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While I was an osteopathic medical student, I had some entries in this forum regarding the question of US trained DOs being able to practice in Europe. You can still find the thread if you search for my name, gnotz.
There are some who assume that American DOs would only be able to practice manipulation in Europe, but would not be able to gain actual medical licenses. This may be true in Great Britain. It is different for other countries.
In Germany, there is a large number of MDs who are taking OMM classes at night school because OMM is becoming so popular among German patients that it turns out to be a real money maker. They are becoming "physician osteopaths".
Also, there are German "non-physician osteopaths" who only went to school to learn OMM. They then have to practice under what's called a "healing practitioner's license". Both groups have their respective associations in Germany.
The reason why US MDs may not have an advantage over US DOs when applying for a German license is the following:
The doctor's degree is not needed in Germany to obtain a medical license. In Germany, a doctor's degree is not automatically awarded upon completion of med school. It actually requires the completion and defense of a thesis, similar to US PhD programs. Not all physicians choose to do that. As a result, there are many physicians practicing in Germany who actually do not have a doctor's degree. They are just physicians. This does not limit their privileges or their practice in any way, they are still qualified and face no restrictions. They just can't call themselves MD. Patients and hospital staff still call them "Doctor", but technically they are not. Most German physicians try to put in the extra effort to obtain an MD (Dr.med.) degree for marketing reason's - it looks more impressive to patients on the shingle.
So if you, as a foreign trained physician, want a German medical license, all the German licensing board cares about (besides your language skills and immigration status) is, if you have a license in the country you are from. Whether your degree is MD or DO doesn't make a difference to them, because they don't recognize the MD degree either.
Unless you are an MD/PhD, you will not get a German Dr's degree with an American MD, however you can get a German license. The same holds true for a DO degree.
Some time has passed since that first post of mine in 2002 - I am an American trained DO now and have applied for and recently received my German medical license (and I am by no means the first one to do that).
Now I am just curious about one thing: What would happen if I tried to go to Great Britain ? GB does not allow DOs to practice there as physicians. But my German medical license is freely transferrable to any place in the European Union of which Great Britain is a member. Interesting dilemma...
I should try just for the heck of it.
There are some who assume that American DOs would only be able to practice manipulation in Europe, but would not be able to gain actual medical licenses. This may be true in Great Britain. It is different for other countries.
In Germany, there is a large number of MDs who are taking OMM classes at night school because OMM is becoming so popular among German patients that it turns out to be a real money maker. They are becoming "physician osteopaths".
Also, there are German "non-physician osteopaths" who only went to school to learn OMM. They then have to practice under what's called a "healing practitioner's license". Both groups have their respective associations in Germany.
The reason why US MDs may not have an advantage over US DOs when applying for a German license is the following:
The doctor's degree is not needed in Germany to obtain a medical license. In Germany, a doctor's degree is not automatically awarded upon completion of med school. It actually requires the completion and defense of a thesis, similar to US PhD programs. Not all physicians choose to do that. As a result, there are many physicians practicing in Germany who actually do not have a doctor's degree. They are just physicians. This does not limit their privileges or their practice in any way, they are still qualified and face no restrictions. They just can't call themselves MD. Patients and hospital staff still call them "Doctor", but technically they are not. Most German physicians try to put in the extra effort to obtain an MD (Dr.med.) degree for marketing reason's - it looks more impressive to patients on the shingle.
So if you, as a foreign trained physician, want a German medical license, all the German licensing board cares about (besides your language skills and immigration status) is, if you have a license in the country you are from. Whether your degree is MD or DO doesn't make a difference to them, because they don't recognize the MD degree either.
Unless you are an MD/PhD, you will not get a German Dr's degree with an American MD, however you can get a German license. The same holds true for a DO degree.
Some time has passed since that first post of mine in 2002 - I am an American trained DO now and have applied for and recently received my German medical license (and I am by no means the first one to do that).
Now I am just curious about one thing: What would happen if I tried to go to Great Britain ? GB does not allow DOs to practice there as physicians. But my German medical license is freely transferrable to any place in the European Union of which Great Britain is a member. Interesting dilemma...
I should try just for the heck of it.
