OSTEOPATHY = COMPLETE AND EQUAL SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

[together]

"Safe and effective patient care" cited in a formal resolution by national House of Delegates on Patriot's Day, 2001. U.S. Federation of State Medical Boards effectively establishes two accepted schools of medicine: Osteopathy and Allopathy.
http://www.dohealthnet.com/article1171.html

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[together]

Sorry for the misspelled "Osteopaty!"

 

[TXMike]

In the United States, I would agree with you, and more power to you DO students.

However, on a world scale, a DO would not be employed in most industrialized countries. In the big picture, I think we still have to view DO's as an "evolutionary advantage" unique to the United States' method of health care (much like PA's, LVN's, NP's and other occupations that are unheard of in other parts of the world.)

 

[together]

Good point, TXMike!

Together

 

[amayer24]

Someone please explain this to me because I am confused?!?!
Why do DO's have a harder time obtaining full physician licensure in other countries? As far as I understand when you move to another country to practice medicine, you don't have a license if you are a DO or an MD.(correct me if I am wrong). I am originally from Ukraine(or the former Soviet Union), so when the doctors that immigrated to US they were required to take all the licensing exams and to do residency in US. Back home they were fully licensed physicians practicing medicine. In Russia there were no MD, DO, and so on. You would just be a doctor. I think that is much better. Saves the hassle of people having to argue about who is better. Just call everyone 'doctor' and let them practice any kind of medicine they desire. What you do in your private practice is up to you. Anyways, back to my point. So if lets say you arrive at some contry and they are not aware of osteopathic medicine, you show them your US license and at least in New York it for both DOs and MDs it says: License to practice medicine and surgery in the state of New York (something in that matter). This way you would probably just have to go through the same proceedure as any other MD. But I could be wrong. OK I think I got myself confused. But I hope people understand me.

Thanks
Alex

 

[David511]

In many foreign country's there is confusion over what DOs are...'Osteopaths' in other countries (UK for example) aren't much more than chiros, i.e. not fully-licensed (and trained) physicians. Hence, the US DOs aren't granted foreign licensure.

For the most part I think many countries like their docs to be native, and hence they set up many barriers to keep foreign docs away. Heck, we do it in this country too (to an extent).

The lack of recognition for US DOs I think has less to do with the quality and rigor of US Osteopathic training and more to do with foreign countries not wanting foreign docs (although ignorance also plays a role).

 

[IQ]

amayer24:
You point out a very important notion many Americans miss. I have been in Europe myself for over 16 years . . . and contrary to what many people think, an American MD IS NOT given automatic recognition in other countries. One has to remember that the MD degree (likened to the European MBBS by many) is not "known" by many commonwealth nations. For instance, in Germany, Austria, Holland and other EEC nations...an American MD may very well have to repeat an entire residency in order to practise in those aforementioned countries. US trained DOs would also be expected to do the same. This is designed to LIMIT foreign physicians from practising in those places. However, at present, in most EEC nations (save England and Australia mostly) US trained DOs are considered equal to US trained MDs (the latter = european MBBS)--in terms of practice rights. Elsewhere in Africa and South America, these rights are being observed and expanded as more national medical bodies recognize the varsity of "foreign" medical education, in this case . . . the USA. An American trained physician (MD/DO), notwithstanding, is regarded as a physician although practice rights are assigned on an individual basis . . . but again not without the need for some European residency training. People here in America need to know this!

 

[together]

IQ:

Your post was very well-written. Thank you for that. By the way, do you know of any information on the web or elsewhere that verifies what you posted?

Thanks,

Together

 

[Doctor_Joyce_Brutha]

Saves the hassle of people having to argue about who is better. Just call everyone 'doctor' and let them practice any kind of medicine they desire

I agree...
By the way...do DO's have to take the USMLE???
If so, they should be held on the same level as other doctors.

 

[ewagner]

DO's are not required to take the USMLE, instead, the COMLEX examination (3 steps 800 questions over 2 days for each step) is given. Many students, including myself, have taken the USMLE for various reasons...as well as COMLEX.

 

[stwei]

Has anyone ever attempted to do pre-clinic, clinical rotations/residencies on all 5 continents? Would this make licensing easier? What are the possibilities, advantages, and disadvantages of such an endeavor?

 

[Olanzapine]

Originally posted by stwei
Has anyone ever attempted to do pre-clinic, clinical rotations/residencies on all 5 continents? Would this make licensing easier? What are the possibilities, advantages, and disadvantages of such an endeavor?

You should definitely try to do your pre-clinical, clinical rotations and residency in all 5 continenents. Otherwise, people in one continent may not have heard of you and won't respect your doctoring skills. The only way to prevent this is by working with them in the same continent. The only disadvantage is that you have to buy extra warm clothes when you are rotating in Antartica. You see some great cases of penguin bites down there though.

 

[DSM]

Originally posted by Olanzapine
You should definitely try to do your pre-clinical, clinical rotations and residency in all 5 continenents. Otherwise, people in one continent may not have heard of you and won't respect your doctoring skills. The only way to prevent this is by working with them in the same continent. The only disadvantage is that you have to buy extra warm clothes when you are rotating in Antartica. You see some great cases of penguin bites down there though.

Your Mama dropped you on your head one too many times!! Absolutely funny!

 

[Olanzapine]

Originally posted by deepsouthmedic
Your Mama dropped you on your head one too many times!! Absolutely funny!

As someone who was actually dropped on his head several times, I find your insinuation that I was dropped on my head to be insulting and rude!

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by Olanzapine
As someone who was actually dropped on his head several times, I find your insinuation that I was dropped on my head to be insulting and rude!

sounds like you need to up your meds

 

[deleted9493]

Some impressive sarcasm here...if such a thing can be said and yet hold meaning.

 

[coreyw]

Originally posted by David511
In many foreign country's there is confusion over what DOs are...'Osteopaths' in other countries (UK for example) aren't much more than chiros, i.e. not fully-licensed (and trained) physicians. Hence, the US DOs aren't granted foreign licensure.

ummm... likewise American-trained osteopaths are not usually qualified to practice osteopathy in Australia... I'm afraid that your training in manual medicine isn't really up to scratch.

But if you could manage to run the gauntlet of qualifying medical exams, lobbying the relevant royal college, and spending two years in a rural area i can't see how you'd have much of a problem practicing medicine or surgery in Oz... you might even be recognised by the Australian Association for Musculoskeletal Medicine, but not the Australian Osteopathic Association... but, so what?

ttfn

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by coreyw
ummm... likewise American-trained osteopaths are not usually qualified to practice osteopathy in Australia... I'm afraid that your training in manual medicine isn't really up to scratch.

But if you could manage to run the gauntlet of qualifying medical exams, lobbying the relevant royal college, and spending two years in a rural area i can't see how you'd have much of a problem practicing medicine or surgery in Oz... you might even be recognised by the Australian Association for Musculoskeletal Medicine, but not the Australian Osteopathic Association... but, so what?

ttfn

Once again, you guys are responding to almost 3 year old posts. I don't think the people who wrote these things way back then are even around anymore.

 

[coreyw]

Originally posted by DrMom
Once again, you guys are responding to almost 3 year old posts. I don't think the people who wrote these things way back then are even around anymore.

Aw Mom... you old hacks just don't seem to realise that there are plenty of us young turks out here in cyberland who need to sit in our very own smokey cybercafes and drink our cyberlattes and re-hash old cyberconversations and think ourselves terribly original.

if folks are interested in this subject, let 'em talk...