Pre-MDs Thoughts about DO?

[AspiringDoctor9]

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Hi Guys,

I've been curious to this question for a long time, so I thought I'd ask it here. It's already been explored in the pre-DO forum, so now I wanted to see what the other side has to say. What do you think of DO physicians? Would you want to attend a DO school? What is your opinion of their general respectability from the public? Finally - what do you know about osteopathic medicine? No flame wars please, but I am curious to see how MDs and pre-MDs view DOs, not just how DOs view MDs or how DOs view themselves.

 

[Gleevec]

Originally posted by AspiringDoctor9
Hi Guys,

I've been curious to this question for a long time, so I thought I'd ask it here. It's already been explored in the pre-DO forum, so now I wanted to see what the other side has to say. What do you think of DO physicians? Would you want to attend a DO school? What is your opinion of their general respectability from the public? Finally - what do you know about osteopathic medicine? No flame wars please, but I am curious to see how MDs and pre-MDs view DOs, not just how DOs view MDs or how DOs view themselves.

I want to do academic research, and it seems as if everyone in academia has an MD, PhD or both. I hear there are DOs doing research as well, but it doesnt seem as common.

 

[dmbkappasig1]

I have nothing against DO's per se, but I didn't bother applying to any osteopathic schools. I got in my state med school, so everything worked out, thankfully. A few of my friends have applied or are applying to some DO schools, and one has just started. Since it is a private school, the costs are ridiculous. Base tuition is ~$35,000, and with books and living expenses, he had to take out $54,000 in loans this year. By the way, he was rejected at our state school without even an interview, but he got in the DO school in early January, just showing that DO schools are much less selective than allopathic schools. He was also admitted to St. George's, but rejected without interviews at all other schools he applied to.

I know some DO's and they are excellent physicians. I just didn't want to spend the rest of my life explaining what a DO was to everyone I came across. I know it is shallow and stupid, but those letters are going to be behind your name for the rest of your life, and I for one would rather be "MD"

 

[MDmiracle]

Originally posted by Slickness
I have applied to both MD and DO schools. I would have no problem attending a DO school because they are physicians just as MDs are.

The only drawbacks to being a DO are that most of the public might ask you what a DO is because 9 out of 10 people do not know the degree exists. Also, it is a bit harder to specialize as a DO. Other than that everything else is equal. However, DOs do learn Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine which is an extra form of treatment that MDs do not learn.

I agree with slickness, although most people don't know what a DO is I would say a majority of them have been treated by one at one time or another.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by dmbkappasig1
By the way, he was rejected at our state school without even an interview, but he got in the DO school in early January, just showing that DO schools are much less selective than allopathic schools.

Yep, that proves it. Naive comment.

 

[matthew45]

MDs have DOs beat in prestige. Period. If you don't care about prestige, there is no difference to you. Check out princetonreview.com and do a school search for "osteopathic" to look at the average stats of DO matriculants, they would get you laughed out of the admissions offices at alot of MD schools.

 

[skypilot]

Originally posted by MDmiracle
I agree with slickness, although most people don't know what a DO is I would say a majority of them have been treated by one at one time or another.

Often your Pathologist, Anesthesiologist, or Radiologist is a D.O. and you of course never know. Also many times you go to your group of doctors, say Palm Beach Internal Medicine, you ask to see the doctor. They give you to Dr. Schwartz who is board certified in Internal Medicine. You never know that his is a D.O.
Because D.O.s are so prevalent in Primary care I have heard that 12% of primary care visits are to a D.O. And in Michigan almost a 3rd of all the physicians are D.O.s.

 

[vixenell]

Where's that 'beating a dead horse' smilie when you need it.

Search for 'MD vs DO' and you be amazed at the ignorance of pre-allo students on this forum.

 

[dmbkappasig1]

Originally posted by ItsGavinC
Yep, that proves it. Naive comment.

Yep, you are right and I am wrong. After reviewing admissions stats from DO schools and watching numerous friends throughout the application process, I have discovered that DO schools are the most selective, and that MD schools pale in comparison. What was I thinking?

I'm not pulling info out of thin air. Stats don't lie... and when you see people admitted to every DO school they applied to without receiving one interview from ten allopath schools, it is somewhat obvious, not naive. See the connection: low stats much more likely to be admitted to DO than MD. Just a fact, nothing more nothing less.

In the end it won't really matter, except that DO's might have more difficulty getting into specialty/sub-specialty residencies. Other than that, and perhaps paying a helluva lot more money for a private DO school, most everything else is equal.