Is there still a negative stigma associated with DOs?

[NickRiviera]

I may very well lose my moderator position for this, but I dont really care. Someone needs to say it.

Your one liners, snide remarks and supposed educated and insightful comments are getting old. No one wants to hear them.

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[DropkickMurphy]

I may very well lose my moderator position for this

If it affects your mod status, I'll be the first one raising hell about it. While you and I will never see eye to eye on these topics (not even if I wind up with DO after my name), I wish nothing ill to happen to you because of your opinion of me (and I don't believe it will).

As for the rest of you, I've spoken my piece and realized you can't argue with zealots and others with permanently closed minds anymore than you can drill through a mountain with your forehead.

Now....for some comic relief before I go (as I watched this, I thought of my reaction to something said earlier about me):
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dssM-zYZV68[/YOUTUBE]

 

[DocBR]

I belive that if there was a doctor in one of the doctor TV shows (er, house, scrubs, General Hospital ect...) with the DO title. People would get a clearer picture.

It truly is a powerful reflection on our society when the average person's understanding of medicine is written by Hollywood writers.

 

[StringerBell]

I really love the DO philosophy and will apply DO. If I apply to both DO and MD and am accepted to both, I'm not sure what I would choose.

Because of the nature that this thread has taken, let me try to give you my perspective, which I believe is what you have been asking for - perspective.

I have worked with multiple DO's, ranging from an osteopathic clinic (centered around manipulation) to surgeons at my local hospital. I have also applied to both MD and DO schools this year. So, I am framing my comments to let you know where I'm coming from.

I received a DO acceptance just a short time ago, and have faced a spectrum of reactions. Some have asked me what a DO actually is, and I've had to explain to the best of my ability. Others have been excited because their primary care physicians are DO's, and they love them. So it is partially a question of exposure - the more people know about DO's, the more comfortable they are with them, and I am finding more and more people satisfied with their DO's.

As far as my hospital is concerned, we have a number of DO's in different departments - the staff and patients don't seem to notice the distinction at all. They are just as well respected, but this is with the caveat that most are unaware that they are DO's.

If more people were to become educated about Osteopathy and its philosophies, and were exposed to quality DO's, the recognition and prestige factor would skyrocket. These factors may be important to you, especially if they're important to your patients. The scope of practice, however, is limited only by how you choose to limit it.

So to conclude, does a stigma still exist? Yes. Is it getting better? Yes, especially with greater exposure. If I may use a (really bad) analogy, remember when hybrid cars hit the market? Only a very small percentage of the population wanted them because they were so "different" in design. Someone had a stroke of genius and realized that if the hybrid vehicles looked like regular cars, then people would forget about the differences and start to realize the benefits...hence the upturn in hybrid car sales. If people, then, were to begin to realize the similarities between MD's and DO's rather than the differences, then they, too, can make informed decisions about their care, and focus on what makes an individual a good a doctor.

 

[MirrorTodd]

Hey peeps vote in my poll in the lounge. Vote here: http://drslounge.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=377314

 

[DNA Helicase]

DOs are not real people. LOL. Nice thread.

 

[EctopicFetus]

Oh my JP, not very professional of you (since you are a mod and all).

Look if you dont think there is a DO bias you must not be an M4. Outside of primary care fields DOs going into MD subspecialties face a major uphill battle. Of course this is alleviated some by DO -only residencies. All that being said I have worked with numerous DOs and I havent seen a single one break out OMM.

And while some of you might like OMM I still have yet to see a STUDY (not some anectdotal bs) that shows it is better than anything an MD can do usually for less money. Someone a few yrs back on SDN showed me that OMM was equal to aspirin for back pain. So then the question was, should I spend the 25 cents on a 325 mg ASA or spend 10 mins "adjusting" someone.

Look I occasionally peruse the DO forums and questions come up like. Is a DO like a chiropractor etc. If you want to know how the world looks at you look at those questions. Sure they are ignorant but thats society. Over time as your profession melds with MDs this will be lost but continuing to remain different will only put off acceptance into the main stream.

Lastly, for those of you who truly believe MD= DO + OMM, please let me know what I was doing in med school when you were learning OMM?

Fetus OUT!

 

[Cuthbert]

Lastly, for those of you who truly believe MD= DO + OMM, please let me know what I was doing in med school when you were learning OMM?

Fetus OUT!

Let's just say that I've noticed that your right forearm is slightly more developed than your left.

Seriously, DO's can do everything MD's can and they can do OMT. So I understand the statement. But I do think the statement itself, as well as your response, shows the vast insecurities of persons in both professions.

 

[wallstdoc]

Originally Posted by EctopicFetus
Lastly, for those of you who truly believe MD= DO + OMM, please let me know what I was doing in med school when you were learning OMM?


That was probably your TV time......

 

[Pansit]

Ecto...

Yeah I do hate it when people state the MD=DO + OMT because it subjectively states that DO's are better (if someone interprets it that way). But the fact of the matter is, DO's do learn almost the same material as MD's and plus they spend the extra hours of lab classes learning OMT...so I dont quite understand your question of what you were doing when Do's were learning OMT? You were probably out of class and at home eating or something, I dont know.

 

[spicedmanna]

So to conclude, does a stigma still exist? Yes. Is it getting better? Yes, especially with greater exposure. If I may use a (really bad) analogy, remember when hybrid cars hit the market? Only a very small percentage of the population wanted them because they were so "different" in design. Someone had a stroke of genius and realized that if the hybrid vehicles looked like regular cars, then people would forget about the differences and start to realize the benefits...hence the upturn in hybrid car sales. If people, then, were to begin to realize the similarities between MD's and DO's rather than the differences, then they, too, can make informed decisions about their care, and focus on what makes an individual a good a doctor.

I like your example and your point about similarities/benefits. I think pre-osteos/osteos shouldn't become defensive about their tradition. Indeed, my observations seem to indicate that the defensive attitudes that I sometimes see around here actually appears to attract more of what we don't want.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

MD=DO + OMT

Pardon me for butting back in, and I'm no math major, but shouldn't that be:
DO = MD + OMT

 

[spicedmanna]

Pardon me for butting back in, and I'm no math major, but shouldn't that be:
DO = MD + OMT

MD= DO + OMM

MD=DO + OMT

Propagation of error.

 

[MaximusD]

It's not that simple. Some MD schools stress biochem slightly more than DO schools while DO schools tend to emphasize anatomy & add OMM. OR SO THE SDN lore goes... (i have not substantiated these claims...)

Bottom line: both take plenty of anatomy, biochemistry, pharmacology, physiology, microbiology and pathology to be excellent physicians... so does it really matter?

 

[thanecyan]

Ecto

I don't know exactly how you feel about OMT, but it seems negative.

Do you really think OMT is analogous to pain relievers?

Do you think TCOM's $15mil research project on OMT is a waste of money?

 

[Megalofyia]

This thread has treaded down some murky water and gotten more than muddy.
Closing