student's responsibility to advise programs of the potential for military obligations during the interview process.

If a trainee participates in a Federal/Military postdoctoral training program, the trainee may apply for AOA approval.  Students are advised to seek such approval to keep open the opportunity for expanded practice options, as well as the option of AOA certification in any chosen specialty.

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Match Results and Contracts

The results of the Match were made available to all participants (students and institutions), as well as for the colleges of osteopathic medicine and OPTIs, on Feb. 8, 2010. View 2010 Match results. The results of the Match are binding.

The institution must complete an institutional contract for each matched student, and send it within 10 working days after receipt of the Match results to the student for his/her signature. Failure to do so places the institution in violation of its Match commitments and could jeopardize continuation of the program. In addition, if an institution fails to send a contract to a matched student within 10 working days, the student may be released from the Match obligation without prejudice.

After receiving the contract from the institution, the student has thirty (30) days in which to sign the contract and return it to the institution. Beyond 30 days, the institution has the right to notify the student of its decision to withdraw the contract offer. In such cases, when a contract is withdrawn because the student fails to sign it, the student is in violation of his/her Match commitment. Such a breach of contract precludes the student from taking any other AOA-approved training program for one (1) year, and from AOA approval of any postdoctoral training during that year. Only students for whom the institution has a signed institutional contract may receive credit for the OGME-1 year.

Note: Only the student and the institution are parties to the contract. Neither the American Osteopathic Association nor National Matching Services Inc. is a party to the contract, and thus neither has enforcement jurisdiction or legal standing to intervene in contract disputes.

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Withdrawing Matched Students from the NRMP

Students who are matched through the AOA Intern/Resident Registration Program and who also have registered to participate in the NRMP Main Match in the same year will have their AOA Match status communicated to the NRMP. The NRMP will automatically withdraw these matched students from that year's NRMP Main Match for concurrent programs. Specifically, a student who is matched in the 2010 AOA Intern/Resident Registration Program to a traditional rotating internship (OGME-1 only) will not be permitted to participate in the 2010 NRMP Main Match for a PGY-1 position. Also, a student who is matched in the 2010 AOA Intern/Resident Registration Program to a specialty residency program (OGME-1 and OGME-2) will not be permitted to participate in the 2010 NRMP Main Match for a PGY-1 or PGY-2 position.

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Unmatched Students and Unfilled Programs

Every year, a small number of students fail to match with any of their ranked programs. Students who fail to match initially are provided with information on programs with available positions for them to contact. Likewise, programs with available positions are provided with information regarding unmatched students to contact. Thus, opportunities to obtain a position may still exist after the Match.

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Release from Match Obligation

Release from Match commitments and the mutually agreed upon contractual obligations of either party can only be achieved through a written release by mutual consent, which is generally done by both parties signing the appropriate release section on the contract. The contract is a binding legal document between the institution and the student, and there may be legal ramifications if either party breaches the contract.

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Nonparticipation in the Match

The importance of participating in the Match cannot be overstated because of its impact on students' future credentialing and practice options. Some states deny licensure to osteopathic physicians who have not completed AOA-approved postdoctoral training. All AOA-approved residency training programs require satisfactory completion of OGME-1 training. Completion of AOA-approved postdoctoral training is also required to sit for osteopathic specialty certification board examinations. As the medical profession moves increasingly to managed care and healthcare rationing, decisions students make now regarding their postdoctoral training will have great impact on their future credentials, potential for reimbursement and staff privileges.

PLEASE NOTE: Students who do not participate in the Match, and choose to take an allopathic (non-AOA-approved) first postdoctoral year of training are not assured of receiving AOA approval for this training. Only students who have received AOA approval for their training may receive credit for the OGME-1 year.

If a student does not participate in the Match, but later desires to enter an AOA-approved internship or residency program, the student should consult the AOA Opportunities Web site for a listing of available positions, or contact an institution directly. When an agreement is reached with an institution, both parties must sign an institutional contract.

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