Is a DO looked down upon?

[Saleemrodman1]

So I just realized that there are two different programs for Medical School: MD and DO. I always hear "MD" and not "DO." Is DO a less respected version of the MD? Is it a remedial degree? What is the difference? I am striving to get an MD but my GPA is only 3.5. Could someone elaborate?

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[DopaDO]

So I just realized that there are two different programs for Medical School: MD and DO. I always hear "MD" and not "DO." Is DO a less respected version of the MD? Is it a remedial degree? What is the difference? I am striving to get an MD but my GPA is only 3.5. Could someone elaborate?

There are literally zillions of threads on this. Next time do a search. I am a DO student, but the over whelming consensus is that there is no difference (with the exception of OTM being taught to DOs). The only people who care about MD or DO are pre-meds and POSSIBLY some (not all) of the elite residency programs (granted its possible that they are biased against low tier MD too). What really matters is where you do your residency. No matter where you go to school, bust your butt, rock boards and you will be rewarded.

 

[Didierdrogba]

So I just realized that there are two different programs for Medical School: MD and DO. I always hear "MD" and not "DO." Is DO a less respected version of the MD? Is it a remedial degree? What is the difference? I am striving to get an MD but my GPA is only 3.5. Could someone elaborate?

Yes, DO is disrespected, and you are absolutely correct that it is a remedial degree. DOs kiss the floor that MD's walk on. Avoid like the plague

 

[Didierdrogba]

There are literally zillions of threads on this. Next time do a search. I am a DO student, but the over whelming consensus is that there is no difference (with the exception of OTM being taught to DOs). The only people who care about MD or DO are pre-meds and POSSIBLY some (not all) of the elite residency programs (granted its possible that they are biased against low tier MD too). What really matters is where you do your residency.

you liar!

 

[Anigma07]

So I just realized that there are two different programs for Medical School: MD and DO. I always hear "MD" and not "DO." Is DO a less respected version of the MD? Is it a remedial degree? What is the difference? I am striving to get an MD but my GPA is only 3.5. Could someone elaborate?

Idk who invited you to post on the allopathic forum, pre-med. Do a search to see the difference between MD and DO. DO's are mainly for primary care and, for the most part, couldn't get into a US MD program.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Is a DO looked down upon?

No.

To expound a little, in general the average admission stats for DO schools are somewhat lower, and they allow grade-replacement in their application (ie if you got a D in Bio 1 then re-took the course and made an A, a DO school only cares about the A while an MD school will include both the A and the D when calculating your GPA). In practice, people go to DO schools when they had a rough intro to college that was difficult to fully repair their GPA from, or when they have a compelling reason to restrict themselves to a certain geographic area when applying to med school. With a few exceptions, DO applicants are generally considered on equal footing with MD applicants when applying for residency assuming they have similar stats, and once you're in residency and become an attending nobody cares or notices the difference. I'm at an MD school and one of my mentors is a DO, and I've learned a lot from her. If you need more info than that, the search function is your friend, and there are literally hundreds of threads that can answer your question.

Moving to pre-allo.

 

[pipe dream]

So I just realized that there are two different programs for Medical School: MD and DO. I always hear "MD" and not "DO." Is DO a less respected version of the MD? Is it a remedial degree? What is the difference? I am striving to get an MD but my GPA is only 3.5. Could someone elaborate?

How did you "always hear" MD and not DO when you "just realized there are two different programs for medical school"?

DO's are mainly for primary

I'll be sure to let the DOs who matched MD derm and MD rads onc and MD neurosurg this year know that.

 

[Doctor Strange]

This entire thread.

 

[Anigma07]

How did you "always hear" MD and not DO when you "just realized there are two different programs for medical school"?



I'll be sure to let the DOs who matched MD derm and MD rads onc and MD neurosurg this year know that.

I said mainly. Just like your name, it's a pipedream to get a competitive spot with a DO. Simply, most are just not competitive applicants, both to get into a US MD and into residency.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

It is a remedial degree. Most D.O.'s borrow a few hundred thousand dollars and spend four years of their lives with the hope of getting accepted into any M.D. program. Even the Caribbean is better than D.O. Hell, even unemployment is better than going to a D.O. school and earning a comfortable living as a physician.

