Can a DO work in an in-patient hospital?

[jubei0766]

Hello. Is it hard for a DO to get a job in a hospital(like UCLA,etc)?

It seems like most of the MDs have very positive views of DOs. But just out of curiosity, then where is this prejudice regarding DO coming from? Who is descriminating DOs?

Thank you for your constructive feedbacks!

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[rtk]

Are you NUTS? DO's in an in-patient hospital?! What's the world coming to...

Now, DO's in an out-patient hospital...maybe

 

[jubei0766]

Thanks for the reply. This information was critical in whether I would apply to DO or not instead of MD.

 

[GDubDO]

It may be somewhat difficult to get into a major hospital like UCLA, but not impossible. Your ability to get into that type of program will definitely rely on your med school performance (including rotations) and recommendations (knowing people won't urt either!).
This "prejudice" you speak of mainly lies with the old school MD's who run the more specialized programs. If you are a DO student interested in primary care, and you've done well in your program, you should have a decent shot at some of the bigger allopathic hospitals....
Best of luck!

Greg
MSI
College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacifice
Western University of Health Sciences.

 

[Amra]

Eck. people still think like that? I figured by now ever MD gave up on the "DO bashing" and jumped on the Nurse Practioner bashing... Ho hum.. someone forgot to send me a note about it...

-A

 

[dieselkid]

Talk to a practicing DO about this to get the real scoop. There is a lot of variance depending on where you are. In another thirty years, though, nobody will probably give a rats ass.

-dieselkid

 

[Mr. happy clown guy]

In another 30 years??? No one, at least where I have been, really gives a rats ass now! They may be a little curious...but that's it.

 

[rtk]

jubei0766;

Did you note the sarcasm in my earlier post? I'm a DO and I work in an in-patient hospital... The days of discrimination against DO's for staff previledges ended in 1965 when a law was passed allowing DO's to bill Medicare and hospitals that billed Medicare could no longer discriminate against any physician who also saw Medicare patients purely based on their degree.

There has been some 'old school MD's' who continued the bias (as alluded to in an earlier post) but by-in-large DO's are in every corner in the US and in every field of medicine.

The DO vs MD thing is really propagated by pre-meds and is nearly non-existent in the real world.

Good luck.

 

[pushinepi2]

I'm smiling, but not because I'm happy clown guy..

This forum is eerily similar to the theme found in the "M.D.O." discussion. As RTK? so aptly states, this difference that people perceive is perpetuated by the PREMEDICAL COMMUNITY! I mentioned my experiences with the pre-med committee at UF in an earlier message. "Pre-med" is really just another word for "pre-allopathic." Unfortunatelty, many otherwise well informed advisors and committees mention DO school as an option only when the first round of secondary applications are not returned. As a matter of fact, one foreign MD school urges its prospective candidates "to avoid the compromise of an osteopathic degree." Besides being insulting, this statement is ridiculous and completely non reflective of the current DO curriculum. This forum alone is chock full of specialists, primary care docs, students and philosophers. Its the most active probably because its the most DIVERSE. DO's are in every field, and its unfortunate that the public and the greater medical community is in need of continuing education. I recently took an interviewee around NSU-COM who asked me what the differences were between, "a D.O. and a chiropractor." Jeez. I suggested that he would do better to pose that question at the actual time of interview. To conclude, I hope that there is more substance to the DO application decision than our ability to practice in an "in-patient hospital." When considering application, please avail yourself of the opportunity to visit hospitalist/practicing DOs and talk to them about the reality of current medical practice. Perhaps they might even assist you with that DO letter of reccommendation. Lots of luck,

PUSHinEPI2
NSU-COM class of 2005

 

[jubei0766]

Thank you all for your insightful comments.
It just feels good to realize that there are many strong-willed and opend-minded future DOs who struggle and try to educate people about the value of Osteopathic Medicine. To be frankly honest with you, I did not even know what DO was until my professor told me(in the fall of 2000)that they(MDs and DOs)are identical, even though I was secretly worried that in real life, this could have been otherwise.
I also did not even know that there was a law passed in 1965 that prevents DOs from being discriminated(thanks to RTK for such a crucial info). Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences and I wish there were more DOs and that DOs can be recognized outside in a way identical to MDs(are they?).

P.S. rtk, I thought you were talking like a thug in the earlier post...j/k .

 

[jubei0766]

I meant more DO Schools and Outside U.S. at the end. sorry for the confusion.

 

[yasostegirl3437]

I met an osteopathic internist at a major hospital in NY. Sorry, I don't know too much about california. NY has several D.O's that specialize. As a provider rep, I encounter more osteopathic speciality providers than I do primary care. It could be because NY is specialty happy. Frankly, it concerns me.