do you tell people you go to an "osteopathic" medical school?

[medme93026]

do you tell people you go to an "osteopathic" medical school, which leads to a discussion of osteo vs allo? or do you just say medical school to save the trouble, although might be a tad deceiving because you know they will be assuming allo.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[dr.z]

It may depend on who asks. If the person may know about osteopathic medical schools, or if I'm close to them I would tell them. Otherwise I leave it as medical school since I don't want to explain too much.

 

[jonb12997]

I say I'm in Medical School at the UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine

 

[Megalofyia]

I dont see how it's deceptive to say your in medical school seing as how you are actually in medical school.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I dont see how it's deceptive to say your in medical school seing as how you are actually in medical school.

that's true. if i go to an osteopathic medical school, i plan on just saying i'm a medical student and leave it at that. i did have some guy here in portland tell me that his girlfriend went to medical school here, so i asked if she liked ohsu. it turns out, she was going to our naturopathic school -- i did feel a little deceived with that one.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

I dont see how it's deceptive to say your in medical school seing as how you are actually in medical school.

I don't see it either... it's like asking when you graduate and do a surgery residnecy, will you say " I'm an osteopathic surgeon" or will you say " I'm a surgeon"?

 

[Old_Mil]

do you tell people you go to an "osteopathic" medical school, which leads to a discussion of osteo vs allo? or do you just say medical school to save the trouble, although might be a tad deceiving because you know they will be assuming allo.

It's no more or less deceiving for a student at an osteopathic medical school to say that they are in "medical school" than it is for a student at an allopathic institution to do so.

That having been said, I never utter the word "osteopathic" to anyone but family because the minute you say that, a majority of the people out there think you're going to school to be a chiropractor.

 

[raidermedic]

Do the allo students tell people they go to an allopathic school?

 

[beastmaster]

It doesn't matter what you say. Soon as the word "school" or "student" leaves your mouth you will be asked where. Unless your answer is a lie or incomprehensible it will include the word osteopathic.

That's why I simply avoid interacting with people altogether.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

It doesn't matter what you say. Soon as the word "school" or "student" leaves your mouth you will be asked where. Unless your answer is a lie or incomprehensible it will include the word osteopathic.

That's why I simply avoid interacting with people altogether.

I just say Western University... unless I'm talking to a physician or another medical student - then I'll say COMP since that eliminates the whole " what's a D.O. convo while time is scarce) . Works out. And this is really a senseless post, especially considering my Gross Anatomy final is tomorrow. Peace.

 

[Elysium]

I never told anyone I went to a DO school unless it specifically came up. If I got into a detailed conversation with other med students, then I would mention it if they asked where I went. Most of the time, it's just too much of a pain in the ass to bring up.

 

[raptor5]

Most of the time I just say PCOM. Most people in the greater Philadelphia area know about PCOM. They may say "where is it at? and I say "right off City Line Ave" and they say "oh that's right" The only people who care are Premeds and uptight med students.

 

[OSUdoc08]

do you tell people you go to an "osteopathic" medical school, which leads to a discussion of osteo vs allo? or do you just say medical school to save the trouble, although might be a tad deceiving because you know they will be assuming allo.

I tell them if it is relevant. If they just need to know I'm going to be a physician, then I just say medical school. If they are someone that is familiar with osteopathic medicine or are someone who would benefit from the knowledge of it, then I would be more specific.

You don't hear people going around announcing that they go to allopathic medical school.

 

[CTashby]

Why do some of you try to avoid the questions about the osteopathic profession? There is no reason to be embarrassed about where you go to school or the fact that you will not be an MD. Just be up front about it. I've found that it is an opportunity to fix the inacuracies that exist about DOs. take this time to tell people who we are and what we can do. When ever I get done telling people that i'm going to an Osteopathic school they say, "So the only difference between you and an MD is that you learn more and can do more?" I say, "yes, (as well as some of our philosophies)" then the final question is, "Then why doesn't everyone go to a DO school?" That question, i cannot answer. I can only tell them why I do.

