Why do many DOs hide their degrees?

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I have worked with many excellent DOs who work alongside MDs, and who are great clinicians and have great personalities.

However one thing I have noticed a lot is that many DOs appear to hide their degrees on business cards, name plaques, etc.

I was wondering why this is still very common? Is this because many patients still don't know what a DO degree stand for? If that's the case, it makes sense. Just curious...
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DO's don't hide their title
 
Originally posted by dim sum
DO's don't hide their title
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Many of them do indeed hide their titles.

Or, they will have something like "Dr. John Smith" on their coats instead of John Smith, DO. The reason is because many patients have the misconception that only MDs are qualified physicians. It's a lot easier to just sidestep the issue rather than argue with a patient who is convinced you aren't a real physican and refuses to be taken care of by you.

There's an instructor in Family Practice at my school who has a private office on Long Island near my house. I never knew she was a DO because the sign on her office said "Dr Jane Smith, Family Practice".
 
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Podiatrists do the same thing. I happen to live in a pod saturated area and always see signs on offices that say : Dr. John Smith, Foot Specialist and I never see signs that say: John Smith, DPM, Podiatrist. I think it's because no one knows what the hell a DPM is, I think this could be the case for DOs as well, but I don't know.
 
Whoa, whoa ,whoa, there.

Hiding their titles? Putting Dr. on your white coat is nothing of the sort. This is a title you have earned, and it is purely your choice to use it. Furthermore, when you work in an ED such as I, I personally don't want anyone to know my first name (at least on most occasions) so I have "Dr. Wagner" on my scrubs and coat, secondly, when there needs to be a clear distinction between yourself and nursing (example everyone is wearing scrubs) using the term "Dr." is the easiest way to identify yourself.

I remember the old school DO's at my med school giving everyone the same schpeel about always putting the term DO on your white coat, it a way of "guilting" people into a false perception of identity. I know what I am, and I am proud of it, but if it is my preference to use Dr. Wagner or Dr. E.Wagner then why not? If people want to know...then I tell them.
 
I know this dentist that does that too. He goes around to clubs in L.A. and passes out his business card saying Dr. such and such, no mention of his DDS. But hey it works for him, cuz I always see him with these big boobed, ignorant, bimbo types.
 
Yet another classic Deuce quote...
But hey it works for him, cuz I always see him with these big boobed, ignorant, bimbo types
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Hmmm... minus the big boobs, isnt this a bit like the pot calling the kettle black? ;)

As far as the issue at hand here, I havent personally noticed it. I saw my orthopedist the other day (a D.O.) and his card has his credentials listed. On the back the card has a description about osteopathic medicine and what it can offer in addition to allopathic medicine.

Down the street from me is a plastic surgeons office with a D.O. and M.D. as partners, with both credentials listed on the sign out front. I notice most D.O.s in the phone book list their credentials too.

Dont create a broad sweeping generalization of the attitude of 50,000 physicians nationwide based on a few docs you've "seen" or worked with. Maybe these folks are in geographic areas yet to be populated by a decent amount of D.O.s, thus it is easier to avoid the questions.
 
Originally posted by oceandocDO
Yet another classic Deuce quote...


isnt this a bit like the pot calling the kettle black? ;)
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Yeah, I admitt it I'm a male slut, on the ignorant part I'm working on my edumacation still.:rolleyes:
 
I think the smartest way for a DO to educate the public is to us their title in their name. But, when I am done, I will do it like this.

Dr. First M. Last D.O.
Board Certified Family Physician

The word physician helps people to understand because only MD's and DO's can use that title in most states. (Yes I know that DPM's are supposedly physicians too but we all know they are not.
 
I have noticed quite a few DOs who do hide their title to the public. I could think of 2 highly respected DOs that do. One being Dr. Steven Salvatore, medical correspondent for Fox News NY and WebMD (previously a CNN correspondent). Dr. Salvatore is a NYCOM '89 grad. Another is Dr. Howard Shapiro, who is a best-selling author of "Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Weight Loss." He is a CCOM grad. His nutrition book is pretty damn good. I just found out it unusual that on his first edition of the book, he did have DO placed as his title.
 
