Characteristics of a good D.O.

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time md

time md

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What characteristics do you think a good osteopath should possess?
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Nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills
 
And its spelled "skillz" for DO's. Its another way we are different from MD's.
 
"must have plow experience... not much maybe one year"
 
must be as smart as the MD's....since we're wanna bees and everything.
 
First, let me say this is not a question on any secondary application that I have recieved, and I don't expect to see a similar question as I have applied to only MD schools as of now.

I have been a long time viewer of SDN and occasional writer, and I must say that I am very disappointed with the responses I have received. From reading past threads in this forum I found most of you were very quick to defend the osteopathic route by citing unique characteristics that a successful D.O. will have. A D.O. school recently started near my home, and I was considering applying there. As most of you are more educated about the D.O. profession than myself, I hoped two learn from you what is unique to the D.O., if anything.

Perhaps, it is my fault to for the nonchalant presentation of such a question. However, I don't think the sarcastic remarks were necessary. As far as we know we may be classmates or colleagues someday.
 
You must realize that most, BUT NOT ALL of the long time posters in the DO thread are friends/long time co-posters and feed off of each other. Once one starts something they will all jump in together and follow. It is ok to mess around when they feel it is in good light but not the other way around. Some know or ARE the admins on these threads and get the final say anyways.


I hope that is not a characteristic of a DO; lack of independence.


Here they come to attack! lol
 
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time md said:
First, let me say this is not a question on any secondary application that I have recieved, and I don't expect to see a similar question as I have applied to only MD schools as of now.

I have been a long time viewer of SDN and occasional writer, and I must say that I am very disappointed with the responses I have received. From reading past threads in this forum I found most of you were very quick to defend the osteopathic route by citing unique characteristics that a successful D.O. will have. A D.O. school recently started near my home, and I was considering applying there. As most of you are more educated about the D.O. profession than myself, I hoped two learn from you what is unique to the D.O., if anything.

Perhaps, it is my fault to for the nonchalant presentation of such a question. However, I don't think the sarcastic remarks were necessary. As far as we know we may be classmates or colleagues someday.
Click to expand...

The reasons you may have gotten such replies are probably because:

1) The term "osteopath" and "osteopathic physician" are not synonymous. Osteopaths are found outside the US and do not hold medical degrees. Osteopathic physicians are just that, physicians.

2) What kind of question is that? Hope this doesn't come off as mean, but the kind of characteristics that I think a good "osteopathic physician" should possess are the exact same characteristics that a doctor should have. Did you really expect people to say "They treat the patient, not the symptom", as you may have read in the DO pamphlets??
 
hopefuldoc87 said:
...the kind of characteristics that I think a good "osteopathic physician" should possess are the exact same characteristics that a doctor should have....
Click to expand...

I agree in full with the above comment and it is the reason that I, and probably many of the more seasoned posters here, did not respond to the original question. As to what is unique about osteopathic physicians, well, that is a matter of some controversy. There are lots of arguments here about that and ultimately the threads get shut down, for better or worse. I think many would agree that the differences between the traditions have lessened with time, to the point that the two are for all practical purposes virtually indistinguishable from each other in practice. There clearly has been a convergence between the traditions. It's become no trivial matter to define osteopathic medicine and what separates it from allopathic medicine. In some sense, osteopathic physicians have been facing an identity crisis for some time now.

So far, in my education, the only palpable difference in training that I've found is that OMT is taught for two years at my school. I think my school takes a slightly more clinical bent in the pre-clinical education, for better or worse, and there is a bit more focus, as far as I can tell, on generalist principles, but at the end, the very same stuff is taught at my school as is taught in allopathic medical schools, with the exception of OMT.

There is a lot of lip service that the organizations and others put out about holistic this or that, or philosophy whatnot. In my opinion, it's all bull-crap. Ultimately, it is the physician's character that defines, in large part, how he or she will practice, not what school they went to. Just look at grads from osteopathic medical schools. The organization suggests that OMT is a primary distinguishing feature, yet a rather small minority actually uses it in practice with any regularity. The vast majority will learn it in school and never touch it again.
 
Last edited:
Thank you spicedmanna for your reply.

Hopefuldoc87, I agree with you second reasoning, which I addressed in a previous post. Your first reasoning, however, is refutable as I did not make use of the word "osteopath" until after the aforementioned replies were made. Accordingly, the replies could not have been related to the use of this word. Also, "osteopath" refers to a practitioner of osteopathy, and "osteopathy" refers to a system of medicine in which disease and illness are thought to be do to loss of structural integrity which can be relieved by manipulation, therapeutics, medication, and surgery in that order. So, I am certain I used the term correctly.

I apologize if this thread has been a nuisance to anyone. That was never nor will ever be my intention.

I actually know more about osteopathic medicine than is shown in this thread. My intentions were simply to see if you guys had noted any special qualities that you thought unique along your way. I agree with spiced, in saying that the line separating MD from DO is shrinking so that it is now nearly gone. This has proven true in my dealing with osteopathic physicians over the past year.

