Difference between a MD & a DO?

When I introduce myself as Dr. X, (yes, my name tag says D.O., and I wear it for all to see ) I don't get any flak, in fact at the end of most of my encounters, I get people asking me if I would continue to care for them if they came back to the ED or while they are admitted to the hospital. I have had staff members tell me that pt's have come back and requested that I care for them again. I am not here for a horn tooting session, but I think it is based on your care and how you conduct yourself with your patients that ultimately counts. But then again, I work in NY where there are a lot of D.O.'s Any other thoughts?

ted, D.O.
Emergency Medicine PGY-1
somewhere in the city

 

Interesting that you post this in the Nursing forum instead of the pre-MD or pre-DO or MD or DO forums.

The main difference between MD and DO in the United States as perceived via general population?

With an MD after your name, you are immediately recognized as a medical doctor. With a DO, not really (except for those who were premeds or have relatives w/ DO or have been treated by DOs or are from other countries w/ non-physician DOs)

So the majority of patients don't know what a DO is. So that means that they are not primed to be biased against DOs.

If a patient notices the DO, most often, they will ask what a DO is, out of curiosity. The physician (DO) will then explain and the patient will be satisfy.

The bias against DOs occurs mainly among the premed community. No where else does the bias against DOs occur (except for foreign governments like France who don't recognize Osteopathic Medicine)

Anyway - hope this answers your question (I tried to be objective in answering your question but obviously I am very pro-DO. Keep this in mind when reading this post)

Group_theory
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PCOM Class of 2007