A year in review: The DO’s top 10 stories of 2025

As 2025 comes to a close, The DO is taking a pause to review the stories our team and contributing writers have worked hard on this past year. These pieces, many of which were written by very talented members of the osteopathic medical community, inspired us to consider different paths, provided us with new perspectives and ideas on various aspects of medicine, and helped us connect with the osteopathic medical profession.

As we reflect on our journey through 2025, we also look ahead to the next year with anticipation and enthusiasm. Here’s to a new chapter filled with discovery, growth and continued celebration of the osteopathic medical profession. Below, take a look at The DO’s top 10 stories of 2025.

1. This DO student started med school at age 50. Now, she’s sharing her journey on Instagram and TikTok

In our May DOs to Know column, “Med-fluencer” Jen Reinmuth Birch, OMS III, shared her story of becoming a late-in-life osteopathic medical student, including how she balances all aspects of her life, what stereotypes she’s experienced and what her plans are after graduation and residency. Birch proved to us all that you can pursue your dreams on your own terms—and that doing so might even make you go viral. After a friend suggested she create an Instagram account about going to med school at an older age, Birch quickly grew in popularity with both those interested in following her journey and those hoping to follow a similar path.

Here’s one piece of sage advice Birch shares: “Do not feel guilty about being where you need to be. If you’re with your family, school can wait. If you’re at school, your family can wait.”

2. The DO schools on U.S. News’ best medical schools list for 2025

The 2025 lists of the best medical schools in the United States, released by U.S. News and World Report, included many schools of osteopathic medicine. The lists of the best medical schools for research and primary care each included 13 DO schools. Also, the lists of the medical schools producing the most graduates practicing in primary care, rural areas and underserved areas included many osteopathic medical schools.

For the second consecutive year, the primary care rankings discontinued the use of peer assessment and residency director assessments that previously equaled 25% of the ranking. Also for the second year, rather than numerical rankings, the best schools for primary care and research were placed in four tiers of performance, with Tier 1 being the highest-performing schools.

3. Catching up with the most-followed doctor on social media

People magazine’s 2015 “Sexiest Doctor Alive,” Mikhail Varshavski, DO, (popularly known as “Doctor Mike”), provided updates on his fight against medical misinformation, his efforts to fund scholarships for students and some words of advice for osteopathic medical students and physicians. Dr. Mike breaks down his rise to social media fame and how his childhood experiences led him to create a life guided by osteopathic principles. While going viral can immediately go to some people’s heads, Dr. Mike remained unfazed, knowing this is yet another avenue he can use to help others.

“While it may seem silly, fame allows you to have impact,” he said in the interview. “With impact, I can then change the 30, 40 people that I could benefit in a given day to 30, 40, 50, 100 million that I can impact over the month through my social media channels.”

4. The best and worst states for doctors in 2025

In early spring, WalletHub released their latest lists on the best and worst states for practicing medicine. The DO’s staff combed the list and found that Mississippi, Wisconsin and Georgia were found to provide the highest wages (adjusted for cost of living), while the District of Columbia, Massachusetts and Hawaii had the lowest wages. We provided a full ranking of the states as well as broke down the factors WalletHub considered when they ranked each state and where competition for jobs is projected to be the highest and lowest for physicians in coming years.

5. 6 questions to ask yourself when you’re thinking about retiring from medicine

Officially retired as of June 30, Janice Blumer, DO, shares her process of getting there—what she considered before making the move to retire, how the calling of medicine has impacted her life and all the financial, emotional and spiritual factors involved in this decision-making. Dr. Blumer realized that along her own journey, she received clarity after asking herself the six questions she breaks down in this article—she shares how each has helped her figure out what she wants for the rest of her life. Also, she discusses how pondering these questions led to her deciding to retire this year.

“It’s often recommended that we be sure to create a retirement plan before it happens—using these questions … is a great way to decide whether you have the plan you’d like, or need to create it,” Dr. Blumer says.

