[B]Advocates of DO Degree change to MD-O or O-MD[/B]

[Taus]

Another person claiming a DO education is more than an MD education. When will you people learn - if you don't want inflammatory responses from MDs/MD students, don't impugn their degree. If you want to be taken as total equals, speak about the equivalence of the education. Conversely, if you want MD students to come in here and challenge your degree, by all means, continue to challenge theirs. That's about the nicest way I could possibly put it.

While I fully agree w/ you.....the issue is balanced out by the things that many Allo schools include more of...research, laboratory skills (ie pipetting and all that basic science bench work stuff), and more emphasis on genetics and molecular bio. While those aren't universally missing from the DO curriculum, those are things that are either less or have been recently integrated more to some degree.

While I view most of that stuff as not important to me and many MD students may not place importance in musculoskeletal medicine....both types of schools are working on integrating that stuff in their respective curriculums.....I call that progress

When you consider both sides of the issue there is really nothing to get upset about on either side.

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[Northerner]

While I fully agree w/ you.....the issue is balanced out by the things that many Allo schools include more of...research, laboratory skills (ie pipetting and all that basic science bench work stuff), and more emphasis on genetics and molecular bio. While those aren't universally missing from the DO curriculum, those are things that are either less or have been recently integrated more to some degree.

While I view most of that stuff as not important to me and many MD students may not place importance in musculoskeletal medicine....both types of schools are working on integrating that stuff in their respective curriculums.....I call that progress

When you consider both sides of the issue there is really nothing to get upset about on either side.

I take issue with people who say DO's "learn more" than MD's. That's it.

 

[jaydoc07]

While I fully agree w/ you.....the issue is balanced out by the things that many Allo schools include more of...research, laboratory skills (ie pipetting and all that basic science bench work stuff), and more emphasis on genetics and molecular bio. While those aren't universally missing from the DO curriculum, those are things that are either less or have been recently integrated more to some degree.

While I view most of that stuff as not important to me and many MD students may not place importance in musculoskeletal medicine....both types of schools are working on integrating that stuff in their respective curriculums.....I call that progress

When you consider both sides of the issue there is really nothing to get upset about on either side.

Who told you that MD schools teach "pipetting and all that bench work stuff?" If you want to do that in my school you take a year off for research. Do you really think that we are not taught musculoskeletal medicine? I am pretty sure my administrators are happy with the anatomy lectures we currently have, and I am confident that the knowledge the average DO graduate has about anatomy is no greater than the average MD graduate. I think you people may need to experience the allopathic education before you bash it...oh wait, many of you would have but didn't quite make it that far.

 

[Taus]

Who told you that MD schools teach "pipetting and all that bench work stuff?" If you want to do that in my school you take a year off for research. Do you really think that we are not taught musculoskeletal medicine? I am pretty sure my administrators are happy with the anatomy lectures we currently have, and I am confident that the knowledge the average DO graduate has about anatomy is no greater than the average MD graduate. I think you people may need to experience the allopathic education before you bash it...oh wait, many of you would have but didn't quite make it that far.

ehh..I don't think I bashed anything....and will admit that I guess I was misinformed about the research technique stuff that you guys do (basically the same as an MD student would be similarly ill-informed about what really goes on in an OMM class)...about the msk stuff I didn't mean anatomy knowledge...I meant a lot of hands on lab time in the eval and tx of msk complaints (ie back pain)....I missed the part where I bashed anyones education...

 

[Taus]

I take issue with people who say DO's "learn more" than MD's. That's it.

fair enough

 

[cyclohexanol]

I think you people may need to experience the allopathic education before you bash it...oh wait, many of you would have but didn't quite make it that far.

 

[DNA Helicase]

Let me introduce to you a future healthcare professional:

I think you people may need to experience the allopathic education before you bash it...oh wait, many of you would have but didn't quite make it that far.

America's finest!

 

[voltron77]

Why are people trippin' about MDs and DOs? I am an allopathic medical student and am not sure why people make this such a big deal. I probably don't know much about this debate but was interested to learn more.

 

[Cowboy DO]

People in general don't make this such a big deal...but people run out of things to talk about on message boards i think.

 

[Pansit]

People in general don't make this such a big deal...but people run out of things to talk about on message boards i think.

True...people look on here, go through every thread and find nothing exciting, so they think up of something exciting or funny to start up, but some few like to see the arguments and make comments or threads that insenuate things they probably dont even really believe. I doubt anyone would say any of these statements out in the real world...