I am curious, however, as to why osteopathic schools still require these "why OSTEOPATHIC medicine" type essays. They too, should know that the difference between the two fields is drawing close. Perhaps this is a type of "lip action" that spiced mentioned.
 
time md said:
Thank you spicedmanna for your reply.

Hopefuldoc87, I agree with you second reasoning, which I addressed in a previous post. Your first reasoning, however, is refutable as I did not make use of the word "osteopath" until after the aforementioned replies were made. Accordingly, the replies could not have been related to the use of this word. Also, "osteopath" refers to a practitioner of osteopathy, and "osteopathy" refers to a system of medicine in which disease and illness are thought to be do to loss of structural integrity which can be relieved by manipulation, therapeutics, medication, and surgery in that order. So, I am certain I used the term correctly.

I apologize if this thread has been a nuisance to anyone. That was never nor will ever be my intention.

I actually know more about osteopathic medicine than is shown in this thread. My intentions were simply to see if you guys had noted any special qualities that you thought unique along your way. I agree with spiced, in saying that the line separating MD from DO is shrinking so that it is now nearly gone. This has proven true in my dealing with osteopathic physicians over the past year.

I am curious, however, as to why osteopathic schools still require these "why OSTEOPATHIC medicine" type essays. They too, should know that the difference between the two fields is drawing close. Perhaps this is a type of "lip action" that spiced mentioned.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you could have answered this question on your own. 😉

There is no answer, though. Any good quality/characteristic of a D.O. would also be a good quality/characteristic of a physician in general. D.O.s are not more "holistic", they do not treat "the whole body" more than any MD out there, and the only tangible difference between the two professions (OMT) is hardly even practiced, even with certain studies supporting its use. Not to mention that OMM is being taught to MDs as CME classes now.

In other words, the characteristics that a good OSTEOPATHIC PHYSICIAN (not "osteopath") should have are pretty much exactly those that a good physician should have. Of course, in order to answer these type of questions posed by DO schools, you will need to (unfortunately) glorify it a bit and talk about concepts that were more true almost a century ago than today. But don't blame the DO schools; blame the AOA. 😀
 
Semicolon said:
There is no answer, though. Any good quality/characteristic of a D.O. would also be a good quality/characteristic of a physician in general. D.O.s are not more "holistic", they do not treat "the whole body" more than any MD out there, and the only tangible difference between the two professions (OMT) is hardly even practiced, even with certain studies supporting its use. Not to mention that OMM is being taught to MDs as CME classes now.

In other words, the characteristics that a good OSTEOPATHIC PHYSICIAN (not "osteopath") should have are pretty much exactly those that a good physician should have. Of course, in order to answer these type of questions posed by DO schools, you will need to (unfortunately) glorify it a bit and talk about concepts that were more true almost a century ago than today. But don't blame the DO schools; blame the AOA. 😀
Click to expand...

+1👍

Perfect! Now I don't have to write out a response.
 
I have been told that I am very large in the lap. Does that count for anything?
 
Being a good D.O. is absolutely not synonymous with being a good physician.

There are many D.O.s that are excellent physicians, but they practice exactly as their allopathic counterparts.
 
MasterShakeDO said:
Being a good D.O. is absolutely not synonymous with being a good physician.

There are many D.O.s that are excellent physicians, but they practice exactly as their allopathic counterparts.
Click to expand...

So a bad D.O. is one that does not practice osteopathic medicine? I guess 95% of D.O.s are bad. 😉

With that logic, you can be a good physician but a bad osteopathic physician...interesting...
 
Are there any DO's that practice using purely osteopathic philosophies these days?
 
LastPolarBear said:
Are there any DO's that practice using purely osteopathic philosophies these days?
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Off the top of my head, I can think of one or two, who do nothing but OMT and do not give meds at all; they are pretty old. I can think of more that practice primarily OMT, but also do other primary care type things.
 
Semicolon said:
So a bad D.O. is one that does not practice osteopathic medicine? I guess 95% of D.O.s are bad. 😉

With that logic, you can be a good physician but a bad osteopathic physician...interesting...
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'm saying!
How can you be called a good osteopathic physician if you do not uphold the principles and practices that which make your profession unique?
I'm not giving a moral lecture. I myself am entering an allopathic residency in a non-primary care field. I'd like to think I'll make a great physician, but there are those that will say I'm not being a very good D.O.
 
MasterShakeDO said:
Being a good D.O. is absolutely not synonymous with being a good physician.

There are many D.O.s that are excellent physicians, but they practice exactly as their allopathic counterparts.
Click to expand...

😕

Do you understand the words that are coming out of your mouth?
 
MasterShakeDO said:
That's exactly what I'm saying!
How can you be called a good osteopathic physician if you do not uphold the principles and practices that which make your profession unique?
I'm not giving a moral lecture. I myself am entering an allopathic residency in a non-primary care field. I'd like to think I'll make a great physician, but there are those that will say I'm not being a very good D.O.
Click to expand...

