Medical Missions and DOs

[MedGrl@2022]

Just wondering has anyone done research on DOs participating in medical missions such as Doctors without Borders and Global Health Service Partnership (GHSP). Does the DO license close doors if you are interested in later contributing to medical missions trips internationally?

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[graduate2be]

One of the professors in my MPH program, Margaret Byers, is a D.O. and she has worked abroad in maternal & child health for 20+ years. There are some countries that do place restrictions on D.O. practice rights but there are over 40 where D.O.s have equal practice rights with M.D.s. I think that VCOMRVU & Touro-CA are pretty active in sending their D.O. students on medical missions. MSUCOM sends quite a few students to Kenya each year as well.

Just wondering has anyone done research on DOs participating in medical missions such as Doctors without Borders and Global Health Service Partnership (GHSP). Does the DO license close doors if you are interested in later contributing to medical missions trips internationally?

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[SLC]

There are some countries that won't recognize the DO for full-time practice. Meaning that you couldn't necessarily move there and practice as a physician in their system.

But for medical missions, there are no restrictions. DO's participate in Doctors without Borders etc. without any restrictions. This is because when you do a medical mission, you aren't trying to obtain a license to practice medicine in the country you are volunteering in, but rather offering volunteer services on a temporary basis.

In short, the only way a DO can limit you internationally, is if you want to emigrate to one of the countries that doesn't recognize the degree, and get licensed to practice medicine there full-time.

It should also be pointed out that there are plenty of countries that have the same restrictions for US MD's as well. It's a political thing, rather than a "training" issue.

 

[hallowmann]

Just wondering has anyone done research on DOs participating in medical missions such as Doctors without Borders and Global Health Service Partnership (GHSP). Does the DO license close doors if you are interested in later contributing to medical missions trips internationally?

No. There are tons of medical mission opportunities for DOs, including working with Doctors without Borders. Most/all countries offer special practicing rights to physicians working with aid organizations that have nothing to do with their medical licensing or degree recognition for individual practice. In other words, if you are a licensed physician in the US, you can participate with those aid organizations as a physician in those countries.

 

[NeuroLAX]

There are some countries that won't recognize the DO for full-time practice. Meaning that you couldn't necessarily move there and practice as a physician in their system.

But for medical missions, there are no restrictions. DO's participate in Doctors without Borders etc. without any restrictions. This is because when you do a medical mission, you aren't trying to obtain a license to practice medicine in the country you are volunteering in, but rather offering volunteer services on a temporary basis.

In short, the only way a DO can limit you internationally, is if you want to emigrate to one of the countries that doesn't recognize the degree, and get licensed to practice medicine there full-time.

It should also be pointed out that there are plenty of countries that have the same restrictions for US MD's as well. It's a political thing, rather than a "training" issue.

This.

Even in countries where DOs can have full practice rights there are hoops to jump through. Regardless of your degree, MD or DO, it is difficult to back up your practice and set up shop in another country.

 

[Ogmora]

From my research,

Barbados
France
Jamaica
Norway
South Africa
Zimbabwe

are the countries that do not recognize D.O. as physician. They allow them to practice as "osteopaths", meaning only OMM. Everywhere else, like they said above, will have "hoops" to jump through (as would most U.S. MD's in most countries) if you wanted to start a practice.

 

[NeuroLAX]

From my research,

Barbados
France
Jamaica
Norway
South Africa
Zimbabwe

are the countries that do not recognize D.O. as physician. They allow them to practice as "osteopaths", meaning only OMM. Everywhere else, like they said above, will have "hoops" to jump through (as would most U.S. MD's in most countries) if you wanted to start a practice.

Scotland also has restrictions to OMM only.

One cannot say "everywhere else" as this would be inaccurate. There are plenty of countries, according to my "International Osteopathy" lecture notes, that straight up DENY any practice:

Ireland
Spain
Malaysia
Singapore
Aruba
Switzerland
Uganda
Mexico (missions only- there may be a pathway for supervision under an MD, but this would be supervision at all times, meaning at no time can you practice by yourself)
Morocco (no US MD or DOs allowed)

There are also a number of countries that have not responded to the AOA (again, according to my lecture notes):
Bolivia
Denmark
Ghana
Iran
Kuwait
Peru
Uruguay
Syria
South Korea
Turkey
Cambodia
Egypt
Guatemala
Japan
Laos
Philippines (they want reciprocity, I guess the US denied them)
Romania
Nicaragua
Thailand
Ukraine

There might be others that I forgot to mention.

 

[Temperature101]

It is good that there is that opportunity for DO as I plan to do that if I become one.

 

[NeuroLAX]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Osteopathic_Medicine

What do they mean by "Unlimited & Restricted"?

Unlimited = unlimited practice rights. Full physician recognition. Full scope of medicine.

Restricted = ultimately means OMM only.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

There are some countries that won't recognize the DO for full-time practice. Meaning that you couldn't necessarily move there and practice as a physician in their system.

But for medical missions, there are no restrictions. DO's participate in Doctors without Borders etc. without any restrictions. This is because when you do a medical mission, you aren't trying to obtain a license to practice medicine in the country you are volunteering in, but rather offering volunteer services on a temporary basis.

In short, the only way a DO can limit you internationally, is if you want to emigrate to one of the countries that doesn't recognize the degree, and get licensed to practice medicine there full-time.

It should also be pointed out that there are plenty of countries that have the same restrictions for US MD's as well. It's a political thing, rather than a "training" issue.

great so as long as it is just as part of a medical missions it shouldn't be a problem... it is only a problem if/when I want to practice full time there... I guess I would suspect that I would have to re-do my residency at the very least...

 

[NeuroLAX]

great so as long as it is just as part of a medical missions it shouldn't be a problem... it is only a problem if/when I want to practice full time there... I guess I would suspect that I would have to re-do my residency at the very least...

Each country has its own requirements for application. The UK requires a linguistics exam... 😕

 

[SLC]

great so as long as it is just as part of a medical missions it shouldn't be a problem... it is only a problem if/when I want to practice full time there... I guess I would suspect that I would have to re-do my residency at the very least...

Yes.

And there are some countries (as mentioned earlier) who won't even let you re-do a residency. As of now, they just won't let you become licensed there at all.

But things change too, Australia just recently decided to allow DO's unrestricted practice rights, this was within the past few weeks. They only allowed OMM before that.