I'm trying to figure out if a DO can go internationally and practice as a medical doctor (ie. go to Canada, Australia, etc under the same guidelines that an MD would).
This is sort of a continuation from a thread called DctoMD… I figured that more people (than just me) would want to hear about the opportunities that a Doctor of Osteopathy will have internationally. I am a Canadian and I do like many places in the US, but the issue is what if I want to return? Or go practice in Fiji or Australia or somewhere warmer than Canada!?
If any DOs out there have gone outside of the US to practice medicine then please let me know…
The law was passed in March of last year for all US trained DO’s to have full privileges in Canada. Many countries do not recognize DO’s on an independent basis but you can practice as part of the miltary or being a missionary.
Becky
In many parts of Canada, DO’s trained in Canada do not have the same rights as the MDs. In fact they are not considered full doctors in many places in Canada. I don’t know about DOs that train in the US and then go there though.
the same can be said about oversees. DOs aren’t full docs in a number of countries. I am glad the same isn’t true about here in the states.
Actually, we need to avoid some problematic nomenclature here: DO does not mean the same in other countries as it does in the US. DO schools in Europe & parts of CA turn “Doctors of Osteopathy” which are roughly the equivalent in licensure as a US-trained DC (Chiropractor). A US-trained DO is a “Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine” is a fully licensed physician. However, the mistake is equating the two very different schools…the EU & Ca schools cont to ascribe to the original treatment paradigm of the first DO schools in the US: medical intervention through manipulation only, no use of pharmacologic agents. This paradigm is abviously no longer the pillar of US-based DO schools…our DO schools require students to take & pass essentially the same coursework as the MD schools with the added manipulative medicine component. The EU & CA DO schools never adopted the paradigm shift & cont to teach manipulation/nutrition only.
So, even though the initials “DO” are the same for both sets of graduates, they are not any where near the same entity. The AOA (in my opinion a very bad decision) has adopted the mindset that instead of changing the initials of the several-odd thousand US-trained DOs to minimize confusion, that it is a better policy to re-educate & convince several million EU & CA citizens that they should switch their degree designation…perfect example of egocentrism, huh? So, the confusion over what a DO is rages on.
As a fully licensed US-trained physician, both MD & DO, you may petition a foreign medical licensing board for practice rights in their country. For persons w/ either US-degree, it is not a simple, straight-forward process…even though some people attempt to make it seem that way for MDs. As a DO petitioner, you will likely encur higher scrutiny & have a larger chanllenge obtain practice rights in some countries, but, it is possible. There are no countries that have laws specifically banning US-trained DOs from gaining practice rights…per a lecture in med school. The confusion/challenge comes from what their definition of “DO” is vs what is extent in the US…again, way to go AOA!
The AOA is continually lobbying to smooth this process for US-trained DOs. No, I cannot provide a list of what countries readily or begrudgingly accept our DOs…doubt such a list exists. However, I do know that our DOs are gaining practice authority in many other countries.
My advice, if you are earnestly curious about this is to contact the AOA & inquire of them. Just as a matter of PR, I cannot imagine that they would not be more than pleased to give you the inside poop on where we have DOs licensed. Just realize that it is a dynamic situation and, in some cases, a matter of individual persistence & achievement vs that of the efforts of a large agency.
I understand that there are about 30-40 countries that accept DO as international doctors with full rights. Don’t know who… 