D.O.'s are nicer.

[Buster Douglas]

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Why do you think your average D.O. is considered more personable than your average M.D.?

 

[DermpathDO]

because the DO at least acts like he/she is actually listening to the patient😀

 

[sleep deprived]

oh, now that's not nice. I have had some really wonderful MD's who listen as well. Maybe DO's are percieved as nicer sometimes simply because they are more touchy with thier patients. More willing to put the hand on the shoulder and comfort that way when the patient is panicked and distressed. We have the touch thing rammed into our head from day 1 so it's natural for us.

 

[YellowRose]

absolutely untrue. it depends on the individual. Some of the most compassionate docs i've met wer MD's, and some of the Jerks were DO's.

 

[Rev. Horace]

I agree that it depends on the person. Just because you have D.O. behind your name doesn't automatically mean you ascend to some elightened plane of kindness.

However, you can probably reaffirm the thought that DO's are nicer if you compare the pre-DO forum to the pre-MD. The amount of spiteful, vitriolic and down right hateful posts seems to be greater by a large margin in the pre-MD. I do acknowledege that this is by no means a statistical sample of the MD or pre-MD population and should not be treated as such. This was merely an observation. Take it as you will.

 

[DOtobe]

Originally posted by YellowRose
absolutely untrue. it depends on the individual. Some of the most compassionate docs i've met wer MD's, and some of the Jerks were DO's.

I agree with this statement. There are friendly MD's, friendly DO's, awful MD's, and awful DO's. But I do think that since DO's are naturally more "touchy" because of their training that they may be perceived as nicer. I recall reading a column in the newspaper recently (I believe it was Dr. Gott) in which a person wrote saying that they appreciate when the doctor puts a hand on their shoulder, holds their hand, etc. and was wondering why more doctors don't do this. My family doctor is an MD and is wonderful, so I wouldn't generalize by saying that DO's are nicer.

And Rev. Horace, I definitely agree with your comparison of the pre-allo and the pre-osteo! I think the key word there is "pre." The "pre" allo students are the only ones who believe this stupid debate and so called disadvantage of being a DO.

 

[Rev. Horace]

Originally posted by DOtobe
And Rev. Horace, I definitely agree with your comparison of the pre-allo and the pre-osteo! I think the key word there is "pre." The "pre" allo students are the only ones who believe this stupid debate and so called disadvantage of being a DO.

Yes, "pre" is the key word. This debate rarely, if ever, rears it's ugly head in the allo forum.

 

[Ms. Dawson DO]

the difference in pre-forums might have to do with age of applicants as well. on average i think DO applicants are a bit older, more experienced and just don't take things THAT seriously ie GPA and MCAT as most are pretty removed from their college years. A REAL job in the REAL world often puts things in perspective. But of course this is in general.

I will admit the dumbest comments that I have seen have come from some folks in the pre-allo forum with a profile saying they were born sometime in the 80s. 😉

 

[ramsestiger]

I am all for touching or what not, but only AFTER I know what the patient has. I wouldn't even want to shake hands lest it might be something contagious like a common cold, a wart (HPV has more than 100 highly contagious strains, and it's a VIRUS), etc., etc., etc. Now, if the patient has back pain or what not, I am ready to console with physical touch immediately, but I'm not so sure about things I know I could catch.

Studies have shown that pediatricians (they're the most touchy feely since they're always around kids that need a lot of consoling and comforting) bring home infections from work all the time. On coats, from touching, or what have you, they pick up and even bring home infections. I know I am going to treat my work clothes like they're a biohazard - I'll even take a shower if one's available before I get home.

Sorry if I sound a little paranoid, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Buster Douglas]

Two theories:

1)applicants that apply to both MD and DO institutions possibly tend to see a bigger picture and value job over job title.

2)DO students are so beaten over the head with the emphasis on clinical skills in their curriculum and the idea that every potential doctor should be a primary care doc in an underserved area that it's impossible to not consider the "human-ness" of others by actually thinking that you really should become a family practicioner somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

any thoughts?

 

[daveyboy]

"Why are DO's nicer?"

What the hell kind of question is that? How about why are MBA's nicer? Are people who got a B.S. nicer than those who got a B.A.?
Do I have anything better than to do than make a fuss about what letters are in a degree?

Seriously, if you are gonna do this tired stuff with the DO vs. MD, at least make an intelligent point. Please.

 

[Buster Douglas]

It's a simple question. It's a generalized and usually tends to be the only POSITIVE stereotype that osteopaths have so why not explore it? You can take it as seriously or not so seriously as you want and if you can't find an "intelligent point" to make on the topic then just pass it up and let the thread drop to the bottom. As for the differences in the perceptions of people with B.S. and B.A. degrees; I think that would be an interesting topic to comment on too, but then again, we are in an "osteopathic" forum on "osteopathic" topics.

