AOA public awareness campaign?

[hexane19]

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Members don't see this ad.

So on AOA's website they talk about their public awareness initiative (a couple of years old). Has anyone seen this in the real world? I just wonder if this effort by the AOA has made any type of impact?

 

[cassis_Cake]

Yes, I just recently saw an ad for DO in a magazine.. Just for got which one... It was a decent or good one at least.

 

[hexane19]

Bump I guess no one else has seen much?

 

[NontradCA]

An example would be my school advertising on the radio

 

[37Base]

Bump I guess no one else has seen much?

I haven't seen anything published but I've seen a few graphics floating around on the Internet. If you're really curious, there was actually an image that upset a lot of lab workers because the image said something along the lines of how DOs don't over rely on lab work. If you go on the DO Facebook page and look under he review sections, you'll see a lot of angry lab workers haha giving DO one star (whatever that means). I'll try and see if I can find the image

 

[Rekt]

So on AOA's website they talk about their public awareness initiative (a couple of years old). Has anyone seen this in the real world? I just wonder if this effort by the AOA has made any type of impact?

You mean crap like this?
http://doctorsthatdo.org/doctors-that-do

Makes me want to vomit. It's completely embarrassing to our profession.

 

[ButterButter]

Makes me want to vomit. It's completely embarrassing to our profession.

I cringe every time a DO says something like, "we treat the whole patient!" Or, "we're the only ones that look at structure and how it affects the rest of the body!" At a recent event, one of our faculty was sprinkling these comments around with a lot of MDs in attendance, one of them being the medical director of a hospital that many of our students rotate in. He had a look of utter terror on his face, like, "ARE YOU F'ing KIDDING ME."

Edit: To be fair: I've only ever heard this from school and AOA cheerleaders, never in clinic, etc.

 

[SurgeDO]

anything the AOA touches turns to absolute terribleness. nothing ever changes with them.

i even see the next generation of AOA loyalists forming in my class. brainless scum who are absolutely willing to do anything and believe anything in order to have a taste of political "power" in the AOA. it is horrible.

 

[ButterButter]

i even see the next generation of AOA loyalists forming in my class. brainless scum who are absolutely willing to do anything and believe anything in order to have a taste of political "power" in the AOA. it is horrible.

I see the same thing happening. It takes so few to keep the AOA alive and perpetuating this nonsense.

 

[37Base]

 

[Brorthopedic]

Damn, even lab tests are getting caught up in this DO vs MD nonsense

 

[37Base]

Personally I don't really mind them, I think the design is actually rather pleasant. But I get other people's apprehension, it's a little gimmicky

 

[Rekt]

Personally I don't really mind them, I think the design is actually rather pleasant. But I get other people's apprehension, it's a little gimmicky

All this does is create awkwardness between us and MDs. If anything, us osteopathic students should push for the absorption and/or destruction of COCA by the LCME.

 

[ortnakas]

I don't actually disagree with the need for some sort of advertising campaign-- I have friends and family who don't know DOs are doctors, particularly in the western states.

That said, ruffling MD feathers doesn't seem to be the way to go about this (although I kind of doubt they actually care), and "lab tests don't care" is a dumb slogan. Ads of physicians doing specifically-physician-looking things with a caption of "did you know your physician might be a DO" or something like that might actually do some good.

 

[kbeitz]

They've succeeded when people stop thinking Optometrist when they see DO and AOA.

Then again, AMA.org is owned by Marketing, which is probably more appropriate than Medical. I guess physicians and their associations are the worst marketers in the universe.

I'll never introduce myself as DO or mention the AOA to my patients, but I guess from now on when other physicians say they're an MD I'll assume they're a marketing director.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Instead of making claims about how D.O.s are better...how about just try and make the public aware that D.O.s exist. Trying to say that D.O.s are "better" than M.D. because they "look at the whole person" is a little ridiculous. All this campaign is doing is making the situation worse and it's honestly a little embarrassing.

 

[BluegrassBuckeye]

I cringe every time a DO says something like, "we treat the whole patient!" Or, "we're the only ones that look at structure and how it affects the rest of the body!" At a recent event, one of our faculty was sprinkling these comments around with a lot of MDs in attendance, one of them being the medical director of a hospital that many of our students rotate in. He had a look of utter terror on his face, like, "ARE YOU F'ing KIDDING ME."