Also: You could type something along the lines of "DO vs. MD" into Google and get several hundred correct answers in 0.00003 seconds.

 

[Didierdrogba]

I said mainly. Just like your name, it's a pipedream to get a competitive spot with a DO. Simply, most are just not competitive applicants, both to get into a US MD and into residency.

👎

 

[ruprecht]

The D.O. award, is a remedial six month course, after-which the recipient can proceed to a duly authorized nail tech, aesthetician, or massage therapy class. Occasionally a D.O. recipient will rise above other D.O. certificate holders and find gainful employment at any of a number of chiropractic centers.

If you enable the text to speech feature of your computer, allow the device to further your understanding, because you may very well be a: DODO[

So much for that imaginary college you attended. I'd guess that someone with a grade point average like yours must have heard of that Google thing, right? Or maybe, in Pretendsville, a few miles outside of Springerville you have to wait four years for the steam search engine to show up.

So listen: You're either jerking us readers around, or, you're good friends with Borat, in which case: "Nice to be having a swell day."

 

[GlowInTheDark]

Not if they're taller than you

 

[thesauce]

So I just realized that there are two different programs for Medical School: MD and DO. I always hear "MD" and not "DO." Is DO a less respected version of the MD? Is it a remedial degree? What is the difference? I am striving to get an MD but my GPA is only 3.5. Could someone elaborate?

How did you "always hear" MD and not DO when you "just realized there are two different programs for medical school"?.

Sounds pretty straight-forward to me. Someone just now told him what a DO is. Until now, he had always just heard about MD.

 

[Saleemrodman1]

So is it really that bad to become a DO?

 

[tantacles]

So is it really that bad to become a DO?

Just reread this:

No.

To expound a little, in general the average admission stats for DO schools are somewhat lower, and they allow grade-replacement in their application (ie if you got a D in Bio 1 then re-took the course and made an A, a DO school only cares about the A while an MD school will include both the A and the D when calculating your GPA). In practice, people go to DO schools when they had a rough intro to college that was difficult to fully repair their GPA from, or when they have a compelling reason to restrict themselves to a certain geographic area when applying to med school. With a few exceptions, DO applicants are generally considered on equal footing with MD applicants when applying for residency assuming they have similar stats, and once you're in residency and become an attending nobody cares or notices the difference. I'm at an MD school and one of my mentors is a DO, and I've learned a lot from her. If you need more info than that, the search function is your friend, and there are literally hundreds of threads that can answer your question.

Moving to pre-allo.

 

[Didierdrogba]

So is it really that bad to become a DO?

don't know if troll or dumb.... maybe just a dumb troll

 

[deleted307836]

I first heard about DO's on SDN and got the impression that they were looked down upon. As I started working in an academic hospital that had many DO residents, I could see that there wasn't any difference between what they did and what the MD residents did (nor with regard to how they were treated, from what I saw).

That said, being a DO can make it harder to get into competitive programs. They also have to learn some BS in school that is rarely used in practice. That's about the gist of it.

 

[Gauss44]

So I just realized that there are two different programs for Medical School: MD and DO. I always hear "MD" and not "DO." Is DO a less respected version of the MD? Is it a remedial degree? What is the difference? I am striving to get an MD but my GPA is only 3.5. Could someone elaborate?

There should be a separate category just for this question. Some people are sick of this question; many many others are still trying for an answer.

Do doctors know if their colleagues are MDs or DOs? Like if you walked into an Emergency Room and asked one doctor if another doctor was an MD or DO, would s/he know?

I want to practice in Boston, and I believe that most doctors are MD's over here. I really wish I had more relevant information about how my career would suffer, benefit, or be unchanged by choosing a DO over an MD. It seems impossible to get a straight answer, even over the anonymous internet.

 

[Belle Melodie]

This thread is a complete joke.I think maybe one person answered the OP's question.. smh.

Anyway, all in all OP, its really not that bad.

