So you want to be a bone doctor?

[no-see-um]

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😀 Now that I got everyone's attention,

How do you approach such a question from strangers, friends and family alike?

 

[Eiko]

😀 Now that I got everyone's attention,

How do you approach such a question from strangers, friends and family alike?

I've gotten that a lot lately.

Friend: "Well, I suppose that'd be a good job if you liked bones."

My Father: "Can you actually get a job doing that?"

My co-worker: "Is that some kind of nurse?"


I just smile and say it's just like an MD but with a little extra kick. D.O.s do the exact same things as MDs but use a neat little thing called osteopathic mainupulation therapy to supplement their medicine.

 

[Doc 2b]

Just tell them all to **** off. If they ask you that they are in the dark. Tell them that.

 

[Dr JPH]

Tell them they are stupid for being so ignorant about the world around them. Then tell them that you are too good to waste time explaining yourself because, unlike them, you are enlightened about the differences between MDs and osteopaths. Then roll your eyes and walk away.

 

[docbill]

just say YEAHHHHHH

 

[no-see-um]

Tell them they are stupid for being so ignorant about the world around them. Then tell them that you are too good to waste time explaining yourself because, unlike them, you are enlightened about the differences between MDs and osteopaths. Then roll your eyes and walk away.

Doc 2b Just tell them all to **** off. If they ask you that they are in the dark. Tell them that

I must say that I've given that consideration. It is quite frustrating... So, without faulting people, but rather the ways of approaching the problem, I have come to the realization that that's no way to further the profession and to educate the general public (outreach)- two things that DOs ought to do. It must be hard as hell, but it's well worth a clear answer to someone who may just be in the dark on the medicine that should be reaching him or her.

Eiko
I just smile and say it's just like an MD but with a little extra kick. D.O.s do the exact same things as MDs but use a neat little thing called osteopathic mainupulation therapy to supplement their medicine.

Thanks for responding. That's pretty much how I answered that question today from a co-worker.

docbill
just say YEAHHHHHH

haha I wish. Orthopedics isn't so bad of a specialty. If only more DO's were treated as "bone doctors" enough to easily match into ortho! 😀

 

[gboom22]

Instead of getting pissed off. Educate the people that ask you. Tell them what Osteopathic Medicine is and have them tell their friends and family.

 

[docrobbins]

Just tell your curious folks that getting your Osteopathic degree is like getting a BA instead of a BS. ..Same thing, only you take a few extra classes.

 

[JohnDO]

I use the B.A./B.S. analogy all the time. All of my extended family know what D.O.s are, since they live about 30 miles outside of kirksville. They don't even have M.D.'s in that region (well, ok, maybe a few) Nonetheless, a lot of people don't even realize that theres the word "osteopathic" in front when I say "kirksville college of osteopathic medicine". Some of them ask, and I explain. If I see that it's not clicking, I take a little extra time to explain the history in a 5 sentence nutshell. I haven't come across the "bone doctor" thing yet.

 

[bones]

Tell them they are stupid for being so ignorant about the world around them. Then tell them that you are too good to waste time explaining yourself because, unlike them, you are enlightened about the differences between MDs and osteopaths. Then roll your eyes and walk away.

 

[EMTLizzy]

Friend of my sister's: "You're so pretty, why do you want to spend your life dealing with bones?"
-because "porn star" didn't seem like it would guarantee me a steady paycheck

My boyfriend's sister's boyfriend: "That's cool. They're starting to get really big. Like, on the rise as a profession."
-that made me smile

My uncle: "I thought you were interested in infectious diseases. How come you switched to bones?"
- Diseases come and go, but bones are there forever
-then my aunt kicked him and explained what a DO was

My boyfriend: "Hey, I never realized this, but my doctor is a DO."
-duh!


Ironically, I never heard the BA/BS analogy until I was at work and my boss's business cards got printed with a BA and he is a BS. He said, "It's not that big deal. It's sort of the difference between an MD and a DO but I still want them printed right."

 

[pjc199]

Save yourself the agony and just tell them that you are going to medical school and don't say anything about Osteopathy. In all reality, in four years, they know you will be a practicing physician. Unless any of your relatives work within the healthcare system, it won't really matter much to them. Ignorance abouds these days. My aunt who is a nurse and a floor supervisor, did not know that DO's can specialize in Neurosurgery if their grades/boards allowed them to attain such a residency. It was a mind shock to her. My only answer to her is a very simple one: I want to be a DO because I don't want to be the arrogant, self-centered a$$hole that your husband is. You can bet there were some nice looks amongst the turkey table that evening.

 

[fapt]

so wat is the bone Dr..
I have no ideal yet!! 😕

 

[smc927]

They might be like my mother-in-law. Her family doctor is a D.O. and she didn't even know it.

 

[Kevbot]

When people ask me, I tell them that DO and MD are exactly the same, because once you get into residency, the reality is that they are (unless your doing one that involves OMM).
I have been told me that the only real difference is