Explain to me the difference between a DO and MD

[theDr.]

thanks

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[MDmiracle]

With regards to everything important, there is no difference. Licensure, residency, and practice rights are all the same. DO's get additional training in the musculoskeletal system because their philosophy is that the body is good at healing itself so in most cases we simply need to aid it. They do that by doing manipulative medicine of varying types to help blood flow and nerve transduction to aid in the healing process. However, they can and do prescribe medication and do anything else that an MD does, they just have the extra tool of manipulation.

Hope that helps; also search on this topic it has been coverage at length.

 

[kpax18]

"Search"
The best friend to have on SDN.

 

[Shinken]

I hope you're not attempting to start another war here...

Anyway, MD's have the AMA and DO's have the AOA. Check out their website for info:

www.aoa-net.org

 

[XCanadianRagwee]

covering my eyes and running away before this gets ugly....

 

[sophiejane]

If people truly wanted an answer to that question, they would do a Google search and be done with it. Or an SDN search.

How about we all agree to refer such basic questions to internet search engines? Specific questions, I'd be willing to entertain. But there is nothing we can say to such basic questions that is not better said by www.aoa.net

My hunch is that some people get off on starting things--not necessarily the O/P, but maybe it is best to just refer these folks to the proper references for answers to general questions.

Just a thought.

 

[NDESTRUKT]

i was so tempted to ask that question at my med school interview - for ****s and giggles of course...but i knew that the interviewers would find it stupid and unprofessional...but inside i was laughing to myself about how someone at a DO school interview would react.

 

[sophiejane]

um, yeah, not such a good question to ask at your interview.

 

[DOtobe]

I remember when I interviewed at PCOM they asked me what attracted me to osteopathic school, and I said some stuff about the treating the whole person, having another method of treatment and not just telling people to pop pills, etc. and then I said something like "and I see how OMT can work well after seeing how my dad feels after going to the chiropractor." I think that pissed them off because they gave me a dirty look. I now know that it is blasphemy to a DO to compare them to a chiropractor. My pre-med mind didn't know that yet...

Another thing not to say during an interview

 

[Dr JPH]

The slightest mention of the "value" of chiropractors brings jeers from a room full of PCOMers.

Shame on you DOtobe...keep your blasphemous self on THAT side of the state!

LOL



JP

 

[DOtobe]

Originally posted by JPHazelton
The slightest mention of the "value" of chiropractors brings jeers from a room full of PCOMers.

Shame on you DOtobe...keep your blasphemous self on THAT side of the state!

LOL



JP

Yeah, I definitely saw the wrath of those PCOM'ers that day.

 

[doc05]

the main difference is that DO students partied through college, while MD students actually spent time in the library.

 

[Pitt Panther]

Originally posted by doc05
the main difference is that DO students partied through college, while MD students actually spent time in the library.

...and that's why we, besides having the statistics, have great social skills! Your exactly right!

(dont get your panties in a bunch. I'm totally kidding with this post).

Sincerely,

Ima Drunk, D.O.

PS. (Hiccup) I'll see you in the OR (Hiccup)

 

[raspberry swirl]

Originally posted by doc05
the main difference is that DO students partied through college, while MD students actually spent time in the library.

i'll agree with that to a certain extent, at least for DO students who went to medical school straight from college. i think a lot of people fail to take into account the amount of non - traditional students at DO schools. if you're asking about differences, i think thats an important one. at lecom, half my class or more is non traditional, and some of the students are extremely non- traditional . . .. and i mean that in a good way. its amazing to see people make drastic career changes later in life, and i think its great that DO schools offer them an opportunity. i think sometimes people fail to attribute the lower statistics of DO schools to the fact that the majority of their students were not thinking of applying to medical school while they were in college, and taking the MCAT afer being out of school many years, and with more responsibilities, posed more challenges for them than your typical MD applicant.

 

[WillowRose]

Originally posted by raspberry swirl
taking the MCAT afer being out of school many years, and with more responsibilities, posed more challenges for them than your typical MD applicant.

LOL I'll second that! Nothing quite like trying to study organic chemistry while being bombarded with requests to read Thomas the Tank Engine and needing to write a Microbiology exam!

Oh...and I only partied through one semester of undergrad. After I flunked Calc II, I started spending more time in the library. No, I take that back. After I flunked Calc II, I learned when it was time to go to the library and when it was time to party. I'm probably going to have waaaaay too many social skills to be a surgeon. Darn!

Will~

 

[Goofyone]

I've got a friend who is amazingly smart. MCAT in the high 30's, all kinds of volunteer work and life experiences, and very sociable. His overall GPA is well above a 3.5 (can't remeber exactly). But he is in his 30's. He applied to DO and MD and only got in to DO.

One more thing I'll add about the non-trad students. Although their lifetime GPA may be low, they still have gone back to school and proven they can handle the work by taking a year or two of hard classes and getting excellent grades. However, this isn't reflected in the average GPA of an incoming DO.

I'm glad that we don't let good people like this slip through the cracks.

 

[Robz]

Originally posted by Goofyone

I'm glad that we don't let good people like this slip through the cracks.

I totally agree.

 

[SoulRFlare]

From what I understand after talking to a number of physicians, the differences between MD's and DO are overstated now a days. That is, even though there is a difference in philosophy (though I'd be hard pressed to believe that MD's don't care about "the whole person"), this difference isn't quite so obvious in practice. DO's operate in the same medical system, so prescribe the same medications, perform the same procedures. Also, I get the impression that many DO's don't "manipulate" very often...especially the surgeons (with the possible exception of orthopods.)
(I really hope i didn't unleash a firestorm...)

 

[Goofyone]

Originally posted by SoulRFlare
From what I understand after talking to a number of physicians, the differences between MD's and DO are overstated now a days. That is, even though there is a difference in philosophy (though I'd be hard pressed to believe that MD's don't care about "the whole person"), this difference isn't quite so obvious in practice. DO's operate in the same medical system, so prescribe the same medications, perform the same procedures. Also, I get the impression that many DO's don't "manipulate" very often...especially the surgeons (with the possible exception of orthopods.)
(I really hope i didn't unleash a firestorm...)

You are correct!

 

[bigmuny]

Actually the difference is penis size. DO's have less brain, but more penis. Look it up, there has been studies done.

 

[Dr_sax]

Finally!! A truly honest person.

Dr_Sax

 

[a-mac2003]

Originally posted by doc05
the main difference is that DO students partied through college, while MD students actually spent time in the library.

If that isn't the biggest load of crap I have heard in my life. Have you ever thought that some of the DO's actually wanted to be DO's. Or has it occurred to you that many people including myself had other obligations (ie family, full-time jobs thru school), yet maintained a GPA over 3.8 and desired to only apply to DO schools. Personality and social skills is a huge factor, and with responses like yours, you wonder why we do not wish to attend your establishments. Go figure.

 

[Adapt]

DO schools have hotter chicks in them. Something to think about when deciding.

 

[Shinken]

DO schools have hotter chicks in them

Yup. And you get to touch them all over too.

 

[raining4days]

Look at it this way:

What is the difference between MD and MB [BS, ChB, Bch BAO] degrees?

Not a big difference. Both are doctors. Just different designations for the same thing.

 

[LP1CW]

hotter chicks? I should have applied to more DO schools? I actually went to an open house this year at PCOM. I was surprised by how good looking a few of the gals were there. One girl had on these incredibly tight jeans. I was like this geek lurking behind her.

She then asked the admissions director how many classes a student was allowed to flunk....hmmm, probably not the best question to ask. But I thought,"I'll help her."