See DOs on TV Shows

[Sense]

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Members do not see this ad.

Wouldn't you like to? 😀

http://do-online.osteotech.org/index.cfm?PageID=cal_nommonth

See D.O.s on TV Shows
A NOM Month Letter-Writing Campaign

Participate in this year?s National Osteopathic Medicine (NOM) Month letter-writing campaign to producers of popular television shows asking them to write D.O.s/osteopathic medicine into their storylines. The campaign officially kicks off during NOM month in September and targets ER, Everwood, Strong Medicine and The Young and the Restless.

?You voted and we listened,? said Max McKinney, D.O., 2003-2004 Chair of the AOA?s Committee on Public Relations. ?The letter-writing campaign was something that D.O.s, especially our osteopathic medical students, were passionate about. I hope that every osteopathic physician and student takes a moment to send an e-mail or write a letter to these shows. It takes only a minute and the results could put osteopathic medicine in living rooms across the country.?

Beginning in late July, visit www.do-online.org to access the special NOM Month section of the site where members of the osteopathic family can find information on the campaign, including how to plan a letter-writing event. Patients, family and friends can also learn about the campaign through the AOA?s consumer Web site at www.osteopathic.org.

Beginning September 1, participants can send a pre-written e-mail to the four TV shows or even write their own letters with helpful hints from the site. Other PR materials used to promote D.O.s and osteopathic medicine such as talking points, PowerPoint presentations, sample press releases and proclamations will be available through the PR Resource Center in the members-only section..

?The general PR resource materials can be used all year long to promote D.O.s and osteopathic medicine,? added Dr. McKinney. ?However, NOM Month provides a good reason to start spreading the word about D.O.s and osteopathic medicine this September.?

Look for more information about the NOM Month letter-writing campaign in The DO magazine. In fact, in the August issue, more than 60,000 members of the osteopathic family will be able to send a letter to the four television shows just by signing and mailing the pre-written postcard that will be included with the magazine. An easel-back display with the pre-written postcards will also be available upon request to those wishing to organize a letter-writing event or get their patients involved by placing the display in their offices.

Check back in mid-July for more information on NOM Month.

 

[DD214_DOC]

The only problem I have with the idea of putting DOs into fictional medical dramas is that it can end up going either way. If they're presented just as MDs but with a different degree or perhaps focus on holistic philosopohies or whatever then that's great. However, if the writers focus on OMM or some of the hokey-pokey aspects of osteopathic medicine then this idea will do more harm than good.

I imagine the story of any show will end up like this: A new physician comes on staff whose competency is questioned by the staff because he's a DO, but ends up proving his worth by being the only physician to successfully save a patient or know some obscure medical minutae that assist in helping a patient. Cheese anyone?

Don't you think this time and effort would be better spent on real literature and education regarding DOs? Or the AOA lobbying to increase the international practice rights of DOs?

 

[!dr_nick!]

Don't you think this time and effort would be better spent on real literature and education regarding DOs? Or the AOA lobbying to increase the international practice rights of DOs?

Yes.

But then again, most people only "educate" themselves by TV entertainment.

 

[EastCoaster78]

I was always under the impression that the cast of Scrubs were supposed to be DO's. The first season they were interns and the 2nd they came back as residents. I remember an episode after intership where JD becomes a resident and begins to wear a white coat. Mabe not "ER" or "Trauma:Life in the ER" but..
oh well

And for this NOM, is this real? Is the AOA really going to start taking an active role in promoting the profession...?

 

[deleted19731]

I think it would be great, but I think that DO's and pre-meds would be the only ones to notice or care.

I mean like, if I was watchin scrubs. The only way I would notice Elliot was a DO would be when I was trying to use my x-ray vision to see through that scrub top. Heck, even once I saw it I wouldn't care because I would be more focused on boobs than a name tag with letters on it.

 

[Robz]

But then again, most people only "educate" themselves by TV entertainment.

a sign of our times....


then again I still watch sesamee street....

😛

 

[stoic]

I've always figured that part of the reason you don't hear about DO's on fiction TV shows is that there just isn't that much of a story there. What interest would the general public have in seeing DO's on TV? They do the exact same job as a traditional MD and there just isn't much entertainment value in someone saying "Well, I'm a DO. That's like an MD, but with some manual therapy training."

I'm afraid that one of the ways to make a storyline involving DO's would be to cast them second class doctors, much like what has been done to foreign MD's on shows like ER. That's not the kind of publicity we want.

