Do you know what a D.O. is

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lonewolf1513

lonewolf1513

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Hey guys/girls i have a gf who goes to a pharmacy school. I recently got accepted in various med schools and i choose an Osteopathic med school over an allopathic med school. She still can't understand why i chose a D.O. route over an M.D. She asked me is that even a real doctor and i was taken back by this comment. I figured that being in a health care field you would know such a thing. So just for my own peace of mind how many of you know what is a D.O. and what are your opinions about them
 
Why are you asking for validation from a bunch of strangers on the internet? If you aren't sitting well with your decision, and you cannot adequately explain to your GF what a DO is without getting upset, you need to rethink your decision on DO, or your GF.
 
I actually know what D.O. means because one of our professors is D.O. I'll start respecting medical degrees when medical professionals start respecting pharmacy degrees.

For the love of God, I can't understand how some medical students can be so clueless about the pharma profession ( I'm still getting occasionally asked if Pharm.D is an associate degree). Or wose - arrogant. Even the ones that go to god forsaken schools like Ross University just to get their med education at any cost seem cocky about the pharma profession.
 
Doctor of.... ******edness ? Oh wait, that would be D.R. ... well maybe I could use the Doctor Of for D.O. and.... oh this is much too hard and confusing for me, good thing I'm going into pharmacy.
 
Lol What would happen (hypothetically) if your girlfriend was taken to the ER and was treated by a physician (D.O.)? I was wondering how the physician would react if he heard that comment...and would your girlfriend accept a prescription ordered by a D.O. or would she request an order written by a P.A./N.P./M.D.?
But props to the OP for representing the osteopathic medicine profession.
As for those who were pre-pharm, most of the pre-pharm students I knew were friends with someone applying to DO schools or had a basic idea of DO as physicians. If not, I would give them just a little description about osteopathic medicine and also mention that they could encounter one if they visited an ER (since some people may not even realize that a doctor treating them in the ER is a D.O. Majority of the ER patients just want a doctor.)
 
lonewolf1513 said:
Hey guys/girls i have a gf who goes to a pharmacy school. I recently got accepted in various med schools and i choose an Osteopathic med school over an allopathic med school. She still can't understand why i chose a D.O. route over an M.D. She asked me is that even a real doctor and i was taken back by this comment. I figured that being in a health care field you would know such a thing. So just for my own peace of mind how many of you know what is a D.O. and what are your opinions about them
Click to expand...

You should listen to your gf on this one. Go with MD.
 
my PCP is a DO, i seem to be alive still...

honestly, there's no difference, BUT if you're not thick skinned enough to handle the criticism from people who largely don't matter, you should probably get the MD and be done with it. everyone who seems to (publicly) criticize DO's come from outside of healthcare.
 
cheburashka said:
I actually know what D.O. means because one of our professors is D.O. I'll start respecting medical degrees when medical professionals start respecting pharmacy degrees.

For the love of God, I can't understand how some medical students can be so clueless about the pharma profession ( I'm still getting occasionally asked if Pharm.D is an associate degree). Or wose - arrogant. Even the ones that go to god forsaken schools like Ross University just to get their med education at any cost seem cocky about the pharma profession.
Click to expand...

yeah i've found most a-holes have something to prove...like someone rubbing in your face that they have a nice car are really poor or something.
 
Your self esteem should not hinge on whether or not pharmacy students know what a DO is. Explain what a DO is to your girlfriend and then move on with your life.
 
I just wanted to know if pharamacy student knew what a D.O. was. It no way reflects my insecurity about being (well starting) a D.O. If that was the case, then well i would have chosen the allopathic part correct ? I did explain it to her and she was okay with the explanation. Please don't talk bad about her, i mean she is my gf and i do have feelings for her. Like i said i just wanted to know how many.
 
I like the holistic approach D.O. physicians take with their patients. I am very big on treating the patient as a whole versus treating solely their symptoms. It seems now a days most physicians are prescribing a medication for a specific symptom. I'd like to see more preventative care measure be implemented, but I feel like Americans are a little ignorant and never look at long term consequences.
 
CK8652 said:
Doctor of.... ******edness ? Oh wait, that would be D.R. ... well maybe I could use the Doctor Of for D.O. and.... oh this is much too hard and confusing for me, good thing I'm going into pharmacy.
Click to expand...

Your post is ******ededness. What..........the hell..............are you taking about man?


I don't distinguish between them as a pharmacy man. I'm aware the med school curriculum differences between the two is often negligible and DOs often complete the same accredited residencies.
 
docss26 said:
I like the holistic approach D.O. physicians take with their patients. I am very big on treating the patient as a whole versus treating solely their symptoms. It seems now a days most physicians are prescribing a medication for a specific symptom. I'd like to see more preventative care measure be implemented, but I feel like Americans are a little ignorant and never look at long term consequences.
Click to expand...