Edit: To be fair: I've only ever heard this from school and AOA cheerleaders, never in clinic, etc.

I am recently accepted into osteopathic medical school and new to SDN as well. Is it not true that one of the emphases of osteopathic medical education and osteopathic medicine is a more holistic approach? I'm not being snarky or anything when I ask that, I'm genuinely curious. I know it's what they pitch, but judging by your comment I'm guessing that falls by the wayside once you actually get into the lecture hall.

 

[DO2015CA]

I am recently accepted into osteopathic medical school and new to SDN as well. Is it not true that one of the emphases of osteopathic medical education and osteopathic medicine is a more holistic approach? I'm not being snarky or anything when I ask that, I'm genuinely curious. I know it's what they pitch, but judging by your comment I'm guessing that falls by the wayside once you actually get into the lecture hall.

Holistic is a buzzword nowadays. DOs are no more
Holistic than MDs. They're both trending towards preventing a disease before it starts. It's been many a moon since Allopathy (as some of the old guard call it) was doing blood letting and leeches that did nothing but harm the patients

The reason holistic is a buzz word is because DO and MD professions are identical outside of OMT and only 5% of DOs even practice OMT. Therefore 95% of DOs might as well have MD behind their name.

They're taught the same material and same clinical skills. At my school a good amount of professors and clinical skills personnel are MDs

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I am recently accepted into osteopathic medical school and new to SDN as well. Is it not true that one of the emphases of osteopathic medical education and osteopathic medicine is a more holistic approach? I'm not being snarky or anything when I ask that, I'm genuinely curious. I know it's what they pitch, but judging by your comment I'm guessing that falls by the wayside once you actually get into the lecture hall.

D.O. medical school is the SAME as M.D. medical school except for the extra training D.O. students get in OMM (which at our school is about 2-4 hours a week). Other than that, we have the exact same curriculum.

 

[kbeitz]

I am recently accepted into osteopathic medical school and new to SDN as well. Is it not true that one of the emphases of osteopathic medical education and osteopathic medicine is a more holistic approach? I'm not being snarky or anything when I ask that, I'm genuinely curious. I know it's what they pitch, but judging by your comment I'm guessing that falls by the wayside once you actually get into the lecture hall.

Yep.

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[kenjixshadow]

There are about 7 of these posters around my area including bus stop boards, bus boards, and billboards. My MD attendings had a good laugh toward them whereas my DO friends think that this campaign was a great idea.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

There are about 7 of these posters around my area including bus stop boards, bus boards, and billboards. My MD attendings had a good laugh toward them whereas my DO friends think that this campaign was a great idea.

That's what I mean. It makes DOs look like we are trying to compensate for something. If DOs are really as good as the campaign is saying DOs are, then let action speak for itself.


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[IslandStyle808]

Yeah I think we all expected this thread to go in a "certain" direction...

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Yeah I think we all expected this thread to go in a "certain" direction...

It's just like any DO thread...kinda get old after a while


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[HotLunch96]

All this does is create awkwardness between us and MDs. If anything, us osteopathic students should push for the absorption and/or destruction of COCA by the LCME.

With all the DO bias that exists with getting into more competitive specialties, wouldn't it be a good idea to go to bat for your students and adhere to a universal standard of accreditation so that your students might be able to get better spots? Thus reflecting more positively on the school and DOs as a whole?

 

[AlteredScale]

All this does is create awkwardness between us and MDs. If anything, us osteopathic students should push for the absorption and/or destruction of COCA by the LCME.

Not just awkwardness between us and MD's. If you go to the AOA Facebook page you'll see a tremendous backlash to the campaign by Rad Techs, X-Ray techs, Med Lab workers. They're all a bit peeved that they've been put down by the ads (Lab tests don't see the patient, I DO...ugh it hurts me saying that).

The AOA should start out with working on their organization website since there's a ton of dead links on it....

 

[W19]

I guess your organization is buying a page from NP...

 

[DrMcCoyDO]

With all the DO bias that exists with getting into more competitive specialties, wouldn't it be a good idea to go to bat for your students and adhere to a universal standard of accreditation so that your students might be able to get better spots? Thus reflecting more positively on the school and DOs as a whole?