 

[deleted307836]

There should be a separate category just for this question, or a sticky.

Do doctors know if their colleagues are MDs or DOs? Like if you walked into an Emergency Room and asked one doctor if another doctor was an MD or DO, would s/he know?

I would think most people would know which degree their colleagues hold - likely a consequence of learning where they grew up, trained, etc... all that basic info you learn about people after working with them.

 

[GopherMD]

There should be a separate category just for this question, or a sticky.

Do doctors know if their colleagues are MDs or DOs? Like if you walked into an Emergency Room and asked one doctor if another doctor was an MD or DO, would s/he know?

The only way to tell a DO from an MD at the hospital I work at is by looking closely at their ID badge, which lists the degree after their name. Every physician has a red "MD" tag on them, identifying who is a physician. So unless you were looking really hard, you would have no idea who has which degree.

 

[deleted307836]

The only way to tell a DO from an MD at the hospital I work at is by looking closely at their ID badge, which lists the degree after their name. Every physician has a red "MD" tag on them, identifying who is a physician. So unless you were looking really hard, you would have no idea who has which degree.

Embroidered scrubs and coats were standard at the hospital I worked at - even for the residents, which made learning their degree pretty easy. I think I was caught a couple times scoping out credentials while passing people in the hall 😳.

 

[Gauss44]

The only way to tell a DO from an MD at the hospital I work at is by looking closely at their ID badge, which lists the degree after their name. Every physician has a red "MD" tag on them, identifying who is a physician. So unless you were looking really hard, you would have no idea who has which degree.

Thanks, this helps.

 

[Saleemrodman1]

Harder competitive programs? Are you talking about specializing?

 

[GopherMD]

Embroidered scrubs and coats were standard at the hospital I worked at - even for the residents, which made learning their degree pretty easy. I think I was caught a couple times scoping out credentials while passing people in the hall 😳.

I've noticed some of the physicians in my hospital have "MD" stitched into their white coat, even though they have a DO. Does it matter? Not really.

 

[thesauce]

There should be a separate category just for this question, or a sticky.

Do doctors know if their colleagues are MDs or DOs? Like if you walked into an Emergency Room and asked one doctor if another doctor was an MD or DO, would s/he know?

Definitely. We all know where everyone else in our department went to medical school from socializing at and outside of work.

 

[Anigma07]

I've noticed some of the physicians in my hospital have "MD" stitched into their white coat, even though they have a DO. Does it matter? Not really.

That's called fraud so it does matter.

And I'm not surprised that most pre-meds don't know about DO until they realize they can't get into a US MD and need a back-up plan.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Definitely. We all know where everyone else in our department went to medical school from socializing at and outside of work.

Agree.

 

[nysegop]

Yes. Everybody hates DOs. Shouldn't you know that?

 

[amazing tekkers]

So is it really that bad to become a DO?

Janitor school would be better.

 

[JGimpel]

Saleem, please use the search function. Eventually, there will be an auto-ban function for those that start MD vs. DO threads and we will miss your valuable contributions to SDN if you get banned so quickly. For now:

Bored Before The Lock.

Moved to the Pre-Janitorial Forum.

 

[ScholarStud]

From my own experience, anyone who is even somewhat familiar with the medical field understands that an MD and DO are essentially the same thing. Unfortunately, I do have older relatives who believe that DOs are not as competent as MDs, and have often overheard conversations along the lines of, "Oh, I'm really worried about my upcoming knee surgery", "Is he an MD or DO?", "MD", "Oh, good".

Of course these prejudices stem from pure ignorance, and will likely die away as these older generations pass on. The majority of people with these attitudes seem to be in their 60s-70s.

To add: I legitimately tried to explain to my dad as clearly as possible what a DO is, and he couldn't wrap his head around it. Closest I got was, "Oh, you mean a chiropractor?". He doesn't speak the best English either though, so...

 

[iforget2]

I always love reading these

 

[Snowdon48]

obvious troll is obvious

 

[HopefulSlav]

It's not really frowned upon. With all due respect:

DO is to Reebok as MD is to Under Armour/Nike.