I understand the unwillingness to get into it with people who think DOs are chiropractors. but please, don't try to hide what you are. When asked, I say I'm a medical student. when asked where, I say chicago osteopathic. then i get the questions and give my spiel. You know you will be a fully priveledged physician, but other people do not.

We are a growing minority. If we don't advocate for ourselves, who will?

 

[Old_Mil]

We are a growing minority. If we don't advocate for ourselves, who will?

I fully intend to advocate for myself as *a physician*. I plan on doing this by joining the AMA and building bridges there. As for spending my time advocating for a treatment modality that I will never use - why bother?

 

[Dies Irae]

I tell people that I am a gigalo. Problem solved.

 

[Shinken]

do you tell people you go to an "osteopathic" medical school, which leads to a discussion of osteo vs allo? or do you just say medical school to save the trouble, although might be a tad deceiving because you know they will be assuming allo.

I usually tell people I attend an institution of higher learning that emphasizes health-sciences-like subjects. If they press me for more detail I scream at the top of my lungs "NOOO! FOR THE LAST TIME, I'M NOT A DO STUDENT!! NOOOOO! I'M SOO EMBARRASED!" Then I run away while wiping away my tears.

 

[babyruth]

I fully intend to advocate for myself as *a physician*. I plan on doing this by joining the AMA and building bridges there. As for spending my time advocating for a treatment modality that I will never use - why bother?

Ouch... why go to an osteopathic school then?

 

[dcratamt]

I fully intend to advocate for myself as *a physician*. I plan on doing this by joining the AMA and building bridges there. As for spending my time advocating for a treatment modality that I will never use - why bother?

Exactly,..........why did you bother to go to a DO school that is?

 

[Doc 2b]

 

[(nicedream)]

Ouch... why go to an osteopathic school then?

5% of DOs use OMM...people that go to osteopathic school for that are a severe minority.

 

[raptor5]

I fully intend to advocate for myself as *a physician*. I plan on doing this by joining the AMA and building bridges there. As for spending my time advocating for a treatment modality that I will never use - why bother?

I agree. From a political aspect it is far more efficacious to play a role in the AMA than the AOA. It really depends on your priorities and the battles you choose to fight though. In my mind the MD vs. DO 'Holy War is over and it is time that we put aside our differences and strive for what's really important. Patient education, care, and compliance , better reimbursement, and loan repayment initiatives to name a few for which none of these issues is dependent upon the two letters behind your name.

 

[dcratamt]

5% of DOs use OMM...people that go to osteopathic school for that are a severe minority.

Your absolutely right,.........and hence we have threads like this where students say DO school and nobody knows what they mean. I am not unaware that 95% of DO's are Oreopaths but i don't have to be happy about it. Distinction or extinction. I am not blaming the students either but if you know you don't want anything to do with the Osteopathic philosophy then go to MD school.

 

[Portier]

I usually say I went to medical School in Des Moines.

Then when people (family) tell other people that they have a Dr in the family, or they have a friend whose a doctor, I always end up being at Iowa State.

It's hard enough getting family and friends to remember "Third Year Medical Student" and "Rotations" versus "internship" and "Residency."

Residency and Rotations both start with R, and get mistaken for each other often by the lay public.

With all these little details to inculcate upon the masses, the DO conversation can wait. People who know about DO's don't care or think it's cool that you know more stuff...people that don't know about DO's, don't understand the first 5 times you tell them.

I assigned my mothe to read the Gevitz so she could tell all her friends about it. Saves me the trouble.

On rotations, if it's a physician, I'll tell them it's an Osteopathic School if it comes up, but I'm not the annoying guy who can't stop talking about how cool DO school was. People that wait for an opportunity then mention it are OK.

People who MAKE opportunities to pontificate, interrupt preceptors to try to do OMM, or espouse that everything but rigor mortis can be treated by OMM are histrionic and should consider vocal cord resection.

