Membership

Student membership is automatically granted—at no cost—to all students enrolled at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Students at other AOA-accredited colleges of osteopathic medicine may also join as dues-free members by completing a brief online application. Join Today!

One Osteopathic Ohio begins with the Student Doctors 

As an osteopathic medical student, you are the future of the profession. That’s why students are enrolled as members of the Ohio Osteopathic Association at no cost. Until you complete residency (while remaining in Ohio), you receive the same communications and benefits as OOA physician members.

For OU-HCOM students, the white coat presented at Convocation is a gift from the OOA to welcome you into the osteopathic family, and a graduation memento marks this important milestone. Along with OOA publications and member services, these gestures underscore the OOA’s commitment to students as vital members of the profession.

The OOA and OU-HCOM have a strong bond. In fact, the OOA was responsible for initiating the legislation that created the College. Check out the timeline of events leading up to Ohio Gov. Jim Rhode's signing of the bill (scroll to 1972).

Ohio Student Leadership Opportunities

Ohio Osteopathic Association Board of Trustees

The OOA has a long history of supporting student involvement and was the first state osteopathic association in the nation to grant students a voting seat on its Board of Trustees and representation in its House of Delegates.

OU-HCOM students are represented at the state and national levels through their Student Government Association (SGA), which elects a president who serves as a voting member of the OOA Board of Trustees and as a delegate to both the OOA and the American Osteopathic Association Houses of Delegates. The OOA helps underwrite the costs of this student representation. For more information or to get involved, contact your campus SGA president.

For the 2025-26 year, the OU-HCOM SGA representatives are Sarah Kittelberger, OMS-II, Cleveland;  George G. Papadeaus, OMS-II, Athens; Thomas G. Shneker, OMS-II, Dublin.