primary care vs. specialties

[ulotrichi]

I realize that osteopathic medicine focuses on primary care. Most D.O.s are primary care physicians. But are there osteopathic schools that are known for their training outside of primary care? I know that all of the schools have third and fourth year rotations in many of the specialties of medicine, but which schools have particularly strong programs in Internal Medicine, for instance?

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[DrMom]

FYI: internal medicine is primary care

 

[ulotrichi]

Right. Sorry for the poor phrasing. Let's try this:
Does anybody know of any osteopathic schools that have good programs in oncology? This would mean that the schools would be affiliated with cancer centers for student involvement.

 

[Chronotropic]

The school in Texas is known for it's cancer research.

 

[Doc_Thks_JC]

Ulotrichi,
You seem to be a little uninformed on the primary care vs specialized medicine scenario. This is understandable since I assume you have not entered medical school yet. I was the same way. First primary care fields include: FP, IM, Peds, OB/Gyn, and some consider Psych. Specialized medicine is everything else you can think of. In alot of instances you have to do an Internal Medicine residency (or Peds) first then apply for a fellowship in your area of specialization. Well, no osteopathic school itself has to be strong in any area of specialized medicine: Derm, Anesth, neurology, surgery, urology, GI, pulmonology, etc.... Most osteopathic schools allow the students usually during the 4th year to do externships (clinical rotations) around the nation at the sites of their choosing. IF you want to do a Dermatology rotation at John's Hopkins then so be it. Apply and if they allow you then you are in. So from that standpoint you can get the best training in any specialized field you want. You also want to do this to get exposure for residency. So, what I am saying is that you can specialize in anything you want as an osteopath and most schools do not discourage this, they just encourage that primary care be your focus. If primary care does not fit you, then do your externships in fields of your choice during your elective rotations. Get good exposure and then apply for residency in the field of specialized medicine you so choose. I hope that helps and Good luck!

 

[ulotrichi]

Thanks, Doc_Thks_JC. That really clears things up. I appreciate it.

 

[aabobrov]

Quick question to the group: I've always assumed that emergency medicine is considered primary care. Am I wrong?

 

[DrMom]

Technically it's generally not considered primary care, even though EM docs are definitely generalists & provide a lot of primary care.

 

[Dr JPH]

Originally posted by aabobrov
Quick question to the group: I've always assumed that emergency medicine is considered primary care. Am I wrong?

Technically it's not.

Why? Not really sure.

Like DrMom said...most ER docs see primary care cases and a ton of folks use the ER as the "PCP", if you will.

 

[NotShorty]

The school in Texas is known for it's cancer research.

From what I've heard, if you aren't a resident of Texas, you aren't getting in.

 

[NDESTRUKT]

the United States of Texas

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Psych is primary care??

 

[DrMom]

I've never seen psych grouped with primary care.

 

[DireWolf]

At our school (OSU) and several others, EM is considered primary care.

 

[carpe diem]

Not absolutely positive but I think National Health Service Corp (which provides scholarships for those willing to do primary care in underserved areas ) considers psychiatry to be primary care.

 

[DrQuinn]

Its obvious through this thread that there are differing opinions on what is and what isn't primary care.

When I complete my EM residency, I will NOT be considered primary care via the AHEC/HSPS.

Q, DO

 

[Miss155]

Hi

So a D.O can be an OB/GYN?

 

[skypilot]

Originally posted by Miss155
Hi, So a D.O can be an OB/GYN?

Yes a DO can be any type of physician you can name. This would include brain surgeon, anesthesiologist, radiologist, and psychiatrist. While DOs are very common in primary care they can be found in every specialty.

 

[DrQuinn]

Can a DO refer patients to an MD or is that illegal?

 

[Amy B]

Originally posted by QuinnNSU
Can a DO refer patients to an MD or is that illegal?

Why would a DO refer to an MD? Oh, did you mean a DO refering a patient to an MD who is a specialist in some field?


My question is on a secondary I filled out it said to check off my top three choices of careers. Some of the choices listed were... Primary care, internal medicine, emergency, pediatrics, etc...

I want to be a rural family care physician so I clicked primary. But I did think internal and primary were the same thing, so why were they both listed?

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by Amy B
Why would a DO refer to an MD? Oh, did you mean a DO refering a patient to an MD who is a specialist in some field?

quinn was just being sarcastic

Originally posted by Amy B
My question is on a secondary I filled out it said to check off my top three choices of careers. Some of the choices listed were... Primary care, internal medicine, emergency, pediatrics, etc...

I want to be a rural family care physician so I clicked primary. But I did think internal and primary were the same thing, so why were they both listed?

general internal medicine is primary care, subspecialties are not.

I'm not sure why they used the term primary care instead of family medicine

 

[skypilot]

Yes probably a mistake but you are ok since by checking primary care you said you wanted to be either Family Practice, General Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecologist, or even Psych!

Internal medicine generally works with adults, pediatrics is with children, and family practice is with every age group!

 

[stoic]

In Kansas, the osteopathic association provides a full ride scholarship to students at DO schools willing to come back to Kansas and work as primary care providers in underserved areas (which in Kansas is literally all but 5 counties). I'm looking at the application right now and they classify primary care as: family practice, Internal Med, Peds, OB/GYN, Psych, and Emergency Medicine.