Acquaintance talks about PA/NP better than DO

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NicMouse64 said:
My question is: Is this stigma really still that common? Do people regularly ask you if you are a real doctor and the NP's and PA's aren't asked this question?

🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁
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Nope, your acquaintance has no idea what she's talking about regarding DOs or the route to become a doctor through an alleged PA/NP--->MD/DO path.
 
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Your acquaintance is a *****. The stigma does exist, though rarely to that extent, and I've never heard anyone claim that NP>DO in any way other than volume of people with that degree. If she wants to waste her time getting those degrees for the sole purpose of becoming a physician then let her. She might learn a thing or two along the way about medicine, which is clearly more than she knows right now.
 
NicMouse64 said:
So a little background story: A mutual friend asked to borrow my sister's MCAT book so I lent it to her. The day after the MCAT she hands me back the books. I ask her a couple months later if she has another book that she forgot to return. She said yes, and informed me that she wouldn't be attending Medical School because "I didn't do as well as I thought". She then goes on to say her stats aren't good enough for medical school. After this I ask her what she will do if she doesn't become a physician. She says "oh I'll just become a physician through a PA or become a nurse first then go to NP school and become a physician".
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Tell her to do that. Go to PA school first, then go to NP school. That ought to improve her MCAT.
 
Stagg737 said:
Your acquaintance is a *****. The stigma does exist, though rarely to that extent, and I've never heard anyone claim that NP>DO in any way other than volume of people with that degree. If she wants to waste her time getting those degrees for the sole purpose of becoming a physician then let her. She might learn a thing or two along the way about medicine, which is clearly more than she knows right now.
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lol I'm not even sure that qualifies as stigma, too stupid/ignorant.
 
My mother, a NP, has been recommending DO to me since the first time I said I wanted to be a doctor because she loves all the DOs she works with.
Put please, let this girl go along to PA and NP school to become an MD.
 
From my experience most people, including other physicians, do not know what DOs are unless they live in a heavily DO populated area.
 
Thing is, she seemed like a smart person, I just wanted to know if other people had heard anything like this. I have tons of respect for DOs and know she is idiotic and doesn't know anything. Sorry to start a thread that has been pounded to the ground.
 
Honestly, who cares. Let her apply and you worry about you. A lot of pre-meds tend to believe the "he-said, she-said" stuff.

Do you boo-boo! do you!
 
Stagg737 said:
Your acquaintance is a *****. The stigma does exist, though rarely to that extent, and I've never heard anyone claim that NP>DO in any way other than volume of people with that degree. If she wants to waste her time getting those degrees for the sole purpose of becoming a physician then let her. She might learn a thing or two along the way about medicine, which is clearly more than she knows right now.
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My wife is working on her NP, and she wouldn't dare.

That being said: there are idiots everywhere (read: that MD and now that DO touting that anti-vaccer garbage).
 
This is a price of being a DO, at least right now. Some people won't know what that is. Or will assume things about it that aren't true. Or will denigrate it as not equivalent to an MD. Consider that before you attend. If it's gonna bother you...well suck it up, really.
 
cliquesh said:
From my experience most people, including other physicians, do not know what DOs are unless they live in a heavily DO populated area.
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Still? I know this is still somewhat of a thing in the south (minus Florida) and some of the northern states like Montana/ND/Wyoming area (ie the same states where people typically think MD>DO), but I thought at least doctors in most other parts of the country were at least aware of DOs.
 
Stagg737 said:
Still? I know this is still somewhat of a thing in the south (minus Florida) and some of the northern states like Montana/ND/Wyoming area (ie the same states where people typically think MD>DO), but I thought at least doctors in most other parts of the country were at least aware of DOs.
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Just out of curiosity, what makes you say that Montana and Wyoming aren't DO friendly? I don't know about North Dakota, but Montana and Wyoming have two FM residencies each, and they're all dually-accredited. Have you experienced or heard of bias up there? I ask not because I doubt you but because I'm curious. I used to live in nearby Idaho and there are DO's all over the place there.
 
