ICOM’s Osteopathic Medicine Curriculum

ICOM’s Programmatic Level Educational Objectives

By graduation, ICOM student doctors are expected to demonstrate proficiency across seven core competencies established by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), the foundational domains of osteopathic physician development used throughout undergraduate and graduate medical education:

These competencies are developed and assessed throughout all four years of the curriculum, and are further reinforced during clinical rotations through 13 Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs), the specific, observable tasks a new resident should be able to perform without direct supervision. ICOM students are expected to demonstrate these EPAs by graduation:

1. Gather a comprehensive history and perform a physical examination
2. Formulate a prioritized differential diagnosis
3. Recommend and interpret common diagnostic and screening tests
4. Enter and discuss orders and prescriptions
5. Document clinical encounters in the patient record
6. Deliver an effective oral presentation of clinical findings
7. Formulate clinical questions and apply evidence to patient care
8. Conduct patient handovers to transition care responsibility
9. Collaborate as part of an interprofessional healthcare team
10. Recognize and respond to patients requiring urgent or emergent care
11. Obtain informed consent for tests and procedures
12. Perform core physician procedures safely and competently
13. Identify system failures and contribute to a culture of safety and quality improvement

Preclinical Curriculum: Years 1 & 2

The ICOM preclinical curriculum is designed to be highly integrated to provide both a rigorous foundation in the fundamental principles of the biomedical sciences and a robust emphasis on the clinical sciences.

During the first two years of ICOM’s curriculum, provided on ICOM’s main campus in Meridian, Idaho, foundational concepts in anatomy, biochemistry, genetics, cell biology, microbiology, immunology, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology have been integrated with clinical content to be delivered via eleven organ system-based courses.

For a complete list of required coursework by year, see the ICOM College Catalog, which details every course, credit hour, and academic policy in full.

A comprehensive curriculum is designed to introduce student doctors to osteopathic principles and practice (OPP) and provide opportunities to learn the skills required for the successful practice of osteopathic medicine and promote a healthy professional approach to lifelong learning.

ICOM’s approach to osteopathic medicine is grounded in four foundational tenets: the body is a unit of body, mind, and spirit; the body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing, and health maintenance; structure and function are reciprocally interrelated; and rational treatment is based on these principles.

Throughout the first and second years, student doctors will be provided the opportunity to learn communication skills and osteopathic terminology necessary for history-taking and conducting an osteopathic physical examination. State-of-the-art patient simulators and standardized patients will enhance student doctors’ familiarity with clinical scenarios and the development of clinical skills.

Additionally, all student doctors will engage in courses that provide essential training in the history, principles, and practice of osteopathic medicine, physical and differential diagnosis, medical ethics, interprofessional education, professionalism, research, and the legal aspects of medicine.

Clinical Curriculum: Years 3 & 4

Student doctors will be assigned to their third-year core regional clinical site via a lottery that takes place in the Fall of their OMS-II year. Student doctors will relocate to their assigned core site prior to the beginning of the third year. While the majority of the third-year clinical rotations will take place at that site, student doctors may be required to travel to other locations if a required rotation is not available locally.

Clinical experiences will occur within hospital sites for inpatient experiences, in ambulatory practices, and in other acute care facilities. The clerkships or clinical rotations are designed to provide the student doctor with an education in the general areas of family medicine, surgery, surgical subspecialties, pediatrics, women’s health, behavioral health, internal medicine, internal medicine subspecialties, and emergency medicine.

All clerkships will be organized to permit the greatest degree of educational exposure in a practical, clinical environment, and to develop expertise in the area of patient diagnosis and management.

Osteopathic Principles and Practice (OPP) continues as a required, semester-long course throughout the third and fourth years, building on the foundation established during the preclinical curriculum. Delivered through monthly clinical modules, quizzes, and hands-on skills assessment, OPP coursework reinforces the integration of osteopathic manipulative medicine into everyday patient care. Students can explore what osteopathic manipulative medicine involves, see it in action in the OMT Video Library, and learn about ICOM’s dedicated OMM Lab where these skills are taught and assessed.

Rotation performance is graded on a scale from Honors to Pass, based on preceptor evaluations, clinical exams, and coursework, full grading policies are detailed in the College Catalog. Throughout OPP coursework and clinical rotations, students build toward the COMLEX-USA licensing exams required for graduation. See ICOM’s outcomes page for COMLEX pass rates and residency match results.