Physician - DO

Overview

Osteopathic medicine is a distinct form of medical practice founded here in the United States. Osteopathic (DO) physicians, similar to their allopathic (MD) colleagues, are licensed to provide all the benefits of modern medicine to their patients — including prescription drugs, surgery, and the use of the latest technology to diagnose and treat disease. The comprehensive approach of osteopathic medicine, usually within the scope of primary care, emphasizes helping each patient achieve their highest level of wellness by focusing (first) on health promotion and disease prevention. In addition, DO practitioners offer the added benefit of hands-on diagnosis and treatment through a system of therapy known as osteopathic manipulative medicine.

Since the admission prerequisites for osteopathic and allopathic programs are very similar, Biola offers a comprehensive pre-Med program to prepare students for admission to either type of medical school. Over the last five years, Biola has almost tripled the annual number of graduating seniors earning admission to medical school, with close to a 90% success rate across all applications. This includes a subset of students pursuing the Doctor of Osteopathic medicine degree, who have been accepted to a variety of respected osteopathic medical schools both locally and around the country.

Biola’s excellent science curricula and faculty equip each student with the knowledge base necessary for a future medical career, as evidenced by medical school admission test (MCAT) scores significantly above the national average. To further support students as they prepare for admissions testing, Biola pre-meds have the option of several leading (national) professional test prep companies that offer online review courses for pre-med and pre-health students.

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Reasons to Study pre-Med at Biola

1. Integration

   Science instruction and teaching at Biola is always implemented in the context of the sovereignty of God, and as a tool to further explore and appreciate his creation. A distinctive of the pre-med program at Biola University is that it offers excellent preparation for medical school as an integrated part of the much larger on-campus Christian community.

2. Personal Advising

   Every pre-Med student has access to personal advising from BOHPA, the Biola Office of Health Professions Advising. Specifically, every pre-Med has the opportunity for multiple advising appointments with the chief advisor, who himself is an M.D. degree graduate from the UCLA School of Medicine.

3. Clinical Experience

   Every pre-Med student is eligible to enroll in the upper division clinical shadowing program (BIOS 460) at Biola University. This semester-long experience for juniors and seniors provides weekly or biweekly opportunities to observe and interact directly with a physician seeing patients in clinical practice. Almost all specialties are available on request. Clinical shadowing allows students to explore a field of interest, gain valuable clinical experience, provide sources for letters of recommendation, and make decisions about future career paths.

4. Community

   Biola has a wonderful pre-med and pre-health peer-to-peer community in the student Health Careers Club (HCC). The HCC provides opportunities for like-minded students to gather, fellowship, learn, and share the pre-med journey together. Student officers of the HCC plan biweekly activities and presentations directly related to the medical field. Speakers from various specialties are brought in to discuss their clinical work and topics in their field. Christian professionals and sponsoring missions organizations are also scheduled for students interested in short-term and long-term missions. Unlike some of the larger state schools, the Health Careers Club at Biola University ensures that no student has to undertake the challenging pre-med journey alone.