DO friendly States?

[jimjones]

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Can you guys give me an idea which states in the West are DO friendliest? I understand that the West is not as DO friendly as other areas, so that's why I'm asking. Are the mt regions of Montana, Wyoming, Utah, or Colorado DO friendly? Arizona? What about Washington? By Do friendly I mean public, patients, and MD's have an understanding and respect for DO's, and that there are more DO's in general.
Thanks for replie 😎 s!

 

[scooter31]

Nice question!!!! I moved out west from MI, where there's a big DO influence, relatively speaking. Out west, you can see a large DO population in NV, especially in Las Vegas, northern CA, and a little in NM. This is only my opinion, and these areas I'm comparing to the rest of CA, NM, CO, and NV, all places I've called home in the past. As far as patient knowledge, it's still pretty low, even in the high population DO areas I've listed. And yes, there are still are MD's out here with a bit of an superiority complex when it comes to considering DO's as their equals in the medical world. But hey, whats new??? Overall, highest # of DO's probably in Vegas, with Sacramento a close second, with patient knowledge about the same whever you go. Hope this helps.....

 

[Dr JPH]

AACOM puts out a statistical report.

You can look and see how many DO's there are in each state:

<a href="http://www.aacom.org/education/ASR2000.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.aacom.org/education/ASR2000.pdf</a>

Page 7.

Hope this helps.

 

[ocwaveoc]

I want to revive this thread.....
I've heard that in Ohio, there is a large hospital where pretty much all the physicians are DOs (or it's a DO hospital). I get the feeling the midwest is more DO friendly while California is much less DO friendly from just reading postings here and there.

Since I'm not very familiar with the residency ----> work and how "connections" during residencies affect obtaining quality jobs, I'm wondering if it's very advantageous to do a residency in an area where you want to practice after residency. How common is it to say do residencies in less than DO friendly states like Cali and then move to places like Ohio (or any other more DO friendly states) to work?

Also, is there a "general consensus" of which states are very DO friendly? I realize that it's a relative term.....friendly......but, you know what I mean.

 

[fireflygirl]

Good ol' Pennsylvania There are two DO schools here and all the major hospitals here including the high level HUP and CHOP are very DO friendly.

 

[kealaq]

How common is it to say do residencies in less than DO friendly states like Cali and then move to places like Ohio (or any other more DO friendly states) to work?

Also, is there a "general consensus" of which states are very DO friendly? I realize that it's a relative term.....friendly......but, you know what I mean.

Can you please quantify what you mean by "DO friendly?" I am not sure what you mean by "less DO friendly states like Cali." What does "DO friendly" or "less DO friendly" mean to you?

My background is that I am a proud DO student here at Western COMP in Los Angeles, CA. We will be working side-by-side with our MD peers doing the same things, in the same hospitals. By law, a DO shouldn't be descriminated against in ANY state. Also, the fact is that DO's make up 6% of the US physician population, but the number of DO colleges & enrollment are rising. Its up to you & your classmates to get out into the communities to educate them about "What is osteopathic medicine?".

 

[bioteach]

I live in Colorado. I can't compare it to other states, really, but I'll give you my take. For not having a D.O. school (well now there is RVU, sigh...) Colorado has a pretty decent showing. At least around Denver. My primary care doc is a DO (with 5/7 of the docs in the practice being DO) and I have seen others as well. I go to a derm practice that is run by a DO with 3 MDs under him. I can always find several listed at hospitals in the area.

From what I've heard, it sounds like CO is about in the middle. We are not tripping over DO's, and alot of people have never heard of them, but they are not very difficult to find, either. The general public seems to be a mixed bag. Alot of people don't know what they are...but you'd get the same response if you asked in my doc's waiting room, despite the fact they have been seeing a DO for years.

Don't know if that helps or not.

 

[fireflygirl]

Can you please quantify what you mean by "DO friendly?" I am not sure what you mean by "less DO friendly states like Cali." What does "DO friendly" or "less DO friendly" mean to you?

My background is that I am a proud DO student here at Western COMP in Los Angeles, CA. We will be working side-by-side with our MD peers doing the same things, in the same hospitals. By law, a DO shouldn't be descriminated against in ANY state. Also, the fact is that DO's make up 6% of the US physician population, but the number of DO colleges & enrollment are rising. Its up to you & your classmates to get out into the communities to educate them about "What is osteopathic medicine?".