Alot of the TV news docs dont use their degree title at all, no matter the "letters". The networks merely refer to them as just Dr Gupta (CNN), or Dr. Smith, minus the degree title. Ian Smith, the NBC doc, is a Darthmouth grad and is always referred to as Dr. Ian Smith, not Ian Smith, MD, from what I've seen.

I did see Steve Salvatore on Larry King awhile back and his name appeared at the bottom the screen briefly as Steve Salvatore, D.O., actually.
 
Yes I know that DPM's are supposedly physicians too but we all know they are not
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I hope you're kidding. Anyone that's allowed to amputate a foot or part of a foot, IMO, should be called a physician.
 
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I've seen lots of MDs do the same thing. Do you have a problem with that, too? It certainly is appropriate for a DO or an MD to be listed as "Dr. John Doe," and it doesn't necesarily mean that they are hiding their degree from anyone.

On the other hand, I'm sure there are some DOs who do it deliberately for one reason or another. But the important thing to note is that, if you didn't know otherwise you'd think they were an MD. In other words, the two degrees are equivalent.
 
Okay, so at least in this country there is no difference between MDs and DOs. However, very few people, at least in my limited experience, know what a DO is. When I tell people that I will be a DO, they often reply "what is that?". So then I say that a DO is a medical doctor. Then they say "well what is an MD?". I reply that is also a medical doctor, they are both the same. They ask, "so what is the difference between an MD and a DO?". I reply there is no difference. They say, "then why do you have different degrees?". I reply because there is a supposed difference between the philosophies of allopathic and osteopathic medical schools, but none in their practice. I almost never say anything about OMM because their first reply is "OH, a chiropracter". By this time, I am pulling my hair trying not to yell. So then they reply, "so there is a difference?" This can go on and on and on. Therefore, when I become a physician, I will never put DO on my scrubs. It will be on my business card and phone book and everywhere else, but not on me. It is not because I want to hide my degree. It is simply because I don't have the time to go through this conversation all the time.
 
reza...

I think you're forgetting that the folks you'll be encountering in a hospital will know what the difference, or lack-there-of, is, eg... nurses, other doctors, etc. Patients, from my experience, just hear the words, "Hi, I'm doctor _______ " and they conform into the doctor-patient relationship immediately, no matter if you're a D.O. or M.D.

I honestly think you'll be doing yourself a disservice by not accentuating your degree title. Why? Because by not depicting it on your scrubs, nametage, etc, you'll raise even more suspicious questions than if you had it there. When colleagues, including other D.O.s, find out you are in fact a D.O. they'll automatically think you have some kind of inferiority complex or something and indeed want to hide your "true colors". They will then remember this little lack of confidence when you're up for promotions, etc. How does a little explaining honestly affect your life? Are you that lazy? If so, there's some caribbean school which will probably let you in.

This will all eventually be a moot point anyway. Osteopathic medicine is growing quicker than any other sector of health care as proved by the Univ of Wisconsin recently. This growth will equate into public recognition of the title and the philosophy, but it takes time and work. Believe in the product.
 
Originally posted by oceandocDO
they'll automatically think you have some kind of inferiority complex or something and indeed want to hide your "true colors". They will then remember this little lack of confidence when you're up for promotions, etc. How does a little explaining honestly affect your life? Are you that lazy? If so, there's some caribbean school which will probably let you in.
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Ocean ready to battle?:D

Why even go threw all of this when given the choice? If in fact you where even given the choice. I'll tell you this I wouldn't want to go through 4 years of med school and a residency, to only explain my degree to some patient to equate me w/ a "oh a chiroparctor."
 
I will go through all this because it is what I believe in. I will plaster D.O. over everything possible; every time someone asks me about my degree, I will gladly explain b/c that is one more person who will understand - and who will surely tell at least one more person. Therefore, more people will be familiar with the degree. I know that, soon, everyone will see D.O. behind my name and know what it means. Until then, I will tell them when they ask, rather than perpetuate their ignorance.

