Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (
D.O. or
DO) is a professional
doctoral degree for
physicians and
surgeons offered by medical schools in the
United States. Holders of the D.O. degree have the ability to become licensed as
osteopathic physicians who have equivalent rights, privileges, and responsibilities as
physicians with a
Doctor of Medicine degree (M.D.). D.O. physicians are licensed to practice the full scope of
medicine and
surgery in 65 countries, including all 50 states in the US, and make up seven percent of the total U.S. physician population. In 2015, there were more than 96,000 osteopathic medical physicians in the United States.