{"id":3303,"date":"2024-06-20T12:02:47","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T17:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/?page_id=3303"},"modified":"2025-09-30T16:08:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T21:08:22","slug":"doec-pathway","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/doec-pathway\/","title":{"rendered":"DOEC Pathway"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><strong>Expanding your certification: The value of the Distinct Osteopathic Examination Committee (DOEC) pathway<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1916\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1916\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1916\" src=\"http:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/vest.jpg\" alt=\"Stacy Chase, DO\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/vest.jpg 200w, https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/vest-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1916\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Stacy Chase, DO<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>By Stacy Chase, DO, FACOFP, FAOGME<\/strong><br \/>\nChair, Distinct Osteopathic Examination Committee<\/p>\n<p>The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) is committed to supporting osteopathic physicians in advancing their clinical expertise while strengthening the unique identity of osteopathic medicine. For AOA-certified diplomates, the Distinct Osteopathic Examination Committee (DOEC) pathway offers a valuable opportunity to add osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) to your primary certification.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why consider the DOEC pathway?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"x_glist\" type=\"disc\">\n<li><strong data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Strengthen your osteopathic identity<\/strong> \u2013 Adding OMT to your certification highlights the distinctiveness of osteopathic medicine and reflects the holistic, hands-on approach that patients seek from DOs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Demonstrate advanced competency<\/strong> \u2013 The DOEC pathway ensures you are formally recognized for your knowledge and skills in OMT, reinforcing your role as a leader in osteopathic practice.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Expand your professional opportunities<\/strong> \u2013 Certification with OMT can distinguish you in academic, clinical and leadership settings, whether teaching the next generation of DOs, leading patient care initiatives or engaging in advocacy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Meet growing patient demand<\/strong> \u2013 Many patients specifically seek osteopathic physicians for their expertise in OMT. Certification signals to patients, employers and colleagues that you have met rigorous standards of training and assessment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The DOEC pathway was designed to give AOA-certified diplomates an attainable and meaningful way to add OMT certification to their primary board specialty. The process is tailored for physicians who already maintain active certification, focusing on assessing the essential skills and knowledge needed to practice OMT with confidence.<\/p>\n<p>By pursuing the DOEC pathway, you\u2019re not only enhancing your own career, but you\u2019re also contributing to the visibility and strength of osteopathic medicine. Every diplomate who adds OMT to their certification helps advance our collective mission of promoting comprehensive, patient-centered care grounded in the osteopathic philosophy.<\/p>\n<p><strong data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Take the next step<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re ready to expand your certification and affirm your commitment to the distinctive principles of osteopathic medicine, the DOEC pathway is your next opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>Eligible diplomates must pass both a written and a performance exam.<\/p>\n<p><strong data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">2026\u201327 exam &amp; application dates<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Part 1: Written exam<\/strong><br \/>\nExam dates: September 2026<br \/>\nApplication opens: May 2026<\/p>\n<p><strong data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Part 2: OMT performance exam<\/strong><br \/>\nHeld at the ACOFP Convention in Louisville, Kentucky<br \/>\nExam dates: April 1 &amp; 2, 2027<br \/>\nApplication opens: October 2026<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about eligibility, requirements and upcoming application windows by contacting <a title=\"mailto:OMT@osteopathic.org\" href=\"mailto:OMT@osteopathic.org\" data-linkindex=\"11\">OMT@osteopathic.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Expanding your certification: The value of the Distinct Osteopathic Examination Committee (DOEC) pathway &nbsp; By Stacy Chase, DO, FACOFP, FAOGME Chair, Distinct Osteopathic Examination Committee The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) is committed to supporting osteopathic physicians in advancing their clinical expertise while strengthening the unique identity of osteopathic medicine. For AOA-certified diplomates, the Distinct Osteopathic &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/doec-pathway\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":951,"parent":0,"menu_order":12,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-board-policies.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"yst_prominent_words":[15,123,87,20,18,76,210],"class_list":["post-3303","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/certification.osteopathic.org\/family-physicians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}