As DOs, we have been misunderstood before. But where some see walls, we see windows. We have faced down established systems of medicine and climbed our way to parity by rolling up our sleeves, digging in, and distinguishing ourselves. We earned respect. It’s time to once again to believe in ourselves, believe in our historic ability to adapt, survive and prosper, and do what we do best: be great DOs. That approach has worked for 140 years, and it will serve us well as we navigate the uncertainties that lie ahead.
We also need to give the ACGME some time to get to know us better and realize both where we are different, and where we are not different. We need to give them time to understand what our boards mean and what our skills are. Then we can use their existing processes to initiate changes in their standards to codify our role and parity in the system.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we don’t treat all DOs like they’re “the same” either—in particular, ACGME-trained DOs. At points in the not-so-distant past, we have claimed that these DOs were not loyal to the profession and put burdensome hurdles in place to gain “re-entry” to the profession. Apparently we think our own DOs are different and need to be put through stringent hoops. We must demonstrate that we believe otherwise.
