Submissions to The DO

The DO is the news and features publication of the American Osteopathic Association. It gives physicians, students and health care professionals advice on how to navigate health care and a platform to express their views.

We welcome submissions from DOs, medical students, residents and other health care professionals who embrace the patient-centered philosophy of osteopathic medicine.

We recommend submitting a story idea before writing a draft so a content editor can help you shape your article, but we’re also happy to work with finished pieces. Familiarizing yourself with The DO’s content and voice can help you understand the types of topics and stories that work well on our site.

What we look for:

Short-form content (1,000-word maximum) that is newsworthy,  conversation-generating and/or informative.

The DO is open to covering new topics. Thoughtful ideas that advance discussion about issues important to our readers are welcome, as are the perspectives of medical students, residents and those in practice.

Topics we are especially interested in right now:

1.  Physician wellness and mental health

2. Opinions about issues in medicine, health care or public health

3. Advice for medical students and residents

4. The patient-physician relationship

5. Overcoming a career obstacle or setback

Examples of well-received DO- and student-written content:

I didn’t Match. Here’s how I survived and created my best life yet.

How I lost 90 pounds in under a year in residency

Do no harm: CBD should be used with caution in kids

9 ways to succeed in your clinical rotations

Reader letter: Over a 30-year career, I watched the health care system break

What we don’t publish:

The DO doesn’t accept fiction, poetry, attacks on individuals or organizations, long-form pieces (more than 1,000 words) or articles with footnotes (please link to your sources instead).

If you’d like to submit research or a piece that is written in an academic style, please contact The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

How to submit your story idea:

Email thedo@osteopathic.org and use “Story: [subject]” as the subject line.

Briefly tell us about your idea and why it is relevant to our readers. Please let us know if you are submitting an article that has been published previously.

Contributors to The DO are not compensated. The DO staff will contact you to let you know the status of your story proposal.

Thank you for your interest in writing for The DO!