NurWollen said:
Just out of curiosity, what makes you say that Montana and Wyoming aren't DO friendly? I don't know about North Dakota, but Montana and Wyoming have two FM residencies each, and they're all dually-accredited. Have you experienced or heard of bias up there? I ask not because I doubt you but because I'm curious. I used to live in nearby Idaho and there are DO's all over the place there.
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I've never been there, but I know several people from Montana/Wyoming and they had never heard of DOs. I didn't realize AOA had programs up there as the only DO schools remotely close to that are way northwest or Colorado. I had no idea there were so many DOs in Idaho. The bias thing was not aimed at that region, I should have clarified that. The heavy bias I have seen and was referring to is in the South and Northeast. Though in my experience there is some level of the old stigma in the majority of places I've been, it's just a matter of whether it exists in the general population or within the healthcare workers.
 
WastedTime said:
People need to stop looking for other peoples approval for their own lives. I don't know how insecure u have to be to make threads like this.QUOTE]
There is always gonna be people that don't completely understand who you are, what you do, and appreciate what you've accomplished. To expect everyone to see your accomplishments and understand your credentials is extremely needy and insecure. I mean come on......i tell people that I'm applying to med school and they think I'm applying to nursing school, medical assistant, etc, etc. People are simply not as interested in the details or distinctions as we are. They don't need to be and we don't need them to fully understand. We just need to be proud of ourselves! Sorry I'm just in the mood to express my thoughts😉
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There is always gonna be people that don't completely understand who you are, what you do, and appreciate what you've accomplished. To expect everyone to see your accomplishments and understand your credentials is extremely needy and insecure. I mean come on......i tell people that I'm applying to med school and they think I'm applying to nursing school, medical assistant, etc, etc. People are simply not as interested in the details or distinctions as we are. They don't need to be and we don't need them to fully understand. We just need to be proud of ourselves! Sorry I'm just in the mood to express my thoughts😉

@NicMouse64
 
OsteopathicHopeful said:
There is always gonna be people that don't completely understand who you are, what you do, and appreciate what you've accomplished. To expect everyone to see your accomplishments and understand your credentials is extremely needy and insecure. I mean come on......i tell people that I'm applying to med school and they think I'm applying to nursing school, medical assistant, etc, etc. People are simply not as interested in the details or distinctions as we are. They don't need to be and we don't need them to fully understand. We just need to be proud of ourselves! Sorry I'm just in the mood to express my thoughts😉

@NicMouse64
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Yes to clarify I was asking the question as I was curious about the stigma. I am considering DO as I have had some great experiences shadowing DOs and I like the idea behind OMM (Is this quackery?). I appreciate you understanding that the point of the question was to ask other peoples' experiences and not for outside gratification. The area I am in has very few DOs and some of the patients that the DOs had in their clinic said they liked that DOs didn't endorse vaccination or traditional medicine. In my area DOs are an enormous outlier and PA/NP's are better understood. Anyways I appreciate the fact that you weren't so quick to judge.
 
NicMouse64 said:
Yes to clarify I was asking the question as I was curious about the stigma. I am considering DO as I have had some great experiences shadowing DOs and I like the idea behind OMM (Is this quackery?). I appreciate you understanding that the point of the question was to ask other peoples' experiences and not for outside gratification. The area I am in has very few DOs and some of the patients that the DOs had in their clinic said they liked that DOs didn't endorse vaccination or traditional medicine. In my area DOs are an enormous outlier and PA/NP's are better understood. Anyways I appreciate the fact that you weren't so quick to judge.
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100% of physicians (DO or MD) should endorse vaccinations. You know, that whole science and eradicate disease thing.
 
Yes, some of OMM is quackery.

Very few DOs don't endorse vaccination.

Pa/NPs are midlevels because they are between a nurse and a doctor. DOs fall under that range of doctors
 
Instatewaiter said:
Yes, some of OMM is quackery.

Very few DOs don't endorse vaccination.

Pa/NPs are midlevels because they are between a nurse and a doctor. DOs fall under that range of doctors
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Yes to clarify I knew that, however the patients weren't aware and thought DOs were like homeopaths or naturopaths.
 
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