Can you practice without doing residency?

Started by DrWannaBe
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DrWannaBe

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My husband has a colleague whose wife is a DO and supposedly she "doesn't have to do a residency". Can a DO (or MD) practice without any residency or any post-med school training?








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To my knowledge, no. AFAIK, all physicians must at least do a internship year before getting a permanent license. Anybody who tries to practice in this day and age without residency training would be ill-advised to say the least.
 
He likely isn't counting her DO internship as a "residency" per se. In some states a DO internship is required for DO licensure, in others it is not. In many states you can get your medical license after only 1 year of post-grad training, although you may not get paid by many payors without being credentialed in some field.

Casey
 
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You can do chiropractice, radio show psychiatry, dinner table internist, traditional any medicine, or quackery without a residency.
 
I know of no state that will allow an unrestricted license to practice medicine with no post med school training.Most states require at least 1 year internship/residency.Without an actual full residency in some specialty your choice of job opportunities would be very limited.