Hello,
I just joined OPM and noticed that there are a number of members either pursuing or involved in osteopathic medicine. Is that just the demographics of the members by chance or is there another reason?
Blessings and I look forward to networking with OPM!
My two cents; (as I’m certain that the group does not want me to speak on their behalf)… 
I have my sights set on an osteopathic school because it fits more with my philosophy of preventative health and personal responsibility.
However, there are many specialties outside of the traditional Family practice (primary care) that one can pursue without going the primary care route.
Hope that helps.
Historically osteopathic schools are more willing to look at the whole applicant. Some are applying only to DO schools because they agree with the osteo philosophy. Some of us are applying to get in where we fit in. For URM’s I opine they should strive to gain acceptance to MD programs but thats’s just me. In the end I’ll go with whomever sends me the fat envelope.
Thank you for your response.
Thank you. I just wasn’t sure if the site catered more towards those interested in osteopathic medicine. But it seems that.s just what a lot of members are interested in for various reasons.
Thank you.
- InHiswill Said:
Thank you. I just wasn't sure if the site catered more towards those interested in osteopathic medicine. But it seems that.s just what a lot of members are interested in for various reasons.
IMHO, osteopathic medical schools are more open to older applicants which is why there are more DO applicants/DO's on this site.
Welcome to OPM!!!
That explains it perfectly. Thank you!
I didn’t even think about med school until I talked to a DO. It works out well, they are less restrictive about your past, and the mentality of osteopathic med makes sense to me.
For some reason - I felt like I needed to write after I read this post. I don’t have a lot of “opinion” stuff on the site, but this one should open up some discussion!
Should We Even Have a DO Degree?
Makes sense to me too.
Doc Gray, I read the article and the author raised a lot good points.
I do, however, disagree about Emergency medicine and osteopathic skills not meshing. Where I am from, the hospital ED I worked in as a tech was pretty much a 24-hour redi-care; it was small, with about a dozen beds, and many people came in for simple little things like severe muscle aches, flu symptoms, rhinitis, adolescent sports injuries, etc. I think that for many of the patients there, a little osteopathic care before release would do them well
one of the Dos that I shadowed used to work in Er and she told me that they did not like her too much because she was able to differentiate 90% of chest pain which was musculoskeletal origin ( as opposed to heart problem) without doing any laboratory tests , using just her knowledge of osteopathy. It was cost effective, however standards of care require to have confirmation of Ur dx if one wants to receive payment.
I think the problem is that we are pushed right from the first year to limit our encounter with patient to less than 20 minutes. there is only time to do ROS and physical plus charting and
there is no time for OMM.
- andrzej Said:
however standards of care require to have confirmation of Ur dx if one wants to receive payment.
unfortunately it's not just standard of care, but hospitals want to get paid (i.e more tests = more money) and the small cost of a test cover yourself and appease the lawyers.
It's not a perfect system we work in.
As a young, naive intern I would always get frustrated at the ED attendings because of the tests they were ordering. A patient clearly has chest pain reproduced with arm movement, and direct palpation of the intercostal space - YET we still have to rule out an MI....
That has nothing to do with MD or DO
- Doc Gray Said:
For some reason - I felt like I needed to write after I read this post. I don't have a lot of "opinion" stuff on the site, but this one should open up some discussion!
Should We Even Have a DO Degree?
Should We Even Have a DO Degree?
You just want to cause trouble dont you?
Maybe we should spin a thread off on that
- Doc Gray Said:
Well I keep reading the both curriculums are identical except for the extra OMM. So perhaps an MD with OMM added to it would probably be less confusing to all. But it seems DO schools themselves, more than MD schools are very resilient to any attempt by individual schools to "unify" the degrees. I might be wrong, but at least it happened my state, where the DO school wanted to work something out (various solutions were proposed). The DO students were against the idea altogether. Not sure why, and not sure what is to gain as well by maintaining the difference.
Clearly the majority of students would prefer MD. This is the case of absolutely all pre-med I have met, without exceptions, even the ones who were going DO. Most students go DO by default (although some have a choice and stick with the DO route). I am not saying that 100% of pre-meds think like that, but my guess is that we are not far. Hey Doc Gray - perhaps you could set a one question survey on your site and ask "if you had the choice as a pre-med and everything else being equal, would you pick the MD school or the DO school". I'd be curious to see how far we are from the 100% mark going MD.
There is a serious stigma about DOs. I remember talking to MDs I shadowed or met saying that I was considering the DO school here. Without exception, they all said: "you don't want to do that". Then you ask why, and I didn't really get a clear answer. You do the same job, get same responsibilities, and likely same satisfaction. The letters after the name are different and that is a big deal culturally.
A lot has also to do with the fact that DO schools tend to be more forgiving on numbers and more "holistic" in their analysis of applicants files. Which seems a great thing. But all in all, the fact is that DO schools are a better shot for less competitive applicants. Or at least so is my perception (even though the only DO school in my state didn't even invite me for interview). So naturally the view translates in the professional realm by seeing DOs differently than MDs.
This is my understanding at least. I certainly don't mean to generate trouble. All this is an opinion and all my reading seems to agree with the line of thought. Honnestly, I think it would be much easier to have one degree for both with extra OMM specially for the folks wanting to keep the holistic approach thing.
My 2 cents and I am no expert. All I can say is that I was considering DO, but between DO and MD, I would have picked MD as well. There is no reason to prefer MD over DO except that culturally, and as unfortunate as it might be, it is the best choice. This is only my opinion and not a truth in itself.
From my experience in talking to and working with MDs, I have found a lot of what’s in your post to be representative of the line of thinking about MDs versus DOs. My issue is, the holistic approach to medicine appeals to me more. However, although ODs get the same training as MDs, I know that I would be limited in treating the population of my choice simply due to bureuacracy. Sad, but true.
That whole “philosophy” between MD & DO goes out the window once you’re board certified.
That’s good to know. Thanks!