 

[raspberry swirl]

i think its an interesting question. most of the doctors i have been in contact with have been great, but ALL of the DOs i have met have been great. i think it probably is related to the way we are taught-- the whole non-competetiveness thing, and we're all here to help each other out, and these are going to be your colleagues who refer patients to you, so lets all love each other attitude that we get bombarded with everyday. and i also think buster makes a good point-- because we are all "supposed" to consider being a rural family doc, we feel guilty and have to think about the ethics of our decisions.

 

[apgar7]

It may not be that DO's are nicer per se, but that primary care physicians in general are nicer because they get to know their patients over time, almost like becoming a friend to their patients. Most DO's are PCP's so this could be the reason for the perception.

 

[sleep deprived]

It's a generalized and usually tends to be the only POSITIVE stereotype that osteopaths have. Buster Douglas

Don't agree with this one. Doesn't say much for your opinion of the profession. More so than being nice, I would say the stereotype that we think wholistically is positive. The stereotype that we treat mind and body seems positive. A generalization that we are nicer is somewhat silly and definately not the only positive stereotype we have.
By the way, I am sure we have many negative stereotypes as well, I am not saying that we don't.

 

[Teufelhunden]

Originally posted by Buster Douglas

2)DO students are so beaten over the head with the emphasis on clinical skills in their curriculum and the idea that every potential doctor should be a primary care doc in an underserved area that it's impossible to not consider the "human-ness" of others by actually thinking that you really should become a family practicioner somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

any thoughts?

Actually, this sounds exactly like the hell I just went through for the past two years, except that at my school we were lucky enough to have a DEPARTMENT OF BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MEDICINE.

Oh yeah, lecture upon lecture about NOTHING! Crap, crap, crap. (I wish I would have had more Pharm, Physio, Path lectures instead).

If anything, enduring this attmept at braniwashing they call a "curriculum" has GUARANTEED that not only will I never be an FP in rural appalachia, I will probably enter into a specialty where I don't have to ever see a patient!

I think my school tryed so hard to cram this down our throat, that it ended up having the opposite effect....at least on me.

 

[Buster Douglas]

Originally posted by Buster Douglas
...tends to be the only POSITIVE stereotype...

Maybe this is petty, but I emphasize the word 'tends'... I agree that the association of a more holistic approach to medicine is a 'positive stereotype' and a truth of osteopathic medicine, but many others, premeds that don't apply DO and a good percetage of the general public, are turned off by this fact alone.

Maybe the generalization that we are nicer is silly, but you can't deny the bijillion posts of testimonials saying,"I know of this one DO. I had my doubts, but he/she turned out to be a very good doctor and was more receptive to my complaints than any other doctor I've had. That's why I went DO." True, or untrue, we get to read about and hear in class this "crap" everyday...

 

[Shinken]

Funny that Buster Douglas brings this question up. When I attended CCOM's Open House this year, one of the students told our group something to the effect that "When you're looking for a physician, an MD or a DO will do, but if you're looking for a physician and a friend, look for a DO." I almost burst out laughing until I realized he wasn't joking. Maybe the AOA should change its slogan from "D.O.s: Physicians Treating People, Not Just Symptoms" to "D.O.s: Physicians and Friends." 😛

Sorry I don't have anything useful to contribute to the thread. Just wanted to share that amusing true story.

 

[gwyn779]

Originally posted by apgar7
It may not be that DO's are nicer per se, but that primary care physicians in general are nicer because they get to know their patients over time, almost like becoming a friend to their patients. Most DO's are PCP's so this could be the reason for the perception.

I think this may be a reasonable explanation. However, I think that many allo programs are trying to emphasize clinical skill and patient contact a lot more than they used to. I know that physical contact, like touching a shoulder or whatever, was in fact stressed to me. But, this is just one more stereotype and I get really annoyed at those in general.

 

[paramed2premed]

Worked in an ED for 5 years as a paramedic, small place, knew all the docs in town (pop 30k). ED doc called in a lot of those MDs and DOs at 3am, got to see how personable they could be.

Degree didn't matter. FP were 90% personable, even at that crappy hour. Only about 10% of the non-FP docs could muster more than annoyed grunting sounds.

And yeah, the per-allo forum is nastier, probably precisely because of the real-world experience that DO applicants tend to have. Lotta former medics are now DOs!

Have fun.

Oh, and Ramsestiger; trying washing your hands for 5 minutes every 15 minutes. In addition, check the doorknob 5 times to make sure it is really locked, then check again. Wash your hands again. Now five more times. Check the door again. Lastly, remember to take your Luvox!😛