Honoring Native American Heritage Month: Advancing Indigenous Health Through Osteopathic Medicine at OSU-COM

The United States designates November as Native American Heritage Month to recognize the traditions, languages and stories of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). Oklahoma, home to Tribes dating back to Indian Territory, includes 38 Sovereign Nations. At Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OSU-COM), the osteopathic community honors Indigenous people daily by recruiting, training and retaining osteopathic physicians who serve AI/AN populations in Oklahoma and beyond. The contributions, achievements, sacrifices and cultural and historical legacy of First Americans are deeply woven within pathway programs and unique clinical training tracks guided by First American administration, faculty, staff and students at OSU-COM. As Tribal communities seek more highly trained healthcare practitioners to give back to their communities, Tribal leaders are committed to the medical and health professions education of Tribal youth. Likewise, osteopathic programs like OSU-COM must support AI/AN students by providing programs that honor Tribal communities and traditions.

OSU-COM has been a leader in the education of AI/AN osteopathic physicians since its inception in 1972, consistently recruiting and graduating the largest percentage of AI/AN students among U.S. osteopathic colleges. Representing many Oklahoma-based Tribal nations, OSU-COM graduated nearly 40 percent of all AI/AN osteopathic graduates in the United States from 2000-2023. This data undoubtedly reflects positively on the 2020 opening of OSU-COM at Cherokee Nation (OSU-COM at Cherokee Nation), an 84,000-sq-ft facility on the Cherokee Nation’s Health Services campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. OSU-COMCN is the nation’s first and only Tribally affiliated college of medicine. The campus enrolls about 52 osteopathic medical students annually with about 200 students total in years 1-4. The first class of osteopathic physicians graduated in May 2024, including the inaugural cohort of the Tribal Medical Track (TMT) participants.

The TMT prepares osteopathic medical students for a primary care residency in family medicine, pediatrics, surgery, emergency medicine, internal medicine or obstetrics/gynecology at Tribal or Tribal-focused healthcare facilities. The TMT offers unique learning opportunities for motivated students to develop clinical knowledge, behavior and skills to succeed in a challenging practice environment while learning about the rich cultures of AI/AN people. Students in the TMT complete most of their required clinical education in Tribal and rural settings.

To ensure the AI/AN community’s voice is reflected in osteopathic medical training, OSU-COM honors the cultural practices of students’ specific sovereignty while emphasizing scientific identity and Tribal practice. OSU-COM maintains meaningful connections with Tribal leaders and offers proximity to Tribal lands to foster a sense of belonging. Moreover, the osteopathic philosophy, which embraces unity of structure and function and stresses that, “The body is a unit; the person is a unit of body, mind and spirit,” mirrors the beliefs held by most AI/AN people. Additionally, the curriculum includes courses addressing healthcare topics relevant to Tribal healthcare systems and health disparities among Indigenous populations.

OSU-COM strongly supports programs that increase the number of competitive AI/AN applicants through structured activities developed with Tribal and institutional partners as part of an educational path (Native Pathways Programs). These programs focus on AI/AN undergraduate and high school students interested in medical careers, improving their competitiveness as applicants to OSU-COM. Academic and financial support, including mentoring and a culturally centered environment, are critical components to the programs.  Mentorship programs, such as near-peer and peer-to-peer, are essential for student success. Pairing AI/AN osteopathic medical students with advanced AI/AN students, residents and physicians creates a supportive environment that fosters a sense of belonging and enhances the learning and personal growth for both mentors and mentees.

The Office of American Indians in Medicine and Science (AIMS), launched in 2014, provides numerous resources, support and an Indigenous community for osteopathic medical students, as well as recruiting AI/AN undergraduate and high school students into osteopathic medicine. AIMS also supports the Indigenous osteopathic medical student organization, Native American Students of Osteopathic Medicine (NASOM), founded in 2021. NASOM represents osteopathic medical students interested in pursuing primary care careers (e.g., family medicine, internal medicine, OBGYN, pediatrics, surgery and emergency medicine) at Tribal hospitals and clinics in Oklahoma and beyond. The student organization works directly with AIMS to provide cultural activities and informational speakers on current health issues faced by Tribal communities. OSU-COM is excited to work with AACOM leadership to expand NASOM to other colleges of osteopathic medicine in the United States and to create an osteopathic physician group called Native American Osteopathic Physicians (NAOP) to mentor NASOM members and strengthen health outcomes in Indian Country. To learn more about National Native American Heritage Month, visit https://www.bia.gov/NNAHM.