 

[iliacus]

I wouldn't want Hollywood portraying anything I care about, let alone my future profession. The best way to promote the osteopathic profession is through literature and solid pt care. Asking the Hollywood/entertainment industry to promote your profession is like asking them to promote marriage and family values (Joe Millionaire, temptation island etc..) I hope this whole idea goes away 🙁

 

[styles_c]

this is just another testament of how embarrassing the AOA really is. patient care is the only way for people to become educated. additionally, having osteopaths in high-powered specialities (neuosurg, heart surg) will also improve the situation, because these cases are what the public are really enamored with anyway. for example, dr. so--and-so, D.O. saved a child with terminal brain cancer this week. that type of news will spark people's interest in what a D.O. really is, and will eventually lead to widespread acceptance. however, the only famous neurosurgeons in the public eye are folks like ben carson. another option would be to keep osteopathic medical schools and O.M.T., but just award the M.D. some think this wouldn't reflect the philosophy, but neither does the degree D.O., so why not eliminate the headache. anyway, thats another flame war for another time

 

[Idiopathic]

Abby Lockhart did a standing forward bending test on a patient on the season finale of ER...of course the medical resource on the show is a DO. He managed to slip that one in

 

[Idiopathic]

this is just another testament of how embarrassing the AOA really is. patient care is the only way for people to become educated. additionally, having osteopaths in high-powered specialities (neuosurg, heart surg) will also improve the situation, because these cases are what the public are really enamored with anyway. for example, dr. so--and-so, D.O. saved a child with terminal brain cancer this week. that type of news will spark people's interest in what a D.O. really is, and will eventually lead to widespread acceptance. however, the only famous neurosurgeons in the public eye are folks like ben carson. another option would be to keep osteopathic medical schools and O.M.T., but just award the M.D. some think this wouldn't reflect the philosophy, but neither does the degree D.O., so why not eliminate the headache. anyway, thats another flame war for another time

I look at it this way. The doc's who get all the pub, regardless of the letters, are the major brain/heart/vascular/bone surgeons, with cardiologists a distant second. The 'grunts' (peds, IM, FP, GP, etc.) get little recognition. These are the areas that the medical community expects to see DO's in, as well. Until we can 'break the cycle' and get some DO's in optho, ENT, plastics, etc. we will be second-class, or 'grunts'.

 

[cooldreams]

there already are many DOs in those specialties, just look around. Sure its not as high a number as MDs, but dont forget that there are at least 2 things playing against those numbers:
1) i forget the exact numbers, but only like 5-10% of all docs are DOs.
2) tradition/school/residencies all make the pathway to primary care easier for DOs that in subspecialties.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Abby Lockhart did a standing forward bending test on a patient on the season finale of ER...of course the medical resource on the show is a DO. He managed to slip that one in

I have heard many people say the medical consultant for ER is a DO, but I have only seen an MD. Care to offer some proof?

Lance Gentile, M.D., is listed as the current medical advisor for the show. He graduated from NYMC.

 

[Sense]

I have heard many people say the medical consultant for ER is a DO, but I have only seen an MD. Care to offer some proof?

Lance Gentile, M.D., is listed as the current medical advisor for the show. He graduated from NYMC.

Here's the proof that ER has a DO in their medical staff. I also posted it as a thread. Enjoy. 😀

http://www.nbc.com/ER/credits/index.html

Day & time: Thursdays on NBC (10-11 p.m. ET)

Premiere date: September 19, 1994

Starring: Noah Wyle, Laura Innes, Mekhi Phifer, Alex Kingston, Goran Visnjic, Maura Tierney, Sherry Stringfield, Ming-Na, Sharif Atkins, Parminder Nagra and Linda Cardellini

Executive producers: Christopher Chulack, Michael Crichton, John Wells

Creator: Michael Crichton

Co-executive producers: R. Scott Gemmill, Dee Johnson, Jonathan Kaplan, Richard Thorpe

Supervising producers: Bruce Miller, Joe Sachs, David Zabel

Producers: Julie H?bert, Wendy Spence Rosato

Co-producers: Tommy Burns

Executive story editor: Yahlin Chang

Directors: Christopher Chulack, Richard Thorpe, Jonathan Kaplan, Julie H?bert, Felix Alcala; among others