Kealaq - I think what the OP is trying to imply is that there are some states out there that honestly don't have a clue as to what Osteopathic Medicine is. When I was at the PCOM luncheon for accepted students, I asked them why they chose GA for their new site and they said one of the things they are working on is educating some of the southern states about osteopathic medicine and then trying to retain students there to practice so that the education can be broadened. I know before PCOM showed up in GA, the president said they were not very receptive or even keen on being involved with osteopathic medicine but the school made a concerted effort to start talking to deans and admins out in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama....and more about the idea of being receptive to other established schools setting up new campuses in those states. It's taken a number of years but it's the reason why some of the older DO schools are beginning to set up sites in the south. Lecom is also one of them....

 

[Zerosixjt]

I'm from Utah, and I wouldn't say that they are DO unfriendly, but there is definately a heavy allopathic influence (mainly because of the University of Utah SOM).

The lack of DO schools out west, until recently, has limited the numbers. As with everywhere else, you traditionally find more DOs in primary care. It doesn't matter that much if you are a DO or an MD as long as you do relatively well in school and boards you can go anywhere in the country.

 

[RRTinCO]

I completely agree with bioteach. I also live in CO (not in Denver), and I have had a chance to work with DO intensivists, cardiologists, and neurologists along with many other fields. I never noticed the DOs here in CO until I opened my eyes.

 

[bth7]

From: Demographics of Osteopathic medicine in the United States

Gives you some idea of what areas might be called the most "DO-friendly." It will be interesting to watch this map shift substantially in the next 5 years, as the large increases in the # of osteopathic grads translates into practicing physicians. Look for big increases in states with new schools & physician shortages, like Nevada, Arizona and Florida.


bth

 

[rddoms]

The Seattle area was pretty DO friendly from what I saw during undergrad. Lots of DO's doing residencies and practicing in any/all types of practices out there.👍

 

[studentDO]

I want to revive this thread.....
I've heard that in Ohio, there is a large hospital where pretty much all the physicians are DOs (or it's a DO hospital). I get the feeling the midwest is more DO friendly while California is much less DO friendly from just reading postings here and there.

Since I'm not very familiar with the residency ----> work and how "connections" during residencies affect obtaining quality jobs, I'm wondering if it's very advantageous to do a residency in an area where you want to practice after residency. How common is it to say do residencies in less than DO friendly states like Cali and then move to places like Ohio (or any other more DO friendly states) to work?

Also, is there a "general consensus" of which states are very DO friendly? I realize that it's a relative term.....friendly......but, you know what I mean.

North Texas is quite DO friendly. The Univ of North Texas is an Osteopathic system with affiliated hospitals etc ...

All of my physicians are DO's, you can find any kind here - I have a cardio, ortho, neuro, ophtho, ENT and of course my PCP ... DO for every need!

 

[CorpusERdoc]

North Texas is quite DO friendly. The Univ of North Texas is an Osteopathic system with affiliated hospitals etc ...

All of my physicians are DO's, you can find any kind here - I have a cardio, ortho, neuro, ophtho, ENT and of course my PCP ... DO for every need!

It's not just North Texas. You'll find that in any area of the state.

TCOM has residency programs on the Texas Coast...

 

[bioteach]

You know....I've actually had better luck finding DO's and people who know about DO's here in Colorado (no DO school, yet) than in Ohio (well established DO school). Now that could just be in my little part of Ohio (Cincinnati), but I found that kind of strange. I suppose it says good things for the DO population out here in Denver, though.

 

[Iquitos]

Provo UT is fairly DO friendly. The Univesity of Utah isn't as DO-unfriendly as you might think. I have seen several DO's match in their PM&R and family practice rotations.

 

[Iquitos]

I also know of a few DO radiologists practicing in Salt Lake City.

 

[distracted]

I'm no expert, but I have noticed a ton of DOs in the Philadelphia area. I would say that almost 50% of family docs are DOs in that area. There also seems to be wide acceptance of DOs in the area's allopathic GME programs. Another thought: NYC (well, at least Manhattan) appears to be very DO unfriendly. I have no quantitative proof -- just my observations.

 

[Former Corpsman]

I know for that D.O. are everywhere in Idaho. They are well established and the patients here love them. Right now I am shadowing a D.O. and it seems like when I am making my rounds in the hospital there are D.O.s everywhere. They have an excellent ENT D.O. People from all over the state come to see him.