One of the physicians I have shadowed in the past always took the time to explain if anyone asked him about it. He would explain that the two degrees are equivalent in pretty much every way except that he also had a few hundred hours of OMM training that M.D.s dont have. He also has brochures in his waiting room that explain everything. People usually either 1)dont care, 2) specifically see him b/c he is a D.O, or 3) ask about it and after he explains, they would say something like, "...so you are like a super M.D. then huh," and he would just laugh and say nah, we are really pretty much the same. If you watched his work, however, you would know (as his patients do) that he is something special. After you personally see OMM work, its really hard to believe that some physicians/future physicians dont want the training - to each his own I guess.

War Eagle!
AUdacious
NSUCOM Class of 2007 :D
 
I don't think that none of us future DOs be afraid of putting our real title on scrubs, business cards, etc. I find that when patients asks what is a DO and gets an explanation about it, most of them will get some better understanding about osteopathic medicine. There are brochures that the AOA has about the philosophy of osteopathic medicine. I've met DOs, including sports and PM&R docs I've met, repeatedly say patients are looking for something different than just traditional medicine may have to offer. I think that we as DOs have a lot of offer to our patients. When it comes to respect and credibility, that is earned and not given. The more awareness about osteopathic medicine, the better the general public will understand who we are. Personally, I'll always be glad to explain to patients what my DO title means.

BTW oceandocDO, I did notice today that on the WebMD.com site, Dr. Salvatore does state he went to NYCOM in his biography.

That's my 2 cents:)
 


BTW oceandocDO, I did notice today that on the WebMD.com site, Dr. Salvatore does state he went to NYCOM in his biography.
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What ever happen to the WebDO.com site? :D
 
Ahh, Deuce, you wanna spar some more? I thought your were knocked out by now. You're such a tough guy!

Why even go threw all of this when given the choice? If in fact you where even given the choice. I'll tell you this I wouldn't want to go through 4 years of med school and a residency, to only explain my degree to some patient to equate me w/ a "oh a chiroparctor."
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First of all, I was given a choice. Yes, I was once one of those crazy premeds who chose to take the road less travelled, I chose a D.O. school over M.D. school. I can fax you the acceptance letters if you dont believe me. Why did I do this? Because I believe in the product. It's not that I didnt believe in the MD product, I just believed in the D.O. product more. The philosophy of osteopathic medicine, whether you believe D.O.s employ it or not in practice, is more harmonious with the attitude of the american public towards health care. Americans are sick of being drugged and treated as a mere slice of data in a double-blinded placebo study. D.O.s have the best of both worlds, they can offer a frustrated patient more choices yet have the traditional system of medicine to fall back on. Is there a problem with that? Are more choices of treatment bad? Why are more hours of education for doctors harmful? D.O.s read the same, if not more, books, train at the same hospitals, on the same patients, yet, on paper, learn more. Prove to me how that doesnt help a patient and I'll declare you the winner.

The decision I made goes deeper than wanting to learn OMM. I actually spend alot of time these days trying to disprove OMM to myself, and that's how science works. Whether or not all of OMM is efficacious, and beyond its benefits of basic science and biomechanics reinforcement, it urges a medical student to open their mind to other possibilities of healing and to develop critical thinking skills in order to prove or disprove a theory. From my experience, the M.D. model doesnt allow this thought process. From a broad perspective, M.D.s are more closed-minded doctors, often suffering from tunnel vision. Your very posts in this forum prove that. They seem to automatically dispute anything with the words "alternative or complimentary" on it, yet their patients don't. Whether or not these alternative treatments work, D.O.s, as a byproduct of their education model, are usually more willing to at least investigate and learn about the treatment while not refuting it outright, because once again, patients dont. Last year in the U.S., more people purchased a herbal drug than purchased a prescription drug. This tells you that the patient population is drifting away from the traditional tide of medicine to one including more self-responsibility of health and experimentation. They now need to demand their physicians are trained in these alternative therapies, not so much as to offer them, but at least to understand how these alternative therapies interact with traditional modalities... whether or not the alternative method has been proven in JAMA.

