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D.O. Podcast Increases Pre-Medical Student Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Osteopathic Medicine

Journal: Journal of Osteopathic Medicine Date: 2025/12, 125(12):Pages: A651–652. doi: Subito , type of study: pretest posttest design

Full text    (https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jom-2025-2000/html)

Keywords:

attitude [164]
knowledge [62]
medical students [647]
osteopathic medicine [2025]
podcast [4]
pretest posttest design [217]
undergraduate medical education [78]
USA [1656]

Abstract:

Context: Osteopathic medicine is a rapidly growing field, currently with 42 schools in the United States. The number of medical students enrolled in osteopathic (DO) conferring schools is approximately 25% of all United States medical students, and the number of seats is increasing annually. Many pre-medical students, however, apply to only allopathic (MD) schools, which may be in part due to a lack of knowledge of the principles of osteopathy or the fact that DOs are complete physicians along with MDs. Podcasts are a popular medium used for entertainment and sharing information through interviews and discussion. Although there have been previous studies to assess the effectiveness of podcasts for education on medical topics, there has been no research on podcasts to increase awareness of osteopathic medicine. The D.O. or Do Not podcast was founded in 2021 to educate pre-medical and medical students on the principles of osteopathic medicine and the DO degree. While the podcast has over 100,000 downloads to date, it is unclear if it is an effective tool to increase pre-medical student knowledge or attitudes towards osteopathic medicine. Objective: To determine if pre-medical undergraduate students listening to podcast episodes on osteopathic medicine can improve their knowledge of the field, and to further determine if this knowledge can increase the reported likelihood of applying to osteopathic medical school in the future. Methods: Participants were recruited through pre-medical advisors, social media, and word of mouth. Participants needed to identify as considering a career in medicine and have had no experience, prior knowledge, or personal connections to osteopathic medicine. Data were collected using an anonymous online Qualtrics survey that was validated by 3 osteopathic physicians and a Ph.D. Demographic information was obtained, followed by a pre-test containing 14 knowledge and 9 Likert-scale (1-10) attitude questions about osteopathic medicine. The participants were then asked to listen to two pre-selected podcast episodes: episodes 2 and 60, for a total of 75 minutes. Finally, the subjects repeated a post-test consisting of the same pre-test questions. Data were analyzed in Microsoft Excel software using paired-sample t-tests with significance at p < 0.05. Results: Twenty-four pre-medical undergraduate students (20 females (83%) and 4 males (17%), age 19.4 + 1.4 years) from all regions of the United States completed this study. Listening to 2 podcast episodes on osteopathic medicine significantly improved pre- (42.6 + 20.6%) to post-test (76.5 + 16.0%) knowledge scores (p < 0.001). There was a significant difference in pre- (4.5 + 3) to post-test (6.8 + 2.8) attitudes of likeliness to apply to D.O. school (p > 0.001), but no change in the likelihood of applying to U.S. MD (p = 0.7), foreign/Caribbean MD (p = 0.8), dental (p = 0.5), or podiatry (p = 0.1) schools. Interest in learning more about osteopathic medicine pre- (7.9 + 2.6) and post-test (7.5 + 2.7) did not change (p = 0.3), while perceived understanding pre- (1.6 + 1.4) and post-test (7.8 + 2.1) improved (p < 0.001). Likeliness to seek out an allopathic physician as a healthcare provider pre- (7.5 + 2.3) to post-test (7.5 + 2.7) exhibited no change (p = 0.5), while osteopathic (6.2 + 3.2 versus 7.5 + 2.8) increased significantly (p = 0.01). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the D.O. or Do Not podcast may be a viable tool to educate pre-medical students on the field of osteopathic medicine and improve the reported likelihood of both choosing osteopathic physicians as providers and applying to osteopathic medical school in the future. An osteopathic podcast such as D.O. or Do Not could be an education and recruitment resource for organizations such as the AOA, AACOMAS, and the individual colleges of osteopathic medicine. Future studies are needed to determine if listening to the podcast can increase application number and quality of pre-medical students applying to osteopathic medical school.


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