That's an understatement.

Add to that, how most people in this country never take action until it's either too late or almost too late to such an extent that recovery takes a really, really long time.
 
I would think that a lot of pharmacy students should know what that is because many pharmacy schools are in conjunction with osteopathic medical schools. I know LECOM and Nova are two examples.
 
lonewolf1513 said:
Hey guys/girls i have a gf who goes to a pharmacy school. I recently got accepted in various med schools and i choose an Osteopathic med school over an allopathic med school. She still can't understand why i chose a D.O. route over an M.D. She asked me is that even a real doctor and i was taken back by this comment. I figured that being in a health care field you would know such a thing. So just for my own peace of mind how many of you know what is a D.O. and what are your opinions about them
Click to expand...

Why did you come to the internet instead of explaining it to your gf?

I don't like how you're implying that pharmacy students don't know what a D.O. physician does just because one pharmacy student in your life doesn't know about it.
 
I was about to go to bed when I read this last post.

All I will say is... are you kidding me? Do you really need to broadcast how ignorant both you and your gf are?

I'll admit that I didn't know what a D.O. was until a year ago. I probably interacted with them at the Hospital, heck even my physician might be a D.O.; they do the same thing as an M.D. to me and I'm still alive and well.

In the real world, most physicians who have been working for awhile are really nice and humble. It's the newbies and the ones currently in med-school that really piss me off. A good portion think they're supremely gifted and probably a gift to man on earth. The select few also enjoy teasing nurses, pharmacists, and researchers like myself. We're all sorry we didn't choose your path of self-egotism 🙄.

I'll tell you what though, being a TA back in school for undergrads was fun. You realize how much pre-med's care for their grade. They'll fight you tooth and nail for an extra point on an exam, but when it comes to learning stuff or applying knowledge, some fail-uberly.
 
They'll fight you tooth and nail for an extra point on an exam
Click to expand...

Is that any different than anyone else vying for a tough, competitive school? My wife does similar, and she's going into law, because the difference between a 3.90 and a 3.89 can be the difference between yes and no with T14 schools.

I know I was the same in undergraduate, also...
 
Her wondering why you chose DO over MD isn't at all indicative that she doesn't know the difference between the two. It's up to you to explain WHY exactly was that your choice. If you want to, of course.
 
Why do people on here have to be so rude to someone for asking a question, if you don't like what someone is saying close out the screen in stead of trying to belittle someone. We are trying to be Pharmacists and everyday someone is going to annoy us and we have to let it slide. If these are the attitudes of our future Pharmacists, I dread meeting my future coworkers.
 
MrMeowphers said:
I was about to go to bed when I read this last post.

All I will say is... are you kidding me? Do you really need to broadcast how ignorant both you and your gf are?

I'll admit that I didn't know what a D.O. was until a year ago. I probably interacted with them at the Hospital, heck even my physician might be a D.O.; they do the same thing as an M.D. to me and I'm still alive and well.

In the real world, most physicians who have been working for awhile are really nice and humble. It's the newbies and the ones currently in med-school that really piss me off. A good portion think they're supremely gifted and probably a gift to man on earth. The select few also enjoy teasing nurses, pharmacists, and researchers like myself. We're all sorry we didn't choose your path of self-egotism 🙄.

I'll tell you what though, being a TA back in school for undergrads was fun. You realize how much pre-med's care for their grade. They'll fight you tooth and nail for an extra point on an exam, but when it comes to learning stuff or applying knowledge, some fail-uberly.
Click to expand...

Just wait till you encounter one of those doctors that still has the mindset that they are the one making all the decisions and you are just doing what they tell you to. Your opinion means nothing even if they are wrong or could be doing something better with medication therapy. And, yes, there are a fair number of those out there still, both young and old. I agree that the current med students and recent graduates are by far worse and probably watch House M.D. thinking they will one day be that person or even worse, already are.
 
Passion4Sci said:
Is that any different than anyone else vying for a tough, competitive school? My wife does similar, and she's going into law, because the difference between a 3.90 and a 3.89 can be the difference between yes and no with T14 schools.

I know I was the same in undergraduate, also...
Click to expand...

Being "competitive" isn't a bad thing when you make a valid argument on why you actually deserve additional partial-credit on getting a question wrong. Also being competitive means just studying X-amount of hours more to do better than your fellow classmates.

What I'm mostly speaking of is how a lot of the pre-med's that I knew back in school would fight you for a 93, when they got a 92 on an exam. Or maybe fight me for additional points when they obviously got things wrong on their lab reports. Some are never cooperative or team players, they make everything into a "competition." They are the first to brag about getting high grades, while also the first to ask others about their grades when they didn't do so great.

I guess I'm just the odd-one because I have been the guy who has given back points on exams/quizzes when the points were totaled incorrectly even since middle-school. Some of the time I was able to keep the freeby points, other times they were taken back and I ended up with a real B. At least no one can say that I don't have integrity in academia.
 
jmw6t said:
Why do people on here have to be so rude to someone for asking a question, if you don't like what someone is saying close out the screen in stead of trying to belittle someone. We are trying to be Pharmacists and everyday someone is going to annoy us and we have to let it slide. If these are the attitudes of our future Pharmacists, I dread meeting my future coworkers.
Click to expand...

This is a FORUM. This isn't a blog, this isn't your private journal...

If you ask ignorant questions, then be prepared to be flamed by your peers. I've been flamed before for my ignorance, and rightfully I deserved it.

And if you think being bluntly honest is a bad thing, then I hope you enjoy beating around the bush when it comes to dealing with more difficult clientele. :laugh:
 
lonewolf1513 said:
Hey guys/girls i have a gf who goes to a pharmacy school. I recently got accepted in various med schools and i choose an Osteopathic med school over an allopathic med school. She still can't understand why i chose a D.O. route over an M.D. She asked me is that even a real doctor and i was taken back by this comment. I figured that being in a health care field you would know such a thing. So just for my own peace of mind how many of you know what is a D.O. and what are your opinions about them
Click to expand...

a DO is a doctor that spends more time studying the musculoskeletal system.
if you ask an MD about DO, they would think you are an inferior since you didn't have 4.0 and a 30 to get into an MD school because 5% of physicians are DOs.
 
They are pretty much all the same, except the DO's are more highly trained when it comes to manipulation techniques. Personally for me, a manipulation technique from a DO versus a spinal adjustment from a chiropractic is a lot better for pain relief.
 
xoo said:
a DO is a doctor that spends more time studying the musculoskeletal system.
if you ask an MD about DO, they would think you are an inferior since you didn't have 4.0 and a 30 to get into an MD school because 5% of physicians are DOs.
Click to expand...

Bad assumption. In the workforce people rarely hold immature mentalities such as this. Check AMCAS, the stats are not even that far apart.
 
atticus27 said:
Bad assumption. In the workforce people rarely hold immature mentalities such as this. Check AMCAS, the stats are not even that far apart.
Click to expand...

Agreed, the Statistics are fairly close (more so then the M.D.'s would like us to believe with all of their bad-mouthing). Some D.O. programs also have higher admission statistics then other M.D. programs.

I believe the most interesting and important statistic is that D.O.'s that graduate within the States have a higher chance of getting into a residency then an M.D. that graduated from the Caribbean schools.

But who cares! In the end they all get to practice and do what they want :scared:
 
Of course I know what an MD and a DO is. An MD is a Mega-Doctor, and a DO is just a normal DOctor.

Why is this in the pre-pharm forum anyways? Someone here should go ask the pre-allos if they know what a PharmD is just for good measure.
 
Last edited:
atticus27 said:
Your post is ******ededness. What..........the hell..............are you taking about man?


I don't distinguish between them as a pharmacy man. I'm aware the med school curriculum differences between the two is often negligible and DOs often complete the same accredited residencies.
Click to expand...

I'm answering the question he asked, if we know what D.O. is, so then I'm calling him a ******, and then acting like a confused ****** that is the pharmacy student. The main point of him posting this is to call pharmacy students idiots, so I called him a ******. Apparently, this was too much for you to comprehend, hence your pharmacy designation! Maybe he is right!
 
xoo said:
a DO is a doctor that spends more time studying the musculoskeletal system.
if you ask an MD about DO, they would think you are an inferior since you didn't have 4.0 and a 30 to get into an MD school because 5% of physicians are DOs.
Click to expand...


You do know that some DO programs are harder to get into in the U.S than some MD programs right?
 
dryoda said:
your self esteem should not hinge on whether or not pharmacy students know what a do is. Explain what a do is to your girlfriend and then move on with your life.
Click to expand...
+1,000,000
 
In a pharmacist's eyes, there is no difference between the two. They are both independent prescribers.
 
Kinopiko said:
You do know that some DO programs are harder to get into in the U.S than some MD programs right?
Click to expand...

If you were hiring and had to choose between an M.D. and a D.O. and knew nothing else except that, honestly, which would you pick? That right there should say something about how D.O. is viewed (I personally think DO is great but MD is slightly better)

*I know my situation is hypothetical so please don't get stuck on that.
 
lonewolf1513 said:
Hey guys/girls i have a gf who goes to a pharmacy school. I recently got accepted in various med schools and i choose an Osteopathic med school over an allopathic med school. She still can't understand why i chose a D.O. route over an M.D. She asked me is that even a real doctor and i was taken back by this comment. I figured that being in a health care field you would know such a thing. So just for my own peace of mind how many of you know what is a D.O. and what are your opinions about them
Click to expand...
nike-just-do-it.jpg
😀
 
MrMeowphers said:
I guess I'm just the odd-one because I have been the guy who has given back points on exams/quizzes when the points were totaled incorrectly even since middle-school. Some of the time I was able to keep the freeby points, other times they were taken back and I ended up with a real B. At least no one can say that I don't have integrity in academia.
Click to expand...
I did this in undergrad. In my case, when I made the decision to come to the US, I also decided that when I was done, no one would be able to look me in the face and tell me that I didn't earn the degree I deserved.

I fought for every point I legitimately deserved, and if points were totaled incorrectly or if I got a question wrong but it was marked correct, I would point it out to the instructor. I was always given the points "for my honesty."
 
I do like the holistic approach that D.O.s take. However, if it was me, I would get the M.D. But, your happiness is what is important. Nobody wants to go to a job everyday for 30 years that they do not like.
 
I know what a D.O. is. It's more common in the Midwest. Most lay people do not know what it is.
 
I only know what DO is cause I considered it at one point, before that I had heard of it but had no clue it was the equivalent of an MD.
 
lonewolf1513 said:
Hey guys/girls i have a gf who goes to a pharmacy school. I recently got accepted in various med schools and i choose an Osteopathic med school over an allopathic med school. She still can't understand why i chose a D.O. route over an M.D. She asked me is that even a real doctor and i was taken back by this comment. I figured that being in a health care field you would know such a thing. So just for my own peace of mind how many of you know what is a D.O. and what are your opinions about them
Click to expand...

I know what D.O. means.

They are "real doctors."

They study the same material if not more.

They can take and pass the same tests.

States give them the same license.

They can sit for the same boards.

The DEA gives them the same magic numbers.

Collectively, the schools have a more realistic outlook and realize pre-physicians and physician students are people looking for a meaningful job and not some kind of academic grade ***** out to stroke their ego as opposed to many "M.D. schools."
 
cheburashka said:
I actually know what D.O. means because one of our professors is D.O. I'll start respecting medical degrees when medical professionals start respecting pharmacy degrees.

For the love of God, I can't understand how some medical students can be so clueless about the pharma profession ( I'm still getting occasionally asked if Pharm.D is an associate degree). Or wose - arrogant. Even the ones that go to god forsaken schools like Ross University just to get their med education at any cost seem cocky about the pharma profession.
Click to expand...


Associate degree? That was hilarious! 6-8 years of schooling is one nice associate degree. Speaking of ignorance though, I argued with some douchebag about how to become a pharmacist, one has to have a PharmD, also known as Doctor of Pharmacy. He just wasn't buying it. He insisted it was a Masters program and did not even know that such a thing as PharmD existed. The worst of all is that he plans on becoming a pharmacist and has already started taking freshman classes.
 
I know about DOs. They have the same curriculum as MDs but also learn additional joint manipulation techniques. Many think they're like chiropractors or something else, so some even write D.O. then Dr. or Doc. on their name tags to clarify.

It may be best to assume everyone is dumb as nails until they show otherwise. That means repeating things over three times or more until they get pissed or insulted.
 
No Time To Lift said:
Associate degree? That was hilarious! 6-8 years of schooling is one nice associate degree. Speaking of ignorance though, I argued with some douchebag about how to become a pharmacist, one has to have a PharmD, also known as Doctor of Pharmacy. He just wasn't buying it. He insisted it was a Masters program and did not even know that such a thing as PharmD existed. The worst of all is that he plans on becoming a pharmacist and has already started taking freshman classes.
Click to expand...

Isolated the problem.
 
Passion4Sci said:
Isolated the problem.
Click to expand...
We all realize that is the problem, but what really alarmed was how sure he was. He looked as if he could bet ten grand on the fact that a pharmacist gets a masters degree. He was also really sure that it's a six year program. He just wasn't hearing when I was trying to explain that a large portion of people actually apply with a bachelor's degree.

Oh, I forgot the best part. He actually thinks that he has a great chance to get into the Rutgers Pharmacy school!
 
No Time To Lift said:
We all realize that is the problem, but what really alarmed was how sure he was. He looked as if he could bet ten grand on the fact that a pharmacist gets a masters degree. He was also really sure that it's a six year program. He just wasn't hearing when I was trying to explain that a large portion of people actually apply with a bachelor's degree.

Oh, I forgot the best part. He actually thinks that he has a great chance to get into the Rutgers Pharmacy school!
Click to expand...

Well, I'm totally assuming here, but he's young and that accounts for the "Damn it, I'm right!" mentality.

Perhaps, before it comes time for him to apply to schools, he'll get some experience and life under his belt and can open his eyes a bit. Refer him to SDN next time you see him, maybe. Although you can lead a horse to water, you can't make him drink... you should at least try!
 
that's easy a D.O. stands for doctor of optometry and you look at eyes and stuff. even my 15 year old son knows that.
 
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