Before you label me as a tree-hugging liberal who has his herbs lined up in the medicine cabinet, please believe I am not. I am about as conservative as they come. I was first urged into osteopathic medicine about 4 years ago by a friend of my family, an MD actually. He's a soon-to-be General, is a director of trauma for the Army in the Southeastern Asian theatre, and was just accepted to the astronaut class of 2008. He relayed the same argument to me that I just relayed to you. He doesnt have anything against MDs or their philosophy, he's ivy league trained. He just sees the direction the pulse of medicine is going over the next 20 years and he's witnessed D.O.s to have just as much knowledge in the traditional sense, plus a bit of a refreshingly different outlook on life. His analogy was "Pizza is good, but pizza with pepperoni is even better". D.O.s have all the ingedients in quality, now they just need the quantity. This will happen, albeit slowly. The AOA is organized, much more so than the AMA if one analyzes the two groups closely, and they're hell bent on providing those numbers over the next 20 years. D.O.s will never outnumber MDs, so no, there will never be a WebDO, but D.O.s will offer the U.S. more of a judicious system of checks and balances in efficient and effective healthcare implementation. They apparently already have by the fierce hatred and disregard you seem to have for the profession, so I guess we're doing our jobs.

Anyway, this dissertation is the reason why, since given the choice, I gladly traded off having to explain what a D.O. means for, IMO, a more complete training and the ability to practice medicine how I want to practice it. I wasnt in it for the glamour. Some of the above may have been broad generalizations, but that's how people often chose a doctor, or a medical school for that matter.

Your success as a physician at your retirement party is not determined by the letters after your name but by the depth of your ability to help and heal. If you dont believe this, plan for an early retirement party.

Sorry for the length. Enough for now. Back to ACLS.
 
Ocean

I was going to quote you but your post was too long. Well said. I well admit defeat for now to battle another day.:D
And about the choice thing I wasn't directly talking to you, just making a general statement.
 
yeah, sorry again about the length of that damn thing. i get in a zone at times. i'll try and work on that.

i await our next "discussion" anxiously :)
 
OceandocDO

Please save your significantly hebetudinous judgements for people you have met and actually know something about. I am not even close to lazy and I would never need to go to a Carib school, I would just choose to go to MD anywhere in the US, if DO schools were not my choice. My point was never that I would hide my degree from nurses or other doctors. That is absolutely absurd. I just stated that going through the whole explanation numerous times per day can get annoying, FOR ME, NOT YOU. So refrain from casting further insults or I will open a large CAN OF WOOPASS on you.
 
Reza....

Them be fightin words! ;) My whole point in that post was to question your choice of choosing not to wear your degree on your scrubs, yet put the title on your business cards, in the phone book, etc. You very rarely will have to explain your degree in a hospital, (where you will be wearing your scrubs), ie... doctors, PAs, nurses, techs, orderlies, etc, will know what a D.O. is 99.99% of the time.... hence, why not wear it there? To me, if I were your colleague and you didnt wear it there, I'd question your pride in the degree. It's only a natural reaction in today's climate. More often, the explaining will be required to the lay person... ie the person you will be handing your business card to or the patient choosing a doctor out of a phone book. Hence, your arguement really should have been the other way around if you're concerned about wasting valuable time by having to explain yourself. Get my drift?

I never meant to offend you, just question your logic. If you would like to open an ever-clever, and original, "can of whoop ass" on me, feel free. :eek: ;)
 
How many people actually look at the embroidery on someone's labcoat to see if it has MD or DO?

Anyway, I personally don't care if the lab coat says Dr. Group Theory or Group Theory DO. However, I somewhat agree w/ Dr. Wagner DO that if I don't want patients to know my first name (especially in the ED settings) - then I might go w/ Dr. G. Theory - Emergency Medicine Resident

Besides, the badge (hospital ID) will give you away as a DO :)

Anyway, if you are practicing medicine in PA (as a DO)

? 25.212. Professional advertising
(b) Advertising, letterhead, publications or transmissions shall designate or indicate the licensee?s school of medical practice by the term ??D.O.,?? ??doctor of osteopathy,?? ??osteopathic physician?? or ??osteopathic physician and surgeon.??

