DO vs. MD

[MCAT08]

Do you guys know if someone who gets a DO can later change to MD and if so do they have to start all over?

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[RySerr21]

Do you guys know if someone who gets a DO can later change to MD and if so do they have to start all over?

you cant change your degree. you would have to apply to MD programs and start all over, which would be absolutley pointless b/c it is the exact same thing. it woulnd' t gain you anything that wouldnt have as a DO. if the initials mean that much, you should only apply MD and keep applying til you get in.

 

[spicedmanna]

Do you guys know if someone who gets a DO can later change to MD and if so do they have to start all over?

If you attend and graduate from an osteopathic medical school, you'll learn the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree (DO). You cannot later change your degree to MD. If you want an MD, but not a DO, you'll have to attend and graduate from an allopathic medical school instead. Indeed that is what I would recommend to you, if it is really important for you to earn an MD instead of a DO. Otherwise, you may become unhappy and embittered because you are not getting what you want.

Please take some time to read the FAQ in the PO forum. The DO degree is completely equivalent to the MD degree; both are physicians who practice to the same standard of care and for all practical purposes are indistinguishable, with the exception that DO's learn OMM in medical school, but don't necessarily use it in practice. There was once a significant philosopical and practical divide between the two traditions, osteopathic and allopathic, but that has become, in my opinion, a historical matter at this point in time.

 

[ShyRem]

1. Wrong forum, so I'm going to move it.

2. This has been discussed to death. Please do a search, read the FAQs, and pay particular attention to this thread by Lee. Therefore, I'm also going to close this thread after I move it.