Just a fun fact: I'm reading an article on Medical Marriages from 1956 right now, and in it chiropractors, Osteopaths, and Christian Scientists are all referred to as cults in one breath.

 

[Megalofyia]

Your absolutely right,.........and hence we have threads like this where students say DO school and nobody knows what they mean. I am not unaware that 95% of DO's are Oreopaths but i don't have to be happy about it. Distinction or extinction. I am not blaming the students either but if you know you don't want anything to do with the Osteopathic philosophy then go to MD school.

I am assuming that you are aware that there is more to the Osteopathic philosophy than just OMM?

 

[dcratamt]

I am assuming that you are aware that there is more to the Osteopathic philosophy than just OMM?

Yeah there is the medicine portion too. I am assuming you know that the OMM portion however is the only thing that separates us from MD's, or are you one of those politically correct folks who claim the difference is a nebulous "holistic approach?"

 

[Megalofyia]

I'm far from PC.. but I do know that I came into school not knowing a whole lot about actual OMM stuff other than a couple of things that I thought were pretty neat. Now two months later I have a lot more respect for the DO philosophy.. OMM aside ... Some of the stuff we're taught is different than allopathic philosophy. Maybe my class has a good way of talking about osteopathic concepts than other classes. I know when I talk to my nursing friends, who work with MDs and DOs and I tell them about how we approached a case (I'm PBL) or what I learned in the philosophy part of OPP they will say things like "oh... why dont ALL doctors do that?"
Back to the OMM stuff -- After finishing Jones Counterstrain stuff I really dont see myself using this much if ever and it doesn't make me feel any less DOish to know that. The DO schools, I think, and ESPECIALLY that big green OMM book dont do a good job selling OMM to people. I would NEVER let anyone touch that big green OMM manual unless I wanted them to think that all of OMM was vodo.

 

[Old_Mil]

Exactly,..........why did you bother to go to a DO school that is?

To become a doctor - and by that I mean admit, prescribe, and operate. If the lesion osteopaths had carried the day in the 1920s and these treatment modalities had not become available to DOs, I wouldn't have applied to DO schools.

Interestingly enough, the comment was made earlier that DOs must either be distinct or become extinct. I have the completely opposite view. The status of the profession is directly correlated to the degree to which DOs have abandoned their historic roots and come to embrace modern medicine. The willingness of DOs to do this is why DOs are regarded as physicians and not variant chiropractors.

We should take the next step and make OMM an elective. I suspect the enrollment figures in that elective, or lack thereof, will prove my point.

 

[Vince]

I tell people I wait tables.

 

[(nicedream)]

To become a doctor - and by that I mean admit, prescribe, and operate. If the lesion osteopaths had carried the day in the 1920s and these treatment modalities had not become available to DOs, I wouldn't have applied to DO schools.

Interestingly enough, the comment was made earlier that DOs must either be distinct or become extinct. I have the completely opposite view. The status of the profession is directly correlated to the degree to which DOs have abandoned their historic roots and come to embrace modern medicine. The willingness of DOs to do this is why DOs are regarded as physicians and not variant chiropractors.

We should take the next step and make OMM an elective. I suspect the enrollment figures in that elective, or lack thereof, will prove my point.

Amen.

 

[stoleyerscrubz]

repeat post. sorry

 

[stoleyerscrubz]

Could you go into more detail about what you meant about Osteopathic philosophy is more than OMM? Apart from the holistic approach which is being taught in MD schools as well what are you thoughts? Here you mention PBL but from what I understand MD schools and DO schools are doing this and PBL is not a standard format for learning in DO schools. Don't want to make mistakes in my interviews or secondaries. Thanks.

