Hey , I was passing through this forum and remembered a question - My friend is applying to medical schools like i am, but she's also applying to some Osteopathic ones - and was wondering if DO's can later somehow become MD's through some sort of certification/exam of course? Does anyone here know? I'd love to hear from you - thanks! (and please dont take offence its just a question i know osteopathy is wonderful)
hey guys please answer if you can
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amena said:
The answer is no.
You can buy an MD from a diploma mill ... but once a DO, always a DO
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1) Medical school and Osteopathic school aren't different terms, like Medical school vs. podiatry school. They're BOTH medical schools.
2)NO, you cannot become an MD by simply filling out the back of a cereal box, just like MDs can't become DOs by doing the same. You CAN, however, become an MD by going through MD school.
3)If you "know that osteopathy is wonderful" then why aren't you more educated about it?
If you haven't yet acquainted yourself with the "search" function, please do so.
2)NO, you cannot become an MD by simply filling out the back of a cereal box, just like MDs can't become DOs by doing the same. You CAN, however, become an MD by going through MD school.
3)If you "know that osteopathy is wonderful" then why aren't you more educated about it?
If you haven't yet acquainted yourself with the "search" function, please do so.
Is there a particular reason your friend would want an MD instead? We DOs can do everything that an MD can. Yes, sometimes people ask, "What's a DO?" but I think that will become less of a problem with the number of DO schools increasing in recent years, putting more of us DOs out there in society. Besides, the vast majority of patients don't pay attention to whether their doc is a DO or an MD in the first place.
Good luck to you guys in applying.
Good luck to you guys in applying.
mj1878 said:
Sorry MJ, that's a bad analogy.
Podiatrists can't do everything DO's or MD's can do, they can only go up to the knee.
Whereas DO's can do everything MD's can do.
A more accurate analogy I use is DDS vs DMD, both are fully qualified dentists licensed in all 50 states, a DDS went to Dental school and a DMD went to med school then did a dental residency.
You can however transfer from a DO school to and MD school following 2nd year provided you are accepted at the MD school for transfer, your DO school signs off on it and you pass the USMLE.
I know of at least 4 classmates who did this, much to the chagrin of the Dean of the College.
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FutureNavyDOc said:
Actually, this is wrong.
A DMD and a DDS are exactly the same thing - just different wording on a diploma. DMD stands for "Doctor of Dental Medicine" and DDS stands for "Doctor of Dental Surgery". Same curriculum, same skillsets, same everything ... just different wording on a diploma. It's up to the school to decide if it wants to give a DDS or DMD (and usually it's one or the another, not both). But there's no philosophical, legal, or any theoretical difference between the two. The reason for the 2 types of dental degrees is historical (blame Harvard and latin for it)
Now a DMD/DDS can do a OMFS residency that is affliated with a US medical school ... and get an MD from that medical school at the end of the residency. Then that person will be a DMD/DDS and an MD at the same time.
To amena, I think the reason you got several harsh replies is the implication of the original question - suggesting that your friend can upgrade her DO to MD at some point in future. It's almost equivalent to asking a Southwest Airline pilot that it's great that he (or she) is a pilot and all, but if at some point in the future, he (or she) wants to be a real pilot and work for United Airlines (or American, or Delta, take your pick). I am sure the Southwest Airline pilot would be greatly offended.
FutureNavyDOc said:
Sorry NavyDOc, but YOU misread MJ's post. Perhaps I should explain MJ's post in different words so that you can understand:
MJ said that "Medical school" and "Osteopathic school" aren't two different terms. They do not have major differences between them like "Medical school" and "Podiatry school" do. "Medical school" and "Osteopathic school" are both medical schools.
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OSUdoc08 said:
Never said you had to be an AOA member, just that you're under the AOA as far as legislation, board certification and various other categories go.
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If you're going to osteopathic med school, then own it. Embrace it. Otherwise don't apply. If you consider yourself less because of the title then you probably won't like being one.
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Tori's dad said:
Perhaps you are implying that one should do an AOA residency. Unfortunately, they are not always in convenient locations, and often add extra years of training that can be bypassed.