I think it's just that brand name people want. Do you think that people would watch House if the name was House, D.O.?

Again, no disrespect.

 

[911 Turbo]

Osteopathic schools are for people who couldn't get into allopathic schools. Most likely because they had a poor gpa/mcat score.


But I hear no one, except premeds, cares

 

[Didierdrogba]

Osteopathic schools are for people who couldn't get into allopathic schools. Most likely because they had a poor gpa/mcat score.


But I hear no one, except premeds, cares

ehh how about someone who had good stats but with a severe downward GPA trend due to severe psychological/ personal circumstances.

 

[DrBumblebee]

It's not really frowned upon. With all due respect:

DO is to Reebok as MD is to Under Armour/Nike.

I think it's just that brand name people want. Do you think that people would watch House if the name was House, D.O.?

Again, no disrespect.

Given Dr.Gregory House's personality in that TV serial, I doubt even Dr. House would give a fock to his degree initials (DO or MD) after his name. It might, however, be Dr. Foreman's type of personality that might take that difference into consideration for a good pissing contest or fight for getting more power over others. (yeah, I'm a House fan.)

On the other hand, AOA gotta help finance such a TV serial - something like Hero, DO - to gain some strong popularity if they really think DOs must stay separate but equal (sarcasm intended).

IMHO, DOs have become the same type of physicians as MDs for a very long time now, and there's left no superiority of one to the other. Just leave the philosophy behind to historians and philosophers to dig more gold into it. The value of the physicial theraphy has been well understood by MDs, too. It's nowadays the physician's skills, knowledgebase, and personality that matters the most, not the initials DO or MD.

 

[thesauce]

Given Dr.Gregory House's personality in that TV serial, I doubt even Dr. House would give a fock to his degree initials (DO or MD) after his name. It might, however, be Dr. Foreman's type of personality that might take that difference into consideration for a good pissing contest or fight for getting more power over others. (yeah, I'm a House fan.)

Isn't the House character supremely narcissistic?

 

[Loveless]

Isn't the House character supremely narcissistic?

Yes, but not in a Sheldon Cooper I have two PhDs and a Masters kinda way.

 

[thesauce]

Yes, but not in a Sheldon Cooper I have two PhDs and a Masters kinda way.

Maybe not, but I do remember it coming up more than once that House did his undergrad and medical school at Hopkins

 

[Eiot]

I think it's just that brand name people want. Do you think that people would watch House if the name was House, D.O.?

I think it would provide an interesting twist and could possibly enjoy it even more.

 

[sinombre]

I can imagine House using OMM to perv on patients.

 

[chemsmith]

This entire thread.

No offense, but it seems as if you show up at MD v. DO threads like a vulture to carrion

 

[sinombre]

No offense, but it seems as if you show up at MD v. DO threads like a vulture to carrion

There's a good chance this is only accidental, considering these threads make up about 50% of pre-allo and Doctor Strange is an active poster.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Maybe not, but I do remember it coming up more than once that House did his undergrad and medical school at Hopkins

House did med school at hopkins, got kicked out and went to U of Michigan. That said, House was about to hire an old dude that didn't even have a medical degree. He doesn't give a damn.

 

[circulus vitios]

Admins need to write a script that does contextual searches for "MD vs DO" and puts the original poster in time-out for a week.

 

[Doctor Strange]

No offense, but it seems as if you show up at MD v. DO threads like a vulture to carrion

I feel a moral obligation to let everyone know that starting a new thread about this beaten-to-death topic is beyond ridiculous.

 

[BuddyTheElf]

I would think most people would know which degree their colleagues hold - likely a consequence of learning where they grew up, trained, etc... all that basic info you learn about people after working with them.

Disagree. Can't tell you how many docs I've spoken with who don't know who of their colleagues are MD or DO. They don't care.

Janitor school would be better.

Loved this thread.

House did med school at hopkins, got kicked out and went to U of Michigan. That said, House was about to hire an old dude that didn't even have a medical degree. He doesn't give a damn.

👍👍