How come premeds don't even know about osteopathic schools

[benelswick]

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So I just started my first semester of biology courses at my university where there's about 6.022 X 10^23 premeds.....You know I just can't figure out that with the competitive nature of admissions that these dipsh*ts have never even heard of osteopathic medicine. Like if they didn't get in they would just keep waiting for an allopathic spot or just give up.....what the....? I don't get it. I mentioned it to a few stressed classmates and they were like what...osteopathic what? you mean like podiatry...?

Oh well. Anybody else experience this?--Ben

 

[Robz]

There are dynamic things in medicine. Its neat to see that many people have tunnel vision.

Personally I didn't have a clue about osteopathic medicine before my organic professor told me to look into it cause he had a friend that taught at CCOM.

I truely think the reason I never realized things about osteopathic medicine is in my entire life I never bothered to really ask people where they went to school or what their credentials were. An ER doc was an ER doc to me. If they answered my orders as a medic thats cool. I tend to see physicians in terms of FP, IM, surgeon, ER, OB/GYN, and neurosurgeon than initials.

Some of my friends may not know (or care) what my initials are after my name but those that I educate are fairly happy with the philosophy. Besides every person i have met understands the torture of going to medical school and that I'm going to be a doctor.

Thats it...I actually see a time coming soon that there will be a mixing and greater exposure of the osteopathic ideals because the lines of medicine and malpractice legality will dictate the standards of physician practice....but thats a discussion for another thread and another day.

 

[Doctor Peloncito]

So I just started my first semester of biology courses at my university where there's about 6.022 X 10^23 premeds.....You know I just can't figure out that with the competitive nature of admissions that these dipsh*ts have never even heard of osteopathic medicine. Like if they didn't get in they would just keep waiting for an allopathic spot or just give up.....what the....? I don't get it. I mentioned it to a few stressed classmates and they were like what...osteopathic what? you mean like podiatry...?

Oh well. Anybody else experience this?--Ben

Most of them just haven't heard of them. The ones who have heard of them and dismiss them are arrogant idiots who will learn in due time that the whole DO/MD arguement is a topic of pre-meds and MDs over seventy.

 

[dr.z]

So I just started my first semester of biology courses at my university where there's about 6.022 X 10^23 premeds.....You know I just can't figure out that with the competitive nature of admissions that these dipsh*ts have never even heard of osteopathic medicine. Like if they didn't get in they would just keep waiting for an allopathic spot or just give up.....what the....? I don't get it. I mentioned it to a few stressed classmates and they were like what...osteopathic what? you mean like podiatry...?

Oh well. Anybody else experience this?--Ben

I didn't know about them till I started my undergrad and decided that I would go pre-med. I guess DOs' make up only about 5% of the U.S. physicians (according to AACOM) so it's not a surprise that many people don't know. Also most people don't ask their doctors about their credentials.

 

[Sense]

I didn't know about them until I was in this summer premed program after my freshman year in undergrad. Someone kept asking the MDs about DOs and if they had worked with one. I figured I would check out what she was asking about. I found info on the net, on SDN, and found out my doctor was a DO all along. Now I find myself in DO school 3 years later. Go figure. 😀

 

[docbill]

I discovered DO in 2000.

Only after looking for alternative to MD schools. Even till today and I am sure for years to come.. the conversation will go as such:

You: I am an osteopathic Physician
Them: A what... a bone doctor...
You: NOOOOOooo a physician same as an MD.
Them: What is the difference...
You: It is a different phil but you cover the same training and have the right to speciallize.
Them: Hmm so what is the different.
....... this goes on............... better public information is needed.

 

[hyphencracy]

i didn't know what a DO was until a few years ago, when I found out my good friend's dad was a DO. i think we can admit to ourselves that premeds are a funny bunch. i heard a lot of unreasonable stigmas about DO's. a lot of premeds accept those stigmas without looking at the facts. i have some premed friends a couple of years ahead of me and even when they found out what a DO is they still didn't even consider applying DO. a poster above made a good point--there aren't anywhere close to as mnay DO's. the osteopathic organizations should do a better job of getting the word out

 

[stoic]

I found out when I was a senior in high school. Started lurking on SDN and dug what the atmosphere in the DO forums vs. the MD forums. Found out there were more DO schools than MD schools near my location. Started shadowing in the ER, that just happened to be staffed my mostly DO's. Had friends go to DO schools and really love them compared to my friends in MD schools. All in all, I've had a very very positive experience learning about DO's. Now I'm applying... to 4 DO schools and 1 MD school.

 

[OSUdoc08]

So I just started my first semester of biology courses at my university where there's about 6.022 X 10^23 premeds.....You know I just can't figure out that with the competitive nature of admissions that these dipsh*ts have never even heard of osteopathic medicine. Like if they didn't get in they would just keep waiting for an allopathic spot or just give up.....what the....? I don't get it. I mentioned it to a few stressed classmates and they were like what...osteopathic what? you mean like podiatry...?

Oh well. Anybody else experience this?--Ben

At my school in Texas, there are 7 allopathic schools and 1 osteopathic school. They do bring the school in for the medical school fair, however the premedical advisor stresses going to a D.O. school as a "last resort" and combines it with foreign medical school. Ironically, there are a large number of D.O.'s in the area, and I have several classmates that also went to D.O. schools (thankfully we never took the advice of our poorly informed premed advisor).

 

[docbill]

I guess a big part of it.. is simply lack of Knowledge!

People fear the unknown. Oh well the best kept secret. We should call 60min and get them to interview us.