But then people would finally see that the AOA is an antiquated organization that needs to either become primarily a lobbying organization (and leave accreditation to those who do it better) or be fully absorbed into the MD accreditation framework.

 

[deleted407021]

Leave it up to sdn to get worked about something stupid. If anything substantive comes of this campaign, I'll be surprised.

 

[jw3600]

Leave it up to sdn to get worked about something stupid. If anything substantive comes of this campaign, I'll be surprised.

God you are self righteous for a pre med. This perpetuation of bull**** is not good for the reputation of DOs. It makes us look like dishonest snake oil salesmen. No one cares about what topics you feel SDN should or should not lend credence to.

 

[DO2015CA]

God you are self righteous for a pre med. This perpetuation of bull**** is not good for the reputation of DOs. It makes us look like dishonest snake oil salesmen. No one cares about what topics you feel SDN should or should not lend credence to.

quite anger you take with him, you do

 

[deleted407021]

God you are self righteous for a pre med. This perpetuation of bull**** is not good for the reputation of DOs. It makes us look like dishonest snake oil salesmen. No one cares about what topics you feel SDN should or should not lend credence to.

Triggered? Ad hom out of nowhere. What's that about?

Since you don't care to hear my perspective because I'm a premed ... I'll share it anyway. Fek off.

I don't see that this cute little ad campaign is some undermining of the validity of the DO degree. It's a bit silly, but I don't see how it could ever be legitimately interpreted as being as bad as people are making it out to be.

 

[sylvanthus]

Triggered? Ad hom out of nowhere. What's that about?

Since you don't care to hear my perspective because I'm a premed ... I'll share it anyway. Fek off.

I don't see that this cute little add campaign is some undermining of the validity of the DO degree. It's a bit silly, but I don't see how it could ever be legitimately interpreted as being as bad as people are making it out to be.

Ya I see people laughing about it and largely ignoring it.

 

[cassis_Cake]

The intended target is the general population that don't know about the profession. No more, no less.. It's not to win over MDs or make DOs feel better about themselves.

Show the ad to someone that don't know about the profession or not in the health field and ask them what they think. That would be a better way to gauge its effectiveness.

 

[GimpGenius]

Unfortunately, the AOA is only interested in protecting the "DO brand." Check out some of their marketing materials, talking points, etc. The campaign (and, I'd argue, 99% of what the AOA does and/or advocates for) doesn't have to do with the patient, the student, or the physician, but rather the letters behind the name (and their own political power/$$$).

Which, considering how they talk about "seeing the whole," is kind of ironic.

 

[IslandStyle808]

The intended target is the general population that don't know about the profession. No more, no less.. It's not to win over MDs or make DOs feel better about themselves.

Show the ad to someone that don't know about the profession or not in the health field and ask them what they think. That would be a better way to gauge its effectiveness.

Advertising to the general population is the reason for the campaign, but they are segregating themselves from other health professionals in the process.

As quoted from one of the ads: "Before talking to a doctor, choose one trained to listen. Doctors in Osteopathic Medicine practice their distinct philosophy in every medical specialty. A DO is trained to consider the person within the patient."

The first sentence makes it seem like only DO docs listen and other types of doctors don't (of course referring to MDs). The average person may not pick it up this subtle inference. However, when an MD sees this advertisement, he or she can infer it is putting down MDs. It is not just the general population that gets influenced by it, but the MDs and other health professionals as well. The AOA are not going about these ads in the right way and could do just as good of a job advertising themselves without using such phrasing.

 

[IsWhat]

Meh, this kind of nonsense from the AOA will be the nail in the coffin for them. The day of reckoning is coming where most DOs would rather be aligned with their MD colleagues and with the merger of GME it wouldn't surprise me within the next 15-20 years we see undergraduate medical education merged under the LCME umbrella as well. The DO degree and OMT will probably survive, but the philosophy won't.

 

[sylvanthus]

Once the merger finalizes, who will actually join the AOA? Ive already tossed off that shackle.

 

[sylvanthus]

Hmm they will probably require all DO students to be in the AOA and pay dues and then after starting residency most will drop their membership. I see the AOA losing tons of money as they currently essentially force physicians to pay dues in order to be board certified if they did a AOA residency. That will no longer be a requirement and the AOA is going to lose out on a lot of cash. I'm sure they are just hoping that people will keep up their dues after graduating medical school, but that's just not going to happen. I got so many threatening letters in the mail during my intern year it was bordering on harassment.

