Osteopathic Manipulation Skills Training: Past, Present, and Future

This article reviews the methods used to teach osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) from the inception of the profession in the 19th century through the 21st century. Past and current osteopathic literature contains very few references to psychomotor skills training methods used in the OMM lab. Faced with this paucity of information, suggestions for improving the traditional demonstration/imitation model of instruction are given. These suggestions are derived from the science of learning (SL), Simulation-Based Medical Education (SBME), Evaluation Science (EV), and insights gleaned from sim lab student assessment research. The future of osteopathic pedagogy is discussed in relation to advances in neuroscience, technology, and the need to preserve the uniqueness of the osteopathic profession. Kirkpatrick’s method of training evaluation is suggested as a paradigm for assessing curriculum changes and measuring goals set on departmental, college and professional levels.