 

[cooldreams]

i first learned about it when some friends told me of this surgeon who was a DO. after actually talking to the surgeon, i learned that he was an MD but had taught at a DO school before... that was my first experience with this goofy learning process....

 

[Ypo.]

So I just started my first semester of biology courses at my university where there's about 6.022 X 10^23 premeds.....You know I just can't figure out that with the competitive nature of admissions that these dipsh*ts have never even heard of osteopathic medicine. Like if they didn't get in they would just keep waiting for an allopathic spot or just give up.....what the....? I don't get it. I mentioned it to a few stressed classmates and they were like what...osteopathic what? you mean like podiatry...?

Oh well. Anybody else experience this?--Ben

How many pre-meds are there in one mole of snooty, competetive anatomy lab at STP?
No, just kidding. Um, I don't really know why this is-but I suspect its because many pre-meds value the 'respect' doctors get and also the 'adoration' ("wow, you're a doctor?") This means that if they get a whiff that DOs are looked down on by MDs/coupled with the fact that many people don't know what a DO is - and pre-meds want instant recognition and respect-which means that they are not interested in explaining what a DO is to all their patients. I asked one pre-MD who applied to 20 schools and still didn't get in even with high MCAT (because his GPA was 3.2) why he didn't go DO, and he said he didn't believe in that kind of medicine! Ha! Shows he doesn't even know-cause most DOs don't use OMT even.

You've got to admit, you really need to be able to believe in the cause to feel OK with explaining what a DO is (unless you live in the midwest-and even then...).

Another reason people may choose not to go DO (although this doesn't apply to those who don't even know what DO is) is that it may be harder to get into some competetive MD residencies. It varies from school and state.

Well, just my opinion. I am a MD reject from last year, so I can't talk too much crap. This year I applied DO and MD, but I wouldn't be applying DO unless I believed in it. I won't do it half-hearted if I do get accepted, rest assured in that.
Originally, I didn't know what a DO was (and I grew up in MI 😱 )- it was brought up to me when I was a gung-ho exclusive pre-MD like this "well, you can always go to school in the caribbean, or you can do DO"-like it was a second-rate choice. But, this year, one of my proffs told me about it, and he had a son who went to DMUCOM. I looked into for myself, and have asked a lot of people a lot of questions, shadowed DOs and observed OMT- and debated and listened-and I don't feel like its a last chance at all-so all the flak I hear doesn't really bother me. In fact, I like sticking up for the underdog. I like the fact that the AOA refuses to be swallowed by the AAMC after a century of battling over the right to exist. Hee hee

 

[MsEvolution]

I didn't hear about DO's until I was 28 and in my last year of college. I was talking to my advisor telling him I was worried about a bad grad I got in one of my classes... and he said, just apply to DO school, it's easier to get in. And when I asked him what that was, he said it was for premeds who didn't quite make the cut. Can you believe that!!! This is a college advisor at a prominent state university. I remember thinking, "Well, I don't want to do THAT."

I'm glad that didn't turn me off to it completely since I went on to research it through the years... and here I am... hoping against hope that I get accepted to a DO program!

 

[Talula21]

How many pre-meds are there in one mole of snooty, competetive anatomy lab at STP?

All I can say is.....that is funny stuff. Really though....as a newbie to SDN, I didn't know anything about DO until I joined this forum. However I was going into medicine becase I unknowingly wanted to practice many of the fundamentals of DO. Personal wellness and natural healing being a couple(among others). So I was rocked when I discovered DO (even though my dreams of being the pioneer of a new way to practice medicine were dashed....J/K!) I say give 'em all some time....they'll come around!! 🙂 Oh and God bless the Midwest!

 

[delicatefade]

I discovered DO in 2000.

Only after looking for alternative to MD schools. Even till today and I am sure for years to come.. the conversation will go as such:

You: I am an osteopathic Physician
Them: A what... a bone doctor...
You: NOOOOOooo a physician same as an MD.
Them: What is the difference...
You: It is a different phil but you cover the same training and have the right to speciallize.
Them: Hmm so what is the different.
....... this goes on............... better public information is needed.

This has happened to me as well. I always answer like this: DO's and MD's are different in theory but the same in practice.

 

[docbill]

it is too bad that it is like that...
but I guess it is up to the future DOs to fix this for good.

With so many new DO schools and more and more graduates. DOs will soon be 10% of doc in the US and will educated more people. Word of mouth is also important... I guess as a doc I would depend more on that.

Times are changing and people are becoming better... with internet and tv, it can only get better.

 

[cooldreams]

well internet MAY help if good sources... tv stinks...

something helping the cause for educationg ppl about DOs with that a disproportionate amount of them go into primary care areas - where they see a much higher number of ppl than docs in specialty areas. here, word of mouth is powerful

 

[MizzouDrWannabe]

I am really lucky in that I am at a small school that focuses as much on osteopathic medicine as on traditional allopathic medicine. Our pre-med club takes trips to both an allopathic and a DO school every year. I think more schools should do this, osteopathy is a wonderful option to have.

 

[Ypo.]

I didn't hear about DO's until I was 28 and in my last year of college. I was talking to my advisor telling him I was worried about a bad grad I got in one of my classes... and he said, just apply to DO school, it's easier to get in. And when I asked him what that was, he said it was for premeds who didn't quite make the cut. Can you believe that!!! This is a college advisor at a prominent state university. I remember thinking, "Well, I don't want to do THAT."

Exactly! People are so misinformed out there. Luckily, I like to educate people. And for all those people (preMD and DO) who aren't looking forward to educating their patients - you are in the wrong profession. Educating patients (about their health, illnesses, your role as a doctor, specialists role as a doctor) is a huge part of a physician's job.