What are your thoughts on the possibility of DO being reintegrated into MD and effectively making the DO degree obsolete in the future?
1. If I was offered to switch my DO to MD...I would refuse. Why? Because I am going to work my rear end off to be the best physician I can be and two letters will never stop me or hurt me. I have overcome much greater problems and issues. And as a side note, I am in love with the DO letters because those letters gave someone from my background a chance to be a terrific physician.
2. If DOs fail to maintain a separate identity (if we even have a separate identity at this point), I may have no choice and the MD may be forced on me one day in the future (if that's the case, I would prefer MD/DO). With the merger, I heard that a few DO schools were offered the opportunity to grant the MD but refused...will this refusal continue...who knows. Another side note...at the hospital where I volunteer in the summer, a DO was forced to wear an MD badge for a few months due to inadequate supplies. So that should show you how people in the field who are educated/not ignorant view the distinction already. Lastly, every allo program director that I have spoke with (my former job allowed me to make several contacts) for the specialty I wish to enter just told me to take the Comlex with no need for steps as they said that they already have or have had enough DO's to know what the scores mean...and this is common among every non uber competitive specialty. //Is there a need for a separate degree? Again, I would at the very least prefer md/do or mdo.
3. I love OMM. Is there some bs? Sure...but as adults, we all have to put up with a little bs in life. Is OMM enough to keep or maintain (wherever your head is at) a separate identity? No...because I believe MD's should have the right to learn it as well (and several already are).
DO schools are already increasing standards to be comparable to average MD schools, but is still a work in progress. However, there is a girl in my class who was also accepted into U Chicago...so we are doing a better job of attracting the right students. But the satellite schools with really low standards have to go...along with the less than desirable residencies.
The AMA and AOA have a lot to learn. Schools are not accepting the right people and, again, many qualified students are shut out due to circumstances beyond their control. And it still blows my mind that people are accepted with little/no prior work history (given the hours you have to work as a physician). People are accepted due to how they look and who they know, but those from rural areas and or low ses are largely ignored due to a lack of research (why is that?) investigating whether or not rural or low ses goes back to their 'people' after training (I plan on it). The system is antiquated and needs an overhaul...the public has a generally negative view of physicians and medical errors are not significantly decreasing despite numbers consistently increasing. Also, physician satisfaction is at an all time low...probably from having to work side by side with some of the transcendent physicians on this thread.
If Allo's adopted Osteo's forgiveness, compassion, empathy, and diversity and Osteo's adopted Allo's academic standards and research aptitude the medical field would be a much better place. Many allo's go by the 'holistic' motto...but trust me, they are in no way/shape/form holistic. It is still a good ol' boys club where the people with the money and time have the best chances (I'm sorry, but a motivated person who has to work, is homeless, or has no support can in no way, shape, or form keep up with the average medical school applicant year after year without struggling). Instead of overcoming struggle being viewed as a positive, schools instead focus on a negative year or two, poor exam score, etc., to exclude such students from admission. If this is the way you think it should be...perhaps we need a caste system in medicine.
Sorry if that was lacking order, but hopefully it answered your question.
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