Authority

The provisions of this ? 25.212 issued under section 16 of the Osteopathic Medical Practice Act (63 P.S. ? 271.16); and section 902(b) of the Health Care Services Malpractice Act (40 P. S. ? 1301.902(b)).


Source
The provisions of this ? 25.212 adopted January 10, 1992, effective January 11, 1992, 22 Pa.B. 209.


Now this is just in the statue - I don't know subsequently how courts and/or osteopathic medical board have interpreted this statement and if anyone was ever prosecuted for violation of ? 25.212 b. I would look up any legal cases but I have a pchem lab report due tomorrow :(
 
Hello oceandocDO,

I hope you did not take my post too seriously, I was just kidding, although having reread the post it did sound hostile. Sorry. After reading your reply I realized that you are right and I was wrong. Your logic opened a can of woopass on my logic, OUCH!!! So I promise to you oceandocDO that I will put DO on my scrubs, hell I'll tattood on my forehead and explain and defend it till I die, even if it means opening a physical Can Of Woop Ass on some patients and MDs (absolutely kidding). Take care.
 
Interesting debate. I had read some of these posts yesterday, and than noticed in class today one of my clinical professors had Dr. Howell on his name. This is a doctor that is about as pro DO/ anti-MD as they come. He works in an all DO hospital, and still uses the title Dr, intstead of stating his degree.

Secondly, I worked in a hospital when I decided to go DO. None of the nurses had a clue what a DO was. A few mentioned they had noticed a few doctors with DO instead of MD, but just ignored it.

As for myself, I think what is listed on your lab coat or scrubs is like a name tag. It is what you want your patients to call you. I would prefer my patients to call me Dr. Wyler, so I will most likely have Dr. D. Wyler on my lab coat. I worked in a hospital for several years, and this is what I saw the majority of doctors do, mostly MDs.

As far as the Dr. D. Wyler, DO thing, isn't that just a little bit redundant?
 
The phone book thing brings up an interesting point. Around here, at least, physicians are broken down in the phone book in to MDs and DOs. It's not as much of an issue in the Midwest since Michigan is packed to the gills with DOs, but I'd imagine in a state where DOs are less well known, this could present a major tactical disadvantage.

Hiding the degree obviously isn't an option so it's not really an issue of respect, but I know that if I were a layperson who didn't know what a DO was and I saw two sections in the book for physicians, I'd pick my doctor out of the MD pages just out of familiarity.

When you're treating a patient, you're not really competing for their business...they're there, you're there, and that's that. But the phone book thing might be a legitimate issue for those DOs who are practicing in a physician-choice driven niche like suburban family practice. Maybe the phone book should be one of those rare places where the title is deemphasized, not to hide it, but simply to desegregate it.

I'd be interested to hear whether phone books in everyone else's neck of the woods follow the same form.
 
I have had labcoats of each style.

My intern program in CA gave me no choice in the matter and there my coat read Dr. Firstname Lastname.

My residency program in MI also gave me no choice and my coat reads F. Lastname, D.O.

I have had to explain myself to patients twice in the entire time I have been wearing a white coat. Both times the patient was actually interested in what I had to say rather than challenging my authority or caregiving.

If I am signing my name or otherwise corresponding in written format, I sign with D.O. as the appendage. If I am referring to myself or if others are to refer to me in conversation, I use Dr. as the prefix. I am not going to walk into a room and introduce myself as "Hello, I am Firstname Lastname, D.O." I doubt any M.D.s, O.D.s, D.V.M.s or D.D.S.es walk into a room and say "Hi, I am Olga Cinnamon, D.V.M., I will be caring for your beagle." It is more natural to use the prefix Dr., especially if referring to patients as Mrs. Soandso, Mr. Soandso, etc....

I haven't felt more or less proud or more or less ashamed in either style of coat as my primary purpose is to take care of my patients, not inflate my ego.
 
Originally posted by PACtoDOC
I think the smartest way for a DO to educate the public is to us their title in their name. But, when I am done, I will do it like this.