Casting director: John Levey

Unit production manager: Tommy Burns

Medical supervisor: Dr. Mark Morocco

Technical advisers: Dr. Fred Einesman, Dr. Jon Fong

Director of photography: Arthur Albert

Film editors: Jacque Toberen, Kevin Casey, Tim Tommasino

Composer: Martin Davich

Origination: Burbank, California; on location in Chicago

Produced by: Constant c Productions and Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Television

http://www.keepmedia.com/ShowItemDetails.do?itemID=311702&extID=10032&oliID=213

Operating on Accuracy
by Claudia Kalb | Sep 30 '02


It's a Thursday morning on the set of "ER" and actress Alex Kingston (Dr. Elizabeth Corday) is tripping over her lines. "I need 30 'migs' per kilo of methylprednisolone," she says, rushing to a gunshot victim. "Entry wound left mid-, sterno... cleido... uh... I'll never get that," she says, smiling at Jon Fong, an osteopath and one of "ER's" on-set medical advisers. "Dr. Jon" sounds it out: "Sterno-cleido-mas-toid." Soon, everyone, including Noah Wyle (Dr. John Carter) and director Richard Thorpe, begins chanting together: "Sterno-cleido-mas-toid. Sterno-cleido-mas-toid." Thorpe even kicks into a jig to pound the jargon into Kingston's head. Finally...

 

[cooldreams]

http://www2.warnerbros.com/ertv/making_er_mcrichton.html
"After graduating from Harvard Medical School, Michael Crichton embarked on a career as a writer and filmmaker"

http://www2.warnerbros.com/ertv/job_description.html
"INTERN - An intern is someone who has received an M.D."

http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/preprof/Conference/CPO_Website/keynote.htm
"As one of two physicians who serve as technical advisers to the show, Dr. Fong has been helping the show?s directors to ensure the authenticity of the scripts, sets and sounds of "ER" since July 1998. "The technical adviser on duty at any given time is the right-hand man for that episode?s director," says Dr. Fong, who practices emergency medicine at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Bellflower, Calif., on the weekends and when "ER" is on hiatus. This 1984 graduate of Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, Calif., started attending film classes at the University of California at Los Angeles. "

 

[cooldreams]

i must say, i specifically object to their definition of an intern, and am surprised that is it on the website for everyone who gets their "education" there. i think that probablly deserves a letter to be written...

 

[Sense]

A graduate at Western at that. 😀

Good work cooldreams.

 

[cooldreams]

yea i thought you would like that... how come you didnt spout that off sooner?? hehehe

 

[DrRichardKimble]

I have heard many people say the medical consultant for ER is a DO, but I have only seen an MD. Care to offer some proof?

Lance Gentile, M.D., is listed as the current medical advisor for the show. He graduated from NYMC.

try opening your eyes and watching the credits at the end of the show. it only runs in syndication like fifty million times a week on TNT and other networks later in the evenings! jkd, i love it when you act like you know everything, and only wind up showing everyone how little in fact you do know.

 

[DD214_DOC]

try opening your eyes and watching the credits at the end of the show. it only runs in syndication like fifty million times a week on TNT and other networks later in the evenings! jkd, i love it when you act like you know everything, and only wind up showing everyone how little in fact you do know.

Chlll out, I only asked for proof. And I don't watch the show. Maybe blindly believing things people say is ok with you, but it's not ok with me. Grow up.

 

[velo]

Prepare to flame away, but maybe DOs should be on TV because honestly I have no idea what they do. Soley based on SDN , here's what I've gathered--a DO student is someone who couldn't get into an allo school and didn't want to go to the carribean....that's all I have, I don't mean to offend but this is all I hear about DO schools on SDN..."bad stats? try DO schools, or the carribean"

So, in the spirit of understanding (and so I don't make a fool of myself when I meet a DO), someone please explain to me why DOs need their own special schools/titles?

 

[Cowboy DO]

Prepare to flame away, but maybe DOs should be on TV because honestly I have no idea what they do. Soley based on SDN , here's what I've gathered--a DO student is someone who couldn't get into an allo school and didn't want to go to the carribean....that's all I have, I don't mean to offend but this is all I hear about DO schools on SDN..."bad stats? try DO schools, or the carribean"

So, in the spirit of understanding (and so I don't make a fool of myself when I meet a DO), someone please explain to me why DOs need their own special schools/titles?

Try doing a search.

If you get all your info from SDN, then you should know that this subject has been exhausted. I will say that your statement is a huge generalization which in fact probably only applies to a small percentage of DO's. Also if something needs to be on TV in order for you to learn about it then I feel sorry for you...


