Hey friends:
This is a draft of a long-winded letter (I will edit it), which I am going to mail this weekend Although I am not sure how much good it will do in regards to its intended target, I still think it is worth the effort. I wanted to share it with all of you before I cut most of it out. Even though it is a little too detailed to send to HBO, I think it would serve a good purpose on this board. Feel free to disagree with me; however, I want to make sure that this thread does not turn into a flaming MD vs. DO thing. It is my belief that this subject is a professional issue and one that we should all attempt to ameliorate. D.O.?s have come a long way since almost being wiped out as a profession by the efforts of the AMA. The majority now considers D.O.?s and M.D.?s as equals. Although, there is still a large part of the general population that does not know what a D.O. is. This is also something we must work on.
With that said, I invite my fellow osteopathic, and interested allopathic, students and physicians to embrace this type of issue both now and in the future, but not to take it as a personal insult. We are in the later stages of the process of overcoming many years of professional prejudice. It is a well-known fact, that getting past history is something that is difficult to do. Especially when it involves something like medicine, which is very much inundated with ego, prestige, money and turf-war concerns.
The osteopathic profession has come a long way. In the last three decades, the number of schools has more than tripled. Moreover, the number of practicing D.O.?s has gone from 29,000 to nearly 50,000 since 1990. D.O.?s are indeed here to stay. When we argue against this type of comment, it is important to do it based on the facts and by focusing on strengths. Do not resort to emotionally fueled personal attacks, insults or name-calling--
this is especially true on this board.
In addition, I caution everyone who is truly proud to be a D.O. to not go overboard with the, ?we are equal and we are the same? arguments. If this is true then we might as well change the initials to M.D. and do away with D.O. altogether. (As an aside, in regards to the ?initials-issue?, I would consider supporting a change to something like MD-O, but never a complete change doing away with the ?O?.) The differences between osteopathic and allopathic medical education is more than just OMT; there is a lot more to Osteopathic Principles and Philosophies than that. Upon graduation, D.O.?s often go into ACGME residencies, but their roots are still Osteopathic. Like the old saying goes, ?You can take the D.O. out of the osteopathic institution, but you can never take all of the osteopathic institution out of the D.O.?
Cheers
,
Dale
Dear Mr. Albrecht:
I am sure you have received some rather pointed letter?s regarding the comment concerning osteopathic medical education on your March 11 episode of The Sopranos. I am not upset in anyway, instead, I think what happened demonstrates the misconceptions that some have toward D.O.?s in general. I would like to take several minutes of your time to anecdotally address this issue.
I was introduced to Osteopathic Medicine while serving as a medic in Army Special Forces, several of the battalion physicians, residents and attendings whom I know, are D.O.?s. In fact, at the time, the recently retired and current Dean for the University of North Texas-Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine was the U.S. Army Surgeon General. As I contemplated applying to medical school, I researched the history of medicine and public health; the needs of the U.S. Health care system, as well as the mission/goals of a number of schools. This combined with my experiences in both civilian and military health care, contributed to my 1998 decision to leave active duty service in order to finish my undergraduate degree and pursue medicine as a career. In the summer of 2000, I applied to several medical schools, both M.D. and D.O. I received multiple interviews and was blessed with multiple acceptances. In the end, I choose to attend an osteopathic medical School.
Osteopathic Medicine began over a hundred years ago, as a reformation movement to change many things that was wrong with the practice of medicine. In the past, it certainly was not without its own problems, but has indeed contributed to changing a number of shortcomings within the medical profession. For example, D.O. schools where among the first to admit women and minorities. In addition, they have arduously worked to help correct the imbalance between specialty and primary care physicians. In addition, they are renowned for training a number of physicians that go on to practice in underserved areas. Osteopathic medical education has always focused on primary care and preventative medicine in an attempt to keep people healthy, provide early diagnosis, and treat illness before it progresses into a chronic condition. The philosophy centers on an elaborate whole body approach, as well as the idea that physicians do not heal, but rather assist the body to heal itself using osteopathic principles and philosophies, medicine, therapy and surgery. Well over 60% of graduates enter primary care specialties (e.g. Family Medicine, Obstetrics and Pediatrics). In addition to this though, a number of D.O.?s do go on to specialize and provide extremely competent, personable care, while still incorporating osteopathic principles and philosophies (OPP is much more than manipulative manual medicine; I invite you to learn more about it.)
As far as grades and MCAT scores go--which is the point of contention brought to light in your show--D.O. schools do have a slightly lower average. Do not let the ?average issue? wipe out the fact that the range of GPAs and MCATs in both MD and DO schools range from around 3.0 - 4.0 and 20 - 39, respectively. The lowest, MCAT score I personally know of was a ?19? and this person was admitted to a major state M.D. school. Moreover, I can personally name about 10 students from my school that had MCAT scores ranging from 19-25 who are now students at major state MD schools...there is a slightly growing sentiment that numbers are limited in determining how good of a doctor one will become.
There are some noteworthy reasons that contribute to the slightly lower number-averages among D.O. student matriculates; I will mention I few. Osteopathic students are statistically more likely to come from non-traditional, blue-collar backgrounds. They have a higher number of older students, married students, as well as single parents. Because of that, these students are more likely to have worked their way through college and had less time to study for classes and the MCAT. Admission committees recognize that a person with a 3.4 science GPA, who worked in college, is just as academically qualified as a student who did not work and earned a 3.8. (With that said, I recognize that there are a number of students that work 20-40 hours per week and still manage a 4.0; these students are truly commendable). In addition, this type of student would be at a disadvantage when applying to more prestigious institutions, because they would most likely be missing coveted research experience. Some would argue that this type of student is more likely to practice primary care. In addition, some would say that because they have more life experiences they can better relate to the average patient. This is something that both osteopathic and allopathic institutions look for when trying to identify applicants likely to pursue primary care.
I second the AOA?s invitation to you to learn more about D.O. education, and I hope that you make an attempt to correct the misconception that you contributed to on your show (even though I am not quite sure how you could do this). I also invite you to read ?Osteopathic Medicine: A Reformation in Progress,? published in January of 2001.
?When I say primary care, I mean the caring of patients. I don?t know whether it was by teaching, by precept or by tradition, but osteopathic physicians have always understood that women and men are a trinity. They are souls, that they inhabit bodies, and they have a spirit. I think the people who really initiated whole person medicine and made it a formality in this country were osteopathic physicians. I think all of us should take our hats off to you about that.? C. Everett Koop, MD, former-U.S. Surgeon General, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, April 29th, 1999. 