6. Decorated Navy DO is named Physician to the President

After the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, it was announced that Capt. Sean Barbabella, DO, would be serving in the White House Medical Unit as the president’s personal physician. As a decorated Navy physician, Dr. Barbabella’s appointment marks the third consecutive time a DO has served as physician to the president, an osteopathic track record to celebrate. The article shares Dr. Barbabella’s history and the experiences that prepared him for his new role.

Before he became physician to the president, Dr. Barbabella was running the Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina.

7. What residents are getting paid in 2025

Medscape’s 2025 Resident Salary and Debt Report explored average resident salaries based on residency year and noted that average salaries for U.S. residents increased 6.5% this year. However, resident pay has not kept up with inflation in recent years, and many residents surveyed for the report said that their bills and necessary items are currently so expensive that they are still not able to consistently make ends meet. Respondents shared with Medscape what they believe they deserve to be paid and why.

“We already ask residents to make huge sacrifices in terms of giving some of the most productive years of their lives to the study of medicine, making it difficult to maintain a life or start a family,” said David Shumway, DO, an internal medicine resident in Biloxi, Mississippi, who shared his perspective on resident pay and the report. “Having enough money to meet basic needs, student loan payments and build a savings fund to cover unexpected expenses is a powerful protective factor for resident well-being, successful program completion and continual regeneration of the future of medicine.”

8. Top 20 cities for physician retirees

We took a look back at Medscape’s 2023 report on the top 20 cities for doctors to retire to, which featured Jacksonville, Florida; Martinsville, Virginia; and Bozeman, Montana. These cities landed in the top spots because of their good recreation opportunities, a low cost of living and great healthcare. Janice Blumer, DO, the Oregon-based family medicine doctor who retired in June (see #5 above) vouched for Bend, Oregon, number nine on the list, as a great retirement option and shared why it’s one of the areas she’s been considering settling down permanently in.

The top 20 list shares the highlights of why each city has earned its spot on the list, with some including below average property taxes, low crime rates and water-based activities being among the reasons the city is ideal for retirees.

9. Choosing what to wear during clinical rotations, residency and beyond

Ava DiGirolamo, a now-OMS IV at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, shared her recommendations for choosing your attire as a medical student or young physician, and discussed how student and physician attire can impact patient and peer perceptions. DiGirolamo shares how she has approached choosing what to wear on rotations, and she offers several wardrobe recommendations to medical students and early-career physicians.

“Attire is just one facet of professionalism, but it plays a crucial role in shaping perceptions in the medical field,” says DiGirolamo. “For young physicians, navigating generational and cultural differences in expectations can be challenging, but thoughtful clothing choices can enhance your credibility and foster trust. As medicine continues to evolve, so too will the standards of dress.”

10. Denouement: How life evolves after you retire from medicine

The DO’s popular retirement columnist, Daniel Waters, DO, retired from writing The DO’s retirement column this year, although he is still contributing special articles to The DO. In his final writings for The DO’s Back Nine column, he reflected on his retirement thus far, shared what he’s learned and what’s next for him. And don’t worry, the Back Nine column is not going away; The DO has several columns from other retired DOs slated for the coming months, and we published Dr. Blumer’s column on 6 questions to ask yourself before retirement (#5 above) in August.

Dr. Waters has shared so much of his journey of retirement from medicine over the past few years, and as always, closed the article on an insightful and thought-provoking note:

“In writing, the denouement is the final part of the story in which the strands of the plot are drawn together, and matters are explained or resolved,” he wrote. “A fitting description of retirement, perhaps. Our medical careers have told the story. Our job now is to weave together what it all meant. Doing that lets us tell a new, albeit shorter story in the process. Pretty cool how that works, huh?”

Thank you for another incredible year at The DO! We look forward to sharing more wonderful stories from the osteopathic medical community in 2026.

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