DO women physicians become majority in primary care as workforce grows, AOA says

The face of osteopathic primary care is changing, and the profession's youngest physicians are leading the shift.

For the first time in American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Physician Masterfile records, women make up the majority of doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) practicing primary care, according to the AOA's "2026 Osteopathic Medical Profession Report." Women account for 50.2% of DOs in active primary care practice, up from 49.6% in 2025 and 46.3% less than a decade ago.

The change is concentrated among early-career physicians. Among primary care DOs under age 35, 55.4% are women.

"The growth we're seeing among women and younger physicians is encouraging for the future of osteopathic medicine," AOA President Richard R. Thacker, D.O., MACOI, said in a news release.

"As more women choose osteopathic medicine and primary care, patients benefit from a broader range of perspectives, grounded in the whole-person care that defines our profession," he said.

The report drew on AOA Physician Masterfile data as of May 31, 2026, along with medical school enrollment figures from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine and results from the 2026 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Main Residency Match.

Osteopathic medicine was established more than 150 years ago by A.T. Still, D.O., who grounded the philosophy in whole-person care, wellness and treating the patient rather than the symptom. The report noted that Still enrolled six female students in his inaugural medical school class. Today, DOs practice in every medical field and specialty, and they hold some of the nation's top medical roles, including physician to the president of the United States and chief health and medical officer at NASA.

A younger workforce

The osteopathic physician workforce has more than doubled since 2010. An estimated 151,240 DOs are in active practice today, up from 63,121 in 2010, 101,006 in 2018 and 122,236 in 2022. The AOA counts as active all osteopathic physicians under age 65, including those in training, who are not known to be inactive or retired.

Of those physicians, 102,402, or 67.7%, are under age 45. In primary care, 65% of DOs are under 45, which the report said makes the profession's frontline workforce younger than at any point in its history.

Across all specialties, women represent 46.1% of DOs in active practice. This year, the number of female DOs under age 45 topped 50,000 for the first time, reaching 50,252.

Counting physicians and students together, the osteopathic profession now numbers more than 218,000, up from 207,158 in 2025. DOs account for about 14.1% of all U.S. physicians, up from 11% in 2025, according to the report.

Primary care remains the core

Primary care remains the foundation of the profession's preventive, whole-person approach, with 55% of DOs practicing in a primary care specialty.

Among the 45% who practice outside primary care, emergency medicine is the clear leader. The top five non-primary care specialties among DOs are:

• Emergency medicine: 13,518 DOs (10.5% of practicing DOs)
• Anesthesiology: 5,441 (4.2%)
• Psychiatry: 5,213 (4%)
• Obstetrics and gynecology: 5,096 (3.9%)
• General surgery: 4,711 (3.6%)

A record pipeline

The pipeline of future DOs continues to expand. A record 41,001 students are enrolled in osteopathic medical schools, about 29% of all U.S. medical students and 10 times the enrollment recorded nearly 50 years ago.

Schools have grown to meet demand. Over the past year, the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation accredited 46 colleges of osteopathic medicine offering education at 73 teaching campuses, up from 43 colleges and 70 campuses in 2025. A dozen osteopathic medical schools ranked among the best medical schools for primary care on U.S. News & World Report's 2026 list, and 12 made its list of the best medical schools for research.

Residency results also set records. For the fourth consecutive year, the highest number yet of osteopathic medical students and graduates obtained residency placements in the NRMP Match. A total of 7,928 DO seniors matched, a record-high match rate of 93.2%. Including placements made after the Match, 9,019 DO seniors, or 98.8%, secured residency training.

DO seniors matched into programs in 37 specialties and made up a larger share of filled positions this year in several fields, including emergency medicine, neurology, surgery and anesthesiology.

Growth where DOs have been fewest

The number of DOs grew in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in 2026, with 20 states outpacing the national growth rate of 6%.

The report said the steepest gains came in states where DOs have historically been fewest, which it described as a sign of the profession's commitment to access in rural and underserved areas. The fastest year-over-year growth came in:

• Louisiana: 13.8%
• Idaho: 11%
• Nevada: 10.4%
• New Mexico: 9.7%
• Arkansas: 8.6%

Over five years, the pattern is sharper. Arkansas has nearly doubled its DO population, up 92.9% since 2021, while Idaho grew 68.1%, Utah 66.1% and Louisiana 63.3%. Nationally, the DO population grew 31% over the same period.

Six states are now home to more than 10,000 DOs, up from four last year, as Texas and Michigan joined California, Florida, Pennsylvania and New York. Texas also passed Michigan to become the fifth-largest DO state. Kentucky surpassed 2,000 DOs and Mississippi crossed 1,000, leaving only 13 states and Washington, D.C., below that mark.

As a result, the workforce is becoming more evenly distributed. The six largest DO states accounted for 42.9% of all osteopathic physicians in 2026, down slightly from 43.1% a year earlier.

"Osteopathic physicians are going where patients need them," Thacker said in the release.

"In primary care, a patient may come in for one concern and leave having addressed their whole health. As the profession grows into more communities, more patients have access to that kind of care," he said.