Dr. First M. Last D.O.
Board Certified Family Physician

The word physician helps people to understand because only MD's and DO's can use that title in most states. (Yes I know that DPM's are supposedly physicians too but we all know they are not.
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I was under the impression that you can either use "Dr." or DO (or MD, or whatever) in your name, but not both.
 
I know this dentist that does that too. He goes around to clubs in L.A. and passes out his business card saying Dr. such and such, no mention of his DDS. But hey it works for him, cuz I always see him with these big boobed, ignorant, bimbo types.
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My father who is a fee for service dentist in the Midwest has always been troubled by the fact that he hasn?t achieved ?real doctor? status in the eyes of the medical community. He has always regretted: not getting the opportunity to endure a minimum of seven years of malignant training, not getting the opportunity to work on a patient base predominately consisting of sick or dying individuals, not being able to work 50-120 hour work weeks after residency, not being able to constantly fight with insurance companies that insist on dictating treatment protocols, not having to endure continuously decreasing reimbursement rates, not getting the privilege of paying out of control mal-practice insurance premiums, taking call at 2:00 a.m., and not getting the opportunity to practice ?self defense? medicine due to sue happy patients and attorneys.

Although traumatized, he has managed to console himself with a 200k+ annual salary, 36 hour work weeks throughout the majority of his professional career, an average of 6 weeks of yearly vacation time, the opportunity to watch his children grow up, own his own practice and call all of the shots, dictate fee schedules, take no mandatory call, and endure only 4 years of graduate level training??dentistry isn?t perfect but relatively speaking, the profession has some nice perks.
 
I don't quite know how this relates to the thread, but good for him. Dentistry never appealed to me that much though.
 
The way I figure is that I have thirty something teeth. If I loose one per year, I still will not become snaggle-tooth until fifty something. Peace.
 
Originally posted by reza.z
The way I figure is that I have thirty something teeth. If I loose one per year, I still will not become snaggle-tooth until fifty something. Peace.
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Now that's some funny shiz.:laugh:
 
I don't quite know how this relates to the thread, but good for him. Dentistry never appealed to me that much though.
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I realize that my post had little to do with the original thread topic however if you would have read the thread in its entirety (or read it and actually comprehended it) you would have noticed that there were some posts containing derogatory remarks towards allied health professionals such as dentists. I get tired of seeing posts from a select few of insecure future physicians rip on allied health professionals as a means of dealing with their own insecurity, implying that these individuals are somehow inferior b/c they don?t hold the almighty MD.

The purpose of my post was to show how some intelligent, rationale, and capable individuals (individuals certainly capable of obtaining medical degrees) sought other career options b/c they wanted to achieve similar benefits (i.e. financial) without going through all the B.S. that the medical doctor route tends to entail.



Uhhh....yeah....uhhh....that's great and all, but....uhhh....I hope you really love TEETH
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I respect the medical profession as well as the motivation and determination necessary to successfully achieve the distinction. That being said, I?d take the practice of dentistry any day over the stuff you will encounter through the course of your professional career: prostate exams, dying patients, the pooh and puke, prostate exams. the malignant training atmosphere, forgetting your kids names b/c you never get to see them, prostate exams, dealing with the fact that someone else will always be doing your wife b/c you will never be home to take care of her needs b/c you will always be on call, completing endless heaps of paperwork, or lobbying for tort reform b/c your dwindling insurance reimbursement rates won?t cover your sky rocketing mal practice insurance premiums??Regards, Gilbert
 
I don't discriminate. I refer to a lot of people as "doctor". My physician, my dentist, my optometrist, my dogs' vet, my professors. What other people call you is not as relevant as what you think of yourself. I would feel like a huge fraud if I thought of myself as "doctor" even a day before I graduated from med school and got my degree.
 
