So I was talking to a few of my younger classmates in Orgo and was surprised about the misconceptions that still exist about DOs.
One fellow who has shadowed both MDs and DOs said that he likes the MD approach better…that it was more scientific (whatever that means). He said an MD is more likely to treat a disease with an appropriate medication whereas a DO would just send the patient to physical therapy (I do wonder if he picked up this viewpoint from an MD he shadowed)
My lab partner (who is pre-pharm) chimed in and said that he thought that DOs could only prescribe basic scripts (like NPs and PAs) and not anything controlled.
I felt myself taking up the osteopathic gauntlet and informed them that DOs are the legal and professional equivalents of MDs and can do anything (including surgery) that MDs can.
I was surprised that this outdated view is still being held…and among 19-20yos too. I could understand it a generation ago, but now??
My own pcp is a DO and I’ve seen her since 2004 so I’m a little biased. Plus the DO school I toured last year was amazing and were very interested in non-trads (and me 
) However, they are 1 1/2 hours from my house and the MD school (which is attached to my undergrad) is only 25 minutes away. The difference being that I would be home every night vs. some nights (assuming I got acceptances to both, which I know is getting a little ahead of myself here, haha)
I don’t understand the misconception either but it could be that many people have not met DO’s. I am from New Orleans and admit I have only encountered one DO. He was fantastic.
I am at a crossroads. I am nearly 40 and have just applied to 8 medical schools over the past month and 1 Caribbean Medical School. I am looking at a few DO schools as well, but being a non-traditional it was an act of congress getting the required letters so to do that again is daunting.
I am not sure what will happen with me. My undergrad years were very turbulent because my father died unexpectedly and the resulting firestorm of events left my grades all over the place. I ended up teaching for the past 14 years and then going back to get my M.S in Biology. I graduated from that program in 2011 with a 3.9 GPA while working full time. I etched out a 30 on the MCAT but not sure how much my graduate GPA will help to cancel out my undergraduate nightmare.