I see what you're trying to say, but what principles and practices make the profession unique? OMT?

I think the question itself is flawed. It's like asking what characteristics will make a person a good DDS? You wouldn't ask that. Yea, you can argue that DDS and DMD don't have differing philosophies, but you catch my drift. You wouldn't ask what characteristics make a person a good MD. You would just ask what makes a person a good doctor. So I think it's a weird question to answer.

I think at the end of the day, your ability to provide excellent care for your patients is what's going to qualify you as a good physician. If someone thinks you're a bad DO for not using OMT, so what? You're a good physician, and that's what matters.
 
Isn't there a book that people suggest reading which talks about DO philosophy or something?
 
Bacchus said:
DDS and DMD don't have different philosophies. The example is not comparable to MD/DO, if you're figuring in DO history. The only difference is OMM, plain and simple.
Click to expand...

Yea I know, that's what I said. I just didn't know anything else comparable.
 
LastPolarBear said:
Isn't there a book that people suggest reading which talks about DO philosophy or something?
Click to expand...

I always wondered: how much emphasis do they place on the philosophy in DO school? I'm starting UMDNJ-SOM this August, so if anyone went there and knows, can you share? I'm aware of the OMM class and lab, but how much of this "philosophy" is emphasized?
 
hopefuldoc87 said:
I always wondered: how much emphasis do they place on the philosophy in DO school? I'm starting UMDNJ-SOM this August, so if anyone went there and knows, can you share? I'm aware of the OMM class and lab, but how much of this "philosophy" is emphasized?
Click to expand...

I'm not too sure. I don't know if anyone knows of the book I'm talking about, but I've seen in a few threads floating around here that it's a good read.
 
hopefuldoc87 said:
I always wondered: how much emphasis do they place on the philosophy in DO school? I'm starting UMDNJ-SOM this August, so if anyone went there and knows, can you share? I'm aware of the OMM class and lab, but how much of this "philosophy" is emphasized?
Click to expand...

How's about in the future you can write a referral 😀. I would like to go there just because I live in NJ.
 
Octagonecology said:
With all due respect that book sucks and is boring as hell. You will read the first 10 pages and pitch it.
Click to expand...

Never read it but have heard of it from so many people on SDN. I got all my information about Osteopathic medicine from online resources, and from shadowing 2 DO's (who ironically, didn't do anything differently than the MD I shadowed).
 
time md said:
First, let me say this is not a question on any secondary application that I have recieved, and I don't expect to see a similar question as I have applied to only MD schools as of now.

I have been a long time viewer of SDN and occasional writer, and I must say that I am very disappointed with the responses I have received. From reading past threads in this forum I found most of you were very quick to defend the osteopathic route by citing unique characteristics that a successful D.O. will have. A D.O. school recently started near my home, and I was considering applying there. As most of you are more educated about the D.O. profession than myself, I hoped two learn from you what is unique to the D.O., if anything.

Perhaps, it is my fault to for the nonchalant presentation of such a question. However, I don't think the sarcastic remarks were necessary. As far as we know we may be classmates or colleagues someday.
Click to expand...

Characteristics of a good DO = Characteristics of a good physician

I'm not being snarky...I'm being serious.
 
A good DO uses the word 'snarky' as often as possible. 👍
 
A good DO will typically try to emulate the characteristics of AT Still, such as carrying a human femur around, having a similar beard, and saying off-the-wall **** for a book of quotes.
 
TexasTriathlete said:
A good DO will typically try to emulate the characteristics of AT Still, such as carrying a human femur around, having a similar beard, and saying off-the-wall **** for a book of quotes.
Click to expand...

Word. Especially the part about the off-the-wall sayings. Dude, what kind of substances does a person have to imbibe to comprehend that stuff? I read one quote and I'm like, "WTF?" 😕
 
TexasTriathlete said:
A good DO will typically try to emulate the characteristics of AT Still, such as carrying a human femur around, having a similar beard, and saying off-the-wall **** for a book of quotes.
Click to expand...


Oh man. I can't wait for Halloween.
 
MasterShakeDO said:
That's exactly what I'm saying!
How can you be called a good osteopathic physician if you do not uphold the principles and practices that which make your profession unique?
I'm not giving a moral lecture. I myself am entering an allopathic residency in a non-primary care field. I'd like to think I'll make a great physician, but there are those that will say I'm not being a very good D.O.
Click to expand...

So do you think the essays that ask if what characteristics make a good D.O. should focus on characteristics that are specific to D.O. and not shared by physicians as a lot of other people have mentioned?

In a few essays I have also mentioned how i think the opportunity to pursue either an allopathic or osteopathic residency is appealing since allopathic medical students do not have this option and I like more options. Should I not mention this since it implies that I might consider an allopathic residency?
 
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