MD vs. DO?

[willen101383]

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Patient title recognition is my primary concern with going the D.O. route. I have spoken to many otherwise educated people about my interest in osteopathic medicine, only to get the 'what's that' reply.

And yet when you talk to DO attendings theyll tell you its never really been an issue.

Of all the worries you could have about the DO route, this should be in last place.

 

[Bacchus]

Patient title recognition is my primary concern with going the D.O. route. I have spoken to many otherwise educated people about my interest in osteopathic medicine, only to get the 'what's that' reply.

I might be wrong, but you'd be introducing yourself as the physician. I haven't heard a DO ever say, "Hello, I'm your osteopathic physician." 😎

 

[JESSFALLING]

And yet when you talk to DO attendings theyll tell you its never really been an issue.

Of all the worries you could have about the DO route, this should be in last place.

My interest is in outpatient psych and geriatrics, so I'm less concerned with securing a competitive residency than other students may be. Personally, I don't foresee using omm significantly in practice, so I would prefer to attend an MD school. But, I'm grateful that the DO option exists and I will try to make the best of the omm experience if I end up at a DO institution.

And, to clarify, my concerns with patient perceptions are exacerbated because I envision opening a cash and/or concierge based practice post fellowship.

 

[Bacchus]

There's a huge shortage of psychiatrists. Your degree won't limit you one bit.

 

[Law2Doc]

There's a huge shortage of psychiatrists. Your degree won't limit you one bit.

The rub is when you do your third year rotations and realize that what you thought you'd love you hate, and vice versa.

 

[Bacchus]

The rub is when you do your third year rotations and realize that what you thought you'd love you hate, and vice versa.

Agreed, but going into psychiatry isn't a reason to avoid DO.

 

[HeelHookin]

Work your ass off, get into the best school possible, do as well as you can on boards. handle yourself on rotations, try to impress some people, get the best residency possible, and be a successful physician....DO or MD the end result is the same, plus or minus HVLA

 

[jHustle]

That's probably the silliest reason, honestly. There are various positions, specialties, etc. that patients don't know exist.

Besides, truth be told, patients recognize Physicians based on their specialty, not degree initials (eye doctor, heart surgeon, brain surgeon, family doctor, etc.).

Speaking from personal experience, here in California there are quite a number of DO's that have a section of their website specifically addressing the "What is a D.O.?" So when I hear people saying that patient's don't know/don't care, I think that only applies to the ER in most cases where you just want to be seen asap. But when you're choosing where to go, many people will choose an MD instead because that's just what they know and are familiar/comfortable with. Of course YMMV.

 

[Bacchus]

Speaking from personal experience, here in California there are quite a number of DO's that have a section of their website specifically addressing the "What is a D.O.?" So when I hear people saying that patient's don't know/don't care, I think that only applies to the ER in most cases where you just want to be seen asap. But when you're choosing where to go, many people will choose an MD instead because that's just what they know and are familiar/comfortable with. Of course YMMV.

California docs probably have this because California is a more forward area. People gobble up the words holistic, natural, realignment, etc.

 

[jHustle]

California docs probably have this because California is a more forward area. People gobble up the words holistic, natural, realignment, etc.

Too true lol. And if you take it a step further and throw the word "organic" in there somehow, they'll be all over it.

 

[sotto voce]

Too true lol. And if you take it a step further and throw the word "organic" in there somehow, they'll be all over it.

"Is this Wi-Fi organic?" 🙂

 

[yellowperil]

"Is this Wi-Fi organic?" 🙂

This made me laugh.

 

[Shmemifly]

.

 

[SpecterGT260]

Nuances, everyone.

As an MD MS0 with no ulterior reason to justify OMM, i feel obligated to the DO's of the world to mention that myofascial manipulation changed my life. After 15-20 MDs and a lot of medications, I quite literally owe my life to stumbling on an MD who practiced manual manipulation.

Manual manipulation has its place, and an incredibly valuable one, in SPECIFIC problems related to chronic muscular tension. Our condescending out-of-hand rejection of OMM -- or at least myofascial release -- is as shortsighted and unscientific as AOA's wholesale embrace of it.

anecdotes are worthless. anecdotes without any context are worse..... I'm glad you found whatever relief you sought... but nothing in your story precludes the possibility that you are a psych patient who has formed his/her own delusion around a bunk therapy..... I'm not saying this is the case, just saying that support for a treatment needs to not include this as a possibility. There are plenty of mechanisms to explain relief (sans actual treatment) for a variety of ailments that OMM and chiropractic treats... I solid proportion of pain patients (not a majority by any means) just need a good way to chill the EFF out, and various forms of "massage" help out with that in a big way. That is why I ask for context and background.... some OMM methods do have coherent mechanisms beyond simply being massage and relaxing. percussion massage and stretching feel awesome so it is important to separate these effects from OMM techniques when talking efficacy

 

[Bacchus]

anecdotes are worthless. anecdotes without any context are worse..... I'm glad you found whatever relief you sought... but nothing in your story precludes the possibility that you are a psych patient who has formed his/her own delusion around a bunk therapy..... I'm not saying this is the case, just saying that support for a treatment needs to not include this as a possibility. There are plenty of mechanisms to explain relief (sans actual treatment) for a variety of ailments that OMM and chiropractic treats... I solid proportion of pain patients (not a majority by any means) just need a good way to chill the EFF out, and various forms of "massage" help out with that in a big way. That is why I ask for context and background.... some OMM methods do have coherent mechanisms beyond simply being massage and relaxing. percussion massage and stretching feel awesome so it is important to separate these effects from OMM techniques when talking efficacy

It probably worked because he's popping Xanies 😎.

 

[deleted176373]

Eh, even most of the MDs I work with will concede that DOs know some neat and useful information that passed them by because of the differences in training. Face it, DOs do have something unique to their training. Doesn't make it better, just different.

If you've ever suffered from a condition that one specialty handles better than another then you would probably appreciate that added value too. In the end individual differences probably trumps the training model regarding outcomes.

 

[qwerty2012]

The good thing about MD is that at least students have a .0001 percent chance at Hopkins/MGH neuroscience program. LOL.
Whereas a lot of doors will be shut just be pursuing DO.

 

[gettheleadout]

The good thing about MD is that at least students have a .0001 percent chance at Hopkins/MGH neuroscience program. LOL.
Whereas a lot of doors will be shut just be pursuing DO.

I didn't realize neuroscience was a medical residency...


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