Can a pathologist practice osteopathy

[NUKid]

I was reading some interview feedback and apparently one of the questions thrown at an interviewee was if a pathologist can practice osteopathy. I was just wondering how some of you may answer this question?????? I think it is a pretty interesting one. I think this guy was actually one of the interviewers at my NYCOM interview as he was a pathologist and was asking stem cell questions.

NUKID

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[DrBowtie]

I would say no.

 

[dr.z]

Hmmm... interesting question.

 

[HunterGatherer]

As long as you have a DO degree you can practice. The problem is the access to patients that a pathologist would need must come from outside his lab.

A Path professor with a PhD. of course could not.

I would say no.

 

[DOctorJay]

once you're a licensed physician you can utilize any treatment modality you so choose. now a pathologist probably wouldn't use OMT or any other direct treatment on patients in the hospital but if s/he wanted to open a practice on the side there's no reason they couldn't. now whether or not insurance would pay is a different story, but strictly speaking, yes a pathologist who is a DO could practice osteopathy.

specializing in one area does not preclude you from practicing what you have learned previously, it just is much less likely you would actually do it since you trained so hard in a specialty.

-J

 

[DrBowtie]

As long as you have a DO degree you can practice. The problem is the access to patients that a pathologist would need must come from outside his lab.

A Path professor with a PhD. of course could not.

Exactly. They wouldn't practice osteopathy but they would have the DO degree.

I suppose I wasn't thinking outside the box like some others but I interpreted it as would a pathologist ever use OMM or the osteopathic philo during their normal work as a pathologist.

 

[NUKid]

Exactly. They wouldn't practice osteopathy but they would have the DO degree.

I suppose I wasn't thinking outside the box like some others but I interpreted it as would a pathologist ever use OMM or the osteopathic philo during their normal work as a pathologist.

Yeah I was thinking the question was asked the way that if a pathologist, in his normal work could practice osteopathy...not setting up a practice on the side or anything

 

[Taus]

tough question.....I think I would say b/c osteopathic training also inherantly includes all the training one would need to be an excellent clinician in any discipline....then yes osteopathy is used as a pathologist. The aspects of osteopathic medicine that I love (such as your patient interaction skills and OMM) are pretty much lost as a pathologist....but by being a good pathologist and doctor in general, and having been trained as an osteopath, you are therefore a good osteopath.....

hope that made some sense and you enjoyed my run-on sentences w/ lots of ....dots....but it really rides on what exactly osteopathy means to you....base your answer off of that and you can't go wrong...

 

[notdeadyet]

Wouldn't this depend on what route the physician took to become a pathologist?

You can not practice clinical medicine in the U.S. after receiving your DO or MD until you have completed an internship, correct? And my understanding is that while almost every internship contains enough clinical hours to grant you a license, a pathologist who goes into a PGY-1 program will not get those clinical practice hours and will not be licensed to function in the same way as other physicians.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this. I heard this from someone who's pathologist friend was not able to moonlight in a doc-in-the-box, but this was several years ago.

 

[DragonWell]

it really rides on what exactly osteopathy means to you....base your answer off of that and you can't go wrong...

One of the principles of Osteopathic Medicine is that structure and function are interelated. Isn't pathology really just the study of disordered structure/function on various scales? You could always go off on something about that...plus get some points for knowing what the principles of osteopathy are...

 

[OnMyWayThere]

I'd say yes - because "osteopathy is not just MD + OMM. It is how the patient is addressed, what we look for, additional external factors..." So absolutely yes, any practicing DO can practice osteopathy... remember osteopathy doesn't mean OMM.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I'd say yes - because "osteopathy is not just MD + OMM. It is how the patient is addressed, what we look for, additional external factors..." So absolutely yes, any practicing DO can practice osteopathy... remember osteopathy doesn't mean OMM.

I was under the impression that osteopathy = OMM only

whereas osteopathic medicine = traditional western medicine (MD) + OMM

(remember that those that practice osteopathy in Europe only do OMM)