 

[Mbeas]

The DO degree and OMT will probably survive, but the philosophy won't.

what "philosophy"? the holistic one that all physicians use?

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I am a DO in an academic ACGME IM program. Out of ~40 or so colleagues in my class, 4 are DOs.

Our city has also been bombarded with the DO advertising campaign described above. Interestingly, the other 3 DOs in my class think this campaign is the bees' knees; I was the only one to think it was a big load of ****.

 

[Mad Jack]

Meh, this kind of nonsense from the AOA will be the nail in the coffin for them. The day of reckoning is coming where most DOs would rather be aligned with their MD colleagues and with the merger of GME it wouldn't surprise me within the next 15-20 years we see undergraduate medical education merged under the LCME umbrella as well. The DO degree and OMT will probably survive, but the philosophy won't.

The philosophy is already kind of well accepted elsewhere in medicine.

 

[kbeitz]

Hmm they will probably require all DO students to be in the AOA and pay dues and then after starting residency most will drop their membership. I see the AOA losing tons of money as they currently essentially force physicians to pay dues in order to be board certified if they did a AOA residency. That will no longer be a requirement and the AOA is going to lose out on a lot of cash. I'm sure they are just hoping that people will keep up their dues after graduating medical school, but that's just not going to happen. I got so many threatening letters in the mail during my intern year it was bordering on harassment.

Explain? How did AOA threaten you?

 

[IsWhat]

The philosophy is already kind of well accepted elsewhere in medicine.

Let me rephrase - the AOA believes DOs have a stranglehold on the "whole body" holistic approach to medical practice. The seperate but equal mentality of the AOA should - and most likely will - disappear with the new generation of DOs.

 

[jw3600]

Triggered? Ad hom out of nowhere. What's that about?

Since you don't care to hear my perspective because I'm a premed ... I'll share it anyway. Fek off.

I don't see that this cute little ad campaign is some undermining of the validity of the DO degree. It's a bit silly, but I don't see how it could ever be legitimately interpreted as being as bad as people are making it out to be.

Tone doesn't translate well in text. You're overestimating my emotional involvement.

 

[SurgeDO]

Let me rephrase - the AOA believes DOs have a stranglehold on the "whole body" holistic approach to medical practice. The seperate but equal mentality of the AOA should - and most likely will - disappear with the new generation of DOs.

it will not disappear as long as organizations like COSGP, SOMA, and SAAO continue to exist. the leaders of these groups are the future of the AOA. they mindlessly adopt the opinions of the current AOA leaders and regurgitate these opinions in order to gain rank within the group. the majority of these members have already changed their facebook profile pictures to the "surgery doesn't cure brain tumors: my back massages DO".

if you are ever walking the wards and see a blinding light coming toward you, run. run as fast as you can. it is likely the glow of light reflecting off the thousands of pins the members of these organizations wear on their white coats.

 

[GUH]

All this does is create awkwardness between us and MDs. If anything, us osteopathic students should push for the absorption and/or destruction of COCA by the LCME.

Just goes to show that not all criticism of the AOA is valid. There are some who would literally criticize the AOA for doing anything at all other than destroying itself and working to eliminate DOs from existence.

 

[GUH]

Instead of making claims about how D.O.s are better...how about just try and make the public aware that D.O.s exist. Trying to say that D.O.s are "better" than M.D. because they "look at the whole person" is a little ridiculous. All this campaign is doing is making the situation worse and it's honestly a little embarrassing.

Could you point out which ad asserts that DOs are "better" (your word) than MDs?

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Could you point out which ad asserts that DOs are "better" (your word) than MDs?

I'm pretty sure by saying, "we view the patient as a whole" and all the other cliche phrases that are said at interviews at D.O. schools are aimed at comparing D.O. and M.D. The only reason you would make those statements are to show a difference between yourself and another group.


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[GUH]

I'm pretty sure by saying, "we view the patient as a whole" and all the other cliche phrases that are said at interviews at D.O. schools are aimed at comparing D.O. and M.D. The only reason you would make those statements are to show a difference between yourself and another group.


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That's a big assumption. Saying "I care about this person" doesn't mean that "you don't care about this person".