Foundations of Osteopathic Medicine

Foundations of Osteopathic Medicine (FOM) is considered the authoritative text on consensus-based practice in osteopathic medicine and in particular the practice of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). Though OMM is now viewed as a niche in DO, it is still required knowledge for DO students, even if they never intend to practice it. It is also tested in the DO licensing exam - COMLEX - and a required clerkship rotation for DO students. FOM benefits from being the primary reference used by COMLEX and COMAT - the equivalent to the shelf exams for allopathic students - question writers for the OMM portions of the exam, providing a built-in audience. However, because of the requirement that it be comprehensive and yet only represent consensus practice on specific OMM techniques, it has limited utility in DO coursework and is generally a recommended reference to be used across the DO curriculum