...Hows that for a flame? 😀

 

[velo]

not bad....i expected better though.....I could do a search, but i don't like reading through old threads...you can't respond and ask questions...plus i'm feeling lazy this summer (hence why i want it explained to me on tv) so I was hoping some idealistic DO would rush to his field's defense and set me straight so I could just get the info here....i'll keep waiting

 

[DD214_DOC]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=133066

 

[velo]

thanks....i'm not too lazy to follow a link at least 😀

 

[velo]

argh, but when the link doesn't answer my question.....thanks a lot, i'm not bashing DOs...i'm making a fool of myself asking now, so i don't have to ask later....what is it that makes you people different from MDs.....oh screw it i'll just search, thanks for your help 🙄

 

[Sense]

what is it that makes you people different from MDs.....oh screw it i'll just search, thanks for your help 🙄

DOs learn osteopathic manipulative medicine which is a form of therapy similar to chiropractry. Of course I know this definition is very similar but to be honest I don't know that much either about OMM since I haven't started school yet. In addition, DOs can do everything an MD does and specialize in all fields.

There are many DO students who have turned down MD acceptances to go to DO schools just like myself. Although some DO students may have chosen DO because they couldn't get into an MD school, there are also a good number who chose so because they either believe in its philosophy, it is cheaper than MD school, or it's closer to family and friends and they don't have to move across the country to be a doctor. 👍

The reason why you're not getting answers about this question is this question is asked almost every week and I feel like I have given this same answer at least 10 times (maybe more) to different people since I've been browsing SDN. It does get old.

 

[DrRichardKimble]

Grow up.

make me

 

[DD214_DOC]

argh, but when the link doesn't answer my question.....thanks a lot, i'm not bashing DOs...i'm making a fool of myself asking now, so i don't have to ask later....what is it that makes you people different from MDs.....oh screw it i'll just search, thanks for your help 🙄

I think you missed the point of the link. The DO and MD degrees are just that -- degrees. What is made of them depends entirely on the individual holding the degree and the quality of his residency. Just as there are many great US-trained MDs, there are many great Caribbean MDs as well as US-trained DOs. At the premed level, the MD/DO debate may seem like an important issue, but this issue nearly dissolves once one enters clinical practice.

During my volunteer work at the hospital, I witnessed DOs and MDs working alongside each other without the question of their being a DO ever being raised by nurses, colleagues, or patients. In fact, I'm the only non-medical person who ever noticed this, but that's only because I had previous knowledge of DO's.

Now, there is some truth in your idea that many DO students couldn't get into MD schools. In fact, many students pursue DO school as an alternative to MD. Does this make them any less of a physician? No. Nobody needs a 3.6 GPA and a 35 MCAT to be a good doctor.

On the other hand, however, there are also many people who pursue DO over MD for a myriad of reasons: they believe the philosophy of osteopathic medicine, they want to learn OMT, there are only in-state DO schools, or, and this is quite common, they have previous family members who were DOs.

Ultimately, I don't find there to be a huge difference between the two. DO's have OMT and MD's don't. That's pretty much it. Many people get into MD schools with stats on par with DO schools, so that's really a very negligible factor.

 

[Cowboy DO]

DOs learn osteopathic manipulative medicine which is a form of therapy similar to chiropractry.

Not you...anyone but you. 🙂 Although this is kindof true, I feel OMM is closer to Physical Therapy. Especially since most DO's hate doing HVLA, despite the fact that we learn it and at times it can feel reaaaallly good. Muscle energy, counterstrain are both things DO's & PT's use, although a PT might all it something else. I doubt they use FPR though.

So to answer the OP's question DO's differ due to OMM, a primary care focus, option of doing MD, DO or MD/DO residencies, and lack of public knowledge. Other than that its all gravy.

Heres a site with some info: http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm?PageID=ost_main

 

[Sense]

Not you...anyone but you. 🙂 Although this is kindof true, I feel OMM is closer to Physical Therapy. Especially since most DO's hate doing HVLA, despite the fact that we learn it and at times it can feel reaaaallly good.

My bad. From now on when I explain it, I'll say it's similar to a form of physical therapy. 👍

 

[Cowboy DO]

Its cool, Im just giving you a hard time. 🙂 the chiro comparison just carries alot of baggage... in my opinion.

 

[Robz]

My bad. From now on when I explain it, I'll say it's similar to a form of physical therapy. 👍

Thats how I describe it....I kinda shutter at the other.