Gosh Gilbert, you either have an extremely negative view of the medical profession, or you're really sarcastic. Dealing with some insecurities of your own? Personal experience, maybe? Chill out. :D
 
Originally posted by Gilbert
I respect the medical profession as well as the motivation and determination necessary to successfully achieve the distinction. That being said, I?d take the practice of dentistry any day over the stuff you will encounter through the course of your professional career: prostate exams, dying patients, the pooh and puke, prostate exams. the malignant training atmosphere, forgetting your kids names b/c you never get to see them, prostate exams, dealing with the fact that someone else will always be doing your wife b/c you will never be home to take care of her needs b/c you will always be on call, completing endless heaps of paperwork, or lobbying for tort reform b/c your dwindling insurance reimbursement rates won?t cover your sky rocketing mal practice insurance premiums??Regards, Gilbert
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Well, uhh...not exactly. Some of the things you mentioned are why I'd never go into certain specilaties, that's for sure. Personally, i want to do PM&R and possibly a sports fellowship. Not much call, good hours...I hear most PM&R programs out there are mostly benign and laid-back. Probably won't do many prostate exams in PM&R...yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll know my kids' names.

I think what you described above sounds like a compilation of the worst aspects of many different medical professions.

Difference between me and you, is I am absolutely fascinated by PM&R (as well as a few other specilaties - still undecided)....can you honestly say that you're fascinated and intrigued by TEETH :D ???
 
Originally posted by lukealfredwhite
The phone book thing brings up an interesting point. Around here, at least, physicians are broken down in the phone book in to MDs and DOs. It's not as much of an issue in the Midwest since Michigan is packed to the gills with DOs, but I'd imagine in a state where DOs are less well known, this could present a major tactical disadvantage.

...Maybe the phone book should be one of those rare places where the title is deemphasized, not to hide it, but simply to desegregate it.

I'd be interested to hear whether phone books in everyone else's neck of the woods follow the same form.
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Here in Minneapolis, MN, where DO's seem to be really quite rare, the phone book at my house lists the category as Physcians and Surgeons (MD and DO), or something like that. Which I think is interesting; I'm exploring med school as a non-traditional, career-changing, post-bacc math and science-needing "old" student. None of my friends have much of a clue about what a DO is.

And yet, the local telecomm company has page after page of affirmation (however subtle) that there are different degrees that mean "physician." Weird. Good, but weird.
 
I dont think Dr. is appropriate. I believe you should have your letters after your name. The reason for this is because these days everyone is a doctor of sometype. Hell, our janitor calls himself Dr. Moppin Fresh. And then of course there is all the moms out there who truely believe that just because they raised some kids they are doctors and qualified to give advice about any and all medical procedures, including brain surgery. There is of course Dr. Dre, who is often consulted about medical advice instead of the latest hoochie rap song he is working on. Dr. J was notorious as a great dunker, but he once missed an easy one because a woman in the crowd exposed her breasts to him while he was in the air yelling "do you see any lumps", to which he replied "hell yea, I see two big ones". Then there is Dr. Seuss who is not a phyz, but when told of it he says "mind your own biz, cause I am a cool cat, and because of my books, I no longer live in a hat." What is the point? If you show your letters, either DO or MD or HFH (High Flying Hoopster) or O.G. (original gangsta) or CWS (causion wet spot) or B.I.G. (the notorious one), then people will know what you really are and if they don't then you will have to explain it to them. Peace out.
 
Originally posted by goooooober
I dont think Dr. is appropriate. I believe you should have your letters after your name. The reason for this is because these days everyone is a doctor of sometype. Hell, our janitor calls himself Dr. Moppin Fresh. And then of course there is all the moms out there who truely believe that just because they raised some kids they are doctors and qualified to give advice about any and all medical procedures, including brain surgery. There is of course Dr. Dre, who is often consulted about medical advice instead of the latest hoochie rap song he is working on. Dr. J was notorious as a great dunker, but he once missed an easy one because a woman in the crowd exposed her breasts to him while he was in the air yelling "do you see any lumps", to which he replied "hell yea, I see two big ones". Then there is Dr. Seuss who is not a phyz, but when told of it he says "mind your own biz, cause I am a cool cat, and because of my books, I no longer live in a hat." What is the point? If you show your letters, either DO or MD or HFH (High Flying Hoopster) or O.G. (original gangsta) or CWS (causion wet spot) or B.I.G. (the notorious one), then people will know what you really are and if they don't then you will have to explain it to them. Peace out.
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LMAO:laugh:
 