I'm far from PC.. but I do know that I came into school not knowing a whole lot about actual OMM stuff other than a couple of things that I thought were pretty neat. Now two months later I have a lot more respect for the DO philosophy.. OMM aside ... Some of the stuff we're taught is different than allopathic philosophy. Maybe my class has a good way of talking about osteopathic concepts than other classes. I know when I talk to my nursing friends, who work with MDs and DOs and I tell them about how we approached a case (I'm PBL) or what I learned in the philosophy part of OPP they will say things like "oh... why dont ALL doctors do that?"
Back to the OMM stuff -- After finishing Jones Counterstrain stuff I really dont see myself using this much if ever and it doesn't make me feel any less DOish to know that. The DO schools, I think, and ESPECIALLY that big green OMM book dont do a good job selling OMM to people. I would NEVER let anyone touch that big green OMM manual unless I wanted them to think that all of OMM was vodo.

 

[OSUdoc08]

5% of DOs use OMM...people that go to osteopathic school for that are a severe minority.

What is your source for this statistic?

 

[Megalofyia]

I'm not saying PBL is part of being a DO at all... I simply mentioned that to explain how I have cases to approach.

When we discuss treatments for patients we look at diet, home life, alternative treatments, drugs, etc. We are constantly focused on how structure and function are related, how the body is a unit, etc.. We then discuss how in our particular cases these tenents apply. I'm sure I could get the same thing in an allopathic school but it wouldn't be stressed as much.

I didn't necessarily start out on the path of applying to DO schools because I was so keen on actually becoming a DO. I had other more selfish reasons for applying. I wanted to be in with an older general student population and a less gunner like setting. Like I said above, I am gaining more respect for the profession as I realize that there is more to make a DO unique in theory than OMM. A lot of DOs in practice mask that they are DOs and also inadvertently become more allopathic in their practice out of convinience. It is easier to just treat the underlying condition and faster and more economical.

Apart from that the holistic approach isn't REALLY being taught in allopathic schools. It's just pretty common sense that if someone has asthma and lives in a house with pets, carpet, dust etc that they are going to have to think about changing some of their lifestyle setting. And as far as alternative and complementary medicine it's usually just a couple of classes on that and some times even that is just an elective.

So I guess if your afraid to be making mistakes on this on your interviews and applications then you another DO as back-up plan person?

 

[stoleyerscrubz]

I'm only applying to DO schools. Originally I was going to use DO schools as a backup but after doing volunteer work in 2 allopathic settings and one osteopathic I decided DO is the way to go. I'm not applying to any MD schools.

Also I'm in the same boat you were in that I'm hoping to be with people who I think "they are just like me". In the osteopathic setting I really felt that the doctors were more "accessible".

So I guess if your afraid to be making mistakes on this on your interviews and applications then you another DO as back-up plan person?

 

[(nicedream)]

What is your source for this statistic?

Feb. 1997 issue of JAOA.

 

[CTashby]

I too went to a DO school to become a surgeon. Before i went in, I didn't give a crap whether or not i learned omt or not. Now that I'm here however, i'm going to learn it and I'm going to take the opportunities to do it.
I admit, as a future surgeon I will probably seldom if ever use omt. I will also never perform pap smears, deliver babies or manage a patients chronic hypertension but while i'm in school, given the opportunity, i'm going to learn how to do these things. This is my own personal philosophy and I never tell people what to think or how to go about their lives. Its your own choice and your own education.
I really don't care if you learn omt or not. I do not preach to anyone or claim (or even think) that DOs are better than MDs in any way. I've never been through an MD school and neither have any of the DOs here, making it impossible for me to claim that DOs have more of a "Holistic" approach. This is simply what we are told by our administrators to make us feel special on our first day of school.
As far as making OMT optional, however, i simply have to disagree. It is part of our training just as pathology, microbiology and biochem are. Actually, i wouldn't have minded if biochem was optional. I think i could have done without it. Oh, and embryology. I had forgotten all of that five minutes after the final.

The bottom line is: lets all just get along. do omt if you want. or not. who cares? (your patients do appreciate it though)

 

[docbill]

I wish there is a thread for people who don't wish to have a pissing competition.

For those who don't care if one goes MD or DO (or DD, ND or PDM or DC etc..)

For those who are not too young or imature to care about DO or MD or FMG or my left ball is bigger then your left ball.