 

[Amy B]

There seems to have always been this type of thread with differing opinions on the whole DO/MD issue. Differing opinions are ok, but please dont attack each other.

 

[jhug]

what i think a lot of "us" DO's don't understand is that our very language perpetuates these attacks...
examples: DO's are MD's plus more...we treat people, not just symptoms...we learn more than you in school...we are holistic providers that focus more on the whole body...we have a unique DO philosophy...
in each of these fallacies, intended or not, is the implication that MD's don't do it...
for once i can applaud the AOA for finally changing that stupid offensive slogan/logo to something about treating our DO family

 

[M3goingon4]

referring to previous posters about DOs in ophtho, etc.

i can't stand when someone this far along in education still can't comprehend the most basic of statistics.

if you want to become an orthopod, ophtho, nsurg, etc. go allo. it's extremely difficult as a DO. to all those that think otherwise, go look up your stats and u'll see how hard.

if you are fine iwth being a practicing gp, then fine. specialization? shoulda gone for MD.

 

[Taus]

referring to previous posters about DOs in ophtho, etc.

i can't stand when someone this far along in education still can't comprehend the most basic of statistics.

if you want to become an orthopod, ophtho, nsurg, etc. go allo. it's extremely difficult as a DO. to all those that think otherwise, go look up your stats and u'll see how hard.

if you are fine iwth being a practicing gp, then fine. specialization? shoulda gone for MD.

hmm...given your wonderfully insightful post history in the DO forums (not a stalker just did a 2 second search...) I really shouldn't even respond...but do yourself a favor and check out the match lists of several DO schools and realize that when you include the residencies that are open to DO's only its not as bad as you may think...

my school alone last year: 11 Anesthesiology, 9 General Surg, 4 Optho, 6 Ortho, 1 ENT, 1 Urology, 2 Rads, 3 Neuro, 17 EM, 1 EM/IM...so I guess your right....we all become GP's

 

[Buckeye4life]

While I'm all for playing conservatively when it comes to numbers, everything I've read and heard is that about 50-60% of D.O. students choose primary care, but that leaves 40-50% who choose to specialize. Yeah, the ultra-competitive fields are harder for D.O. students to place in, from what I hear it is just as hard for M.D. students to match as well. However, I would agree the odds for matching into an allopathic residency in certain specialties are heavily stacked against osteopathic students, but that's why there are osteopathic residencies, right? As for me, up until this point in my life there have been many times that the statistics would say that I would not be successful, but I still made it through. I try to remain optimistic, and I think that a person's path is not always up to them or even the people who you think will decide your fate. I believe in evidence, but I also believe that doors will open and mountains can move if it's meant to be.

 

[Pansit]

referring to previous posters about DOs in ophtho, etc.

i can't stand when someone this far along in education still can't comprehend the most basic of statistics.

if you want to become an orthopod, ophtho, nsurg, etc. go allo. it's extremely difficult as a DO. to all those that think otherwise, go look up your stats and u'll see how hard.

if you are fine iwth being a practicing gp, then fine. specialization? shoulda gone for MD.

Easier said than done, for a lot of people they couldnt get into an allo school, others choose osteo based on location, tuition, family, friends..etc. The application process is not cut and dry. For a majority of the people it's not about going allopathic or osteopathic , its about what school you are accepted to or other insenuating circumstances. I got rejected to the 5 allo schools I wanted to go to and accepted at the one osteo school. I declined and withdrew from several allo school interviews because I was never going to school there (location reasons), so it's not that easy. If you strive to be a top student and leader, you would not be scared of statistics, as long as you have a chance you go for it, and anyway, 40% of DO's specializing sounds like a pretty good percentage to me, let alone 50%.

 

[Sirius Black]

referring to previous posters about DOs in ophtho, etc.

i can't stand when someone this far along in education still can't comprehend the most basic of statistics.

if you want to become an orthopod, ophtho, nsurg, etc. go allo. it's extremely difficult as a DO. to all those that think otherwise, go look up your stats and u'll see how hard.

if you are fine iwth being a practicing gp, then fine. specialization? shoulda gone for MD.

Then how is it possible that our entire faculty of ophthalmologists (5 of them, 4 that attended my institution) and neurosurgeons (2 of them) are all DOs? This is in just one county in Florida, and moreover these are the ones that decided to teach. With certain ophtho and nsurg residencies being open ONLY to osteopathic students, it is definitely not as hard for a DO to specialize as you may think. Yes, there are more allopathic residencies, but that's because there are way more allopathic students (DOs only make up 5% of the physician population of the US).