From what I have read, most DOs are in family practice. With that, the hours are mostly during the day. Are they on call as much as a regular MD? I would assume so. Being a family physician, they probably wouldn't be called in to work at night or work odd hours. This is something that is attractive to me because I don't want my job to take a lot away from my family. Also, if I went to my doctor with say, a sinus infection or stomach problems, how would treatment with a DO differ than with a MD? Basically I don't understand the difference between how the two treat patients in a primary care position.
It has been said many times and will be said again in this thread over and over I assume. Because you seem sincere I will answer quickly, but you can read most of this in the FAQ I am sure. There is no difference bt MD and DO. Its true most DOs go into primary care positions but you are definitely not limited to that end. Some DO's you go to will use OMT, meaning they will supplement normal treatments with some sort of manipulation depending on what ailment you have. I am not certain about exact OMT treatments for the two examples you listed (sinus infection & stomach problems). However, from what I have seen stomach problems will be treated without OMT for the most part and sinus they might add a bit of lymph massage in order to help the flow of sinus blockages. In all reality though most DOs you will go to will do exactly like an MD, determine what you have, tell you to rest or whatever and give you some meds. Again I have answered only as much as I know, which isnt much. Hopefully it is a start but really you should do your own research, read FAQ and just read other threads and responses. You can learn it all right there.
There is so much misinformation in your post, I don't know where to begin. How about this? Take a look at the FAQ on top, do a google search, check out the AACOM website, and actually talk to a few DO's. That's a good start. If you are not trolling, which I think you are not, then you should know that for all practical purposes, DO's and MD's practice alike, except that the DO's learn an additional modality, called OMM, by which to diagnose and treat conditions. MD's and DO's are both physicians and are licensed to practice the full scope of medicine in the US. Also, your assertion that most DO's are FP's is false. DO's are represented in every specialty. It's more fair and accurate to say that a little more than 60% of DO's are in primary care, but DO's also specialize in all of the medical specialties, and are a minority in the medical world, making up about 6% of physicians in the US. Please do some basic research before spouting what amounts to a lot of misinformation. Thank you.
For all practical purposes a DO = MD. Therefore, they are on call as much as a MD, the treatment of stomach or sinus infections are the same etc. Some DOs will use OMT. Most will not. Also, I don't know if most DOs are in family practice, but there is a significant amount of DOs in primary care specialities. However, there are many many many DOs in all of the medical specialities.
While many DO graduates go into primary, many also go into specialties. A family practice DO will have the same hours and job expectations as a family practice MD. A DO surgeon will have the same hours and job expectations as an MD surgeon. They do the same thing. A DO family practice doctor may decide to incorporate OMM into their practice, while the MD probably wouldn't. You might find this link helpful to explain the differences (or really lack of differences) between the DO and MD degrees. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=240220
I read the FAQ and learned some from that before my post . I guess that's what I get for reading Wikipedia!! I was under the assumption that all DOs used OMT. It looks like that is something that they choose to do on a case by case basis.
All DO's LEARN OMT, and they are all tested on it as it is on the boards, but they can choose not to use it in their practice.
The hours really depends on how the practice is set up. There is no difference between an MD or a DO in terms of this, nadda. The question about after-hours and weekends is ... who will be "on-call" to receive phone calls from patients and/or pharmacy when the office isn't open. For primary care outpatient settings, that will be your main non-working hour disruption. The question of who will see patients in the hospital also must be dealt with ... do you (or your practice partners) see and round on them, or do you use a hospitalist service? For sinus infection, you treat with antibiotics, and symptomatic relief if there is no contraindications (antihistamines, anticholinergics, decongestants, analgesic). A saline nasal wash might be useful. As a DO, you can also do lymphatic techniques along the face, neck, and upper thoraic. Most primary care DOs won't do this, but some might. You will learn these techniques in school. For "stomach problems", it really depends on your chief complaints, the history and the differential diagnosis of what it could be ... it could range from peptic ulcer disease, GERD, IBS, pancreatitis, mesenteric ischemia, to heart attacks. Thought process is the same whether you are a DO or MD .
There are definitly more DOs in FM than any other specialty. http://www.osteopathic.org/pdf/ost_factsheet.pdf Like spicedmanna wrote, most DOs are not in FM, but there are certainly more DOs in primary care than not.
64% http://www.osteopathic.org/pdf/ost_factsheet.pdf I'm curious. Obviously you called it right on--was this a guess or did you also run across this statistic somewhere?
That is just a play on words. In the real world FP or IM is all the same except for the peds part with FM. And "a little more than 60%" = most so I don't think that was false.
Yeah, you are right that his statement wasn't completely false, but I think what I stated was more true; it also depends on where you set the threshhold for "most". You are correct, though, I was being nit-picky. I had to know it approximately for my KCUMB interview. I remember studying some of the hallmarks of osteopathic medicine the night before and I came across that particular statistic somewhere. During the first portion of the interview day, we sat in the meeting room and we were asked questions about osteopathic medicine as a group. I was called on to talk about DO's and primary care. I remember throwing that particular statistic out as part of my answer, so now it's etched in my mind.
except for the obstetrics and the rural ER shifts. Adding FM and IM together comes to a little over 50% (54.7%).
Wow. Sounds like a tough interview. My group sat around a table, drank sodas and gabbed about why we want to be physicians.
It was mostly laid back, but, yeah, that Q&A session with the Asst. Dean was somewhat nerve-wracking. If I hadn't had the tip to prepare before hand to be asked about osteopathic medicine, I think I would have fumbled. Thank goodness for SDN and the kindness of it's denizens.
Okay, if you say so; you definitely have more experience than me. I don't want to argue that anymore, though. The problem with your assertion is that you are equating FP with IM, which while there are more similarities than differences, there are fundamental differences which set them apart. Not only this, but they are differently boarded, which is enough to say that they are distinct areas of primary care. Thus, it is not strictly proper to say that FP = IM, even though in the real world, they are similar. That said, I was being unnecessarily nit-picky with our OP, who wasn't entirely wrong in his statement.
Since when did the frequency of an MD's bowel movements affect on-call time for DOs? /musta missed that memo
The DO will twist your nose and call it OMM, the MD will write you a script. Of course that sounds ludicrous, and it is. They would obviously recommend the same treatment. Stop trying to start debates.