Difference between me and you, is I am absolutely fascinated by PM&R (as well as a few other specilaties - still undecided)....can you honestly say that you're fascinated and intrigued by TEETH ???
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No, to acknowledge that I am fascinated and intrigued by teeth would make me weird. I can however say that after experiencing intense exposure to the dental profession, I can see myself happily working as a general dentist or specialist in the future b/c I enjoy continuous interaction with people, working with my hands, science, making a very nice income, and working 4 days a week. To clarify, let me illustrate: the profession will afford me professional satisfaction as well as the opportunity to purchase a nice luxury automobile that I will use to drive by your house on the way to the golf course on Friday afternoons so that I can pork your lonely wife while you are at the hospital enduring one of your many 24 hour shifts as a third year or intern.
 
Originally posted by Gilbert
I realize that my post had little to do with the original thread topic however if you would have read the thread in its entirety (or read it and actually comprehended it) you would have noticed that there were some posts containing derogatory remarks towards allied health professionals such as dentists. I get tired of seeing posts from a select few of insecure future physicians rip on allied health professionals as a means of dealing with their own insecurity, implying that these individuals are somehow inferior b/c they don?t hold the almighty MD.

The purpose of my post was to show how some intelligent, rationale, and capable individuals (individuals certainly capable of obtaining medical degrees) sought other career options b/c they wanted to achieve similar benefits (i.e. financial) without going through all the B.S. that the medical doctor route tends to entail.




I respect the medical profession as well as the motivation and determination necessary to successfully achieve the distinction. That being said, I?d take the practice of dentistry any day over the stuff you will encounter through the course of your professional career: prostate exams, dying patients, the pooh and puke, prostate exams. the malignant training atmosphere, forgetting your kids names b/c you never get to see them, prostate exams, dealing with the fact that someone else will always be doing your wife b/c you will never be home to take care of her needs b/c you will always be on call, completing endless heaps of paperwork, or lobbying for tort reform b/c your dwindling insurance reimbursement rates won?t cover your sky rocketing mal practice insurance premiums??Regards, Gilbert
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Hey I totally agree with you. However, should you or your family ever get sick or, god forbid, may ever need heart or brain surgery, or when you become old and gray and your health begins to fail just go down to your local dentist's office and have him/her take care of the problem.
 
Originally posted by Gilbert
No, to acknowledge that I am fascinated and intrigued by teeth would make me weird. I can however say that after experiencing intense exposure to the dental profession, I can see myself happily working as a general dentist or specialist in the future b/c I enjoy continuous interaction with people, working with my hands, science, making a very nice income, and working 4 days a week. To clarify, let me illustrate: the profession will afford me professional satisfaction as well as the opportunity to purchase a nice luxury automobile that I will use to drive by your house on the way to the golf course on Friday afternoons so that I can pork your lonely wife while you are at the hospital enduring one of your many 24 hour shifts as a third year or intern.
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When your dad has a heart attack tell him not to bother going to the hospital to be seen by a cardiologist. Tell him to just spray some novocaine on his chest. That should take care of the problem. :laugh:
 
Originally posted by Gilbert
so that I can pork your lonely wife while you are at the hospital enduring one of your many 24 hour shifts as a third year or intern.
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I sense that someone here has been hurt in past relationships or something? You seemed to have mentioned it twice that physician wives like to cheat around. What was all this news about with, umm, Clara Harris?

get a life.
 
Originally posted by EHallberg
Here in Minneapolis, MN, where DO's seem to be really quite rare, the phone book at my house lists the category as Physcians and Surgeons (MD and DO), or something like that. Which I think is interesting; I'm exploring med school as a non-traditional, career-changing, post-bacc math and science-needing "old" student. None of my friends have much of a clue about what a DO is.

And yet, the local telecomm company has page after page of affirmation (however subtle) that there are different degrees that mean "physician." Weird. Good, but weird.
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There are plenty of DO's down here at the Mayo Clinic: A few in PM&R, one in Ortho, a few in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, one in OB/GYN, and so on. Come on down and visit...
 
Somewhere between Dr. Dre and porking eachother's wives we lost the original topic of this thread. Let's get back on track.
 
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