A thread where no matter what route you choose no one really gives a $hit. Where there are no hard core DO's that defend their profession to the grave and confused about where they belong in the medical profession. I see lots of aggression coming from DO/Pre-DO students.. and I am getting sick of it.

Both roots will make me a doctor. Surely one has lower MCAT and GPA requirement. But you know what ... that is life, if I paid more attention in undergrad, I would not sit here wasting my time posting this.

Deal with it and stop feeding these stupid threads.

 

[docbill]

BTW... OMM/OMT is being used by people outside the osteopathic profession. I saw a sport kinesiologist on TV explaining this as if it was their own. I have also herd of physiotherapist describe similar things, and even acupuncturist talking about improving the blood flow to the muscle.

blahhh blahhh blahhh

 

[docbill]

Sorryyyy wrong thread.. I thought I was posting under OMM which school has the least.

Regarding this thread.... Let me start again.

I would say, I am going to school still busting my balls and broke with a great big dept. Put me out my pain, PLEASE.

 

[DrFeelgoodDO]

BTW... OMM/OMT is being used by people outside the osteopathic profession. I saw a sport kinesiologist on TV explaining this as if it was their own. I have also herd of physiotherapist describe similar things, and even acupuncturist talking about improving the blood flow to the muscle.

blahhh blahhh blahhh

Docbill, FYI, what they call physiotherapist in Canada is a physical therapist here in the states. Unless you've been to Canada before, one would never know. I really am not trying to be critical at all (I know we have had issues in the past), I'm just trying to help you out for when you train down here.

 

[Megalofyia]

Well... one could know without going to Canada. The same thing applies in Ireland and England too.

 

[Portier]

Well... one could know without going to Canada. The same thing applies in Ireland and England too.

and mars...

but homeopathy...THERE's a cult.

JK

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

But you know what ... that is life, if I paid more attention in undergrad, I would not sit here wasting my time posting this.

And this is precisely why Im at a DO school. Not because I believe in OMT, not because I think the philosophy is awesome, or any other reason besides my MD applications only yielded waitlists (i screwed around as an undergrad) and I didnt want to wait another year.

By the way, I tell this to anyone that asks why I went to a DO school instead of an MD one.

 

[javandane]

i think most of us who are enrolled in osteopathic med schools are the same students who, in high school, were described by our teachers as those who are "very bright, but don't apply ourselves".

plenty of people in undergrad who slacked as much as we did and who are sitting in allopathic classrooms right now. . . .

 

[DrB]

Just wanted to quickly add my 2cents to this thread. I for one enjoy telling friends and family where I go to school and that I am an OMS. I have chosen this path with the understanding that I will forever be explaining to my patients what a DO is. Right now, I am practicing...

-Stressed, but happy OMS I

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

i think most of us who are enrolled in osteopathic med schools are the same students who, in high school, were described by our teachers as those who are "very bright, but don't apply ourselves".

plenty of people in undergrad who slacked as much as we did and who are sitting in allopathic classrooms right now. . . .

This is true, however, my strong MCAT score was not nearly strong enough to offset my utterly horrendous UGPA.

 

[Portier]

My only hope is that my cohort will have the serenity to know the difference between when it's "right" to explain about being a D.O. and when it's "forced."

for 99% of the Peds patients I've seen so far on this rotation (200 at last night's count +~10% of my reports that I lost due to technical problems in the software.) have NO need or desire to hear about medical politics.

Conversely, yesterday I had a 13 y/o white female with SD of the lumbar spine. The MD (LSU grad 1957) was more than happy to let me spend some additional time on what I described to him and the family as "Physical Medicine" initially.

When I found an appropriate treatment table, and was in process of diagnosing and treating adjunct SD's, I explained about DO's and the history.

Converse to that Conversely, there was a knee pain problem that came up on another 14 y/o female...probably JRA upon H/P. No need for OMM or it's discussion.

In the middle: 14 y/o female with c/o sprained ankle. I asked the MD (LSU grad 1981) if she had read anything about resetting the talus in the mortise and it's effect on recovery from sprained ankles. She had not, and seemed a little confused. So, I opted NOT to push my "Physical medicine" in the situation where my preceptor was not entirely comfortable with what I might be doing.

I believe that its more important to forge strong professional relationships, and allow your additional training to manifest itself through well timed and carefully chose moments rather than charging in with pistols blazing. "Dr P, have you heard about this?" 2 days later: "Dr P, I read this in an article, are you interested in hearing about it?" 90% of the time they'll probably feign interest even if it's not their thing. And by not being forceful, and allowing time for the concepts to sink in, you'll have accomplished what Steven Covey calls a "Win-Win scenario." They get to learn while saving face, you get to educate and practice the best medicine you know how while forging a strong professional relationship.

OMM is a great thing, and I get excited when it's appropriate to use, but for the most part, you're just another physician like the rest. Runny noses don't all require Cranial. Broken arms need X-rays more than manipulation. HOWEVER, when it's clearly a SD....I am finding that testing the water and keeping rapport with the allopathic preceptors is much more acceptable and builds stronger relationships than a hardline conservative statement about osteopathic medicine.

Now to read more about medicine.....life is grand!

 

[dasta]

Why do some of you try to avoid the questions about the osteopathic profession? . . ."Then why doesn't everyone go to a DO school?" That question, i cannot answer. I can only tell them why I do . . .I understand the unwillingness to get into it with people who think DOs are chiropractors. We are a growing minority. If we don't advocate for ourselves, who will?

The world has been brainwashed through history that the only people who are true doctors are M.D.'s, thereby disenfranchising via word alone all those others who have also done doctoral work: DO's, OD's, PhD's, ND's, EdD's, chiropractors, ScD's, etc. When someone says doctor, people naturally think "medical doctor," hence M.D.

But, in my opinion, DO's are also responsible for their own obscurity through their behavior of hiding their credentials and avoiding explaining that DO's are medical doctors, too. At my doctor's office and in the surgery wards, all the DO's wear lab coats or scrubs that say "Dr. _____" while all the MD's wear lab coats that say "____ M.D." Why not say "____ DO"? I recently saw book by "Dr. Tom Yee", a DO, while all the other medical books written by MD's say things like "_____ M.D." Why? I saw a newspaper ad for a DO plastic surgeon. Dressed in scrubs, smiling, but no where on the ad does it say DO except in small print. His scrubs say "Dr. Craig ____." Why doesn't it say, "Craig ___ DO"

As long as DO's hide their credentials the rest of the world is never going to know what DO's are and what they can do vis-a-vis MD.s Training more DO's helps, but DO's need to stop hiding who they really are from the public, who are the ones to disseminate what DO's are like.

 

[OSUdoc08]

The world has been brainwashed through history that the only people who are true doctors are M.D.'s, thereby disenfranchising via word alone all those others who have also done doctoral work: DO's, OD's, PhD's, ND's, EdD's, chiropractors, ScD's, etc. When someone says doctor, people naturally think "medical doctor," hence M.D.

But, in my opinion, DO's are also responsible for their own obscurity through their behavior of hiding their credentials and avoiding explaining that DO's are medical doctors, too. At my doctor's office and in the surgery wards, all the DO's wear lab coats or scrubs that say "Dr. _____" while all the MD's wear lab coats that say "____ M.D." Why not say "____ DO"? I recently saw book by "Dr. Tom Yee", a DO, while all the other medical books written by MD's say things like "_____ M.D." Why? I saw a newspaper ad for a DO plastic surgeon. Dressed in scrubs, smiling, but no where on the ad does it say DO except in small print. His scrubs say "Dr. Craig ____." Why doesn't it say, "Craig ___ DO"

As long as DO's hide their credentials the rest of the world is never going to know what DO's are and what they can do vis-a-vis MD.s Training more DO's helps, but DO's need to stop hiding who they really are from the public, who are the ones to disseminate what DO's are like.

All the hospitals I've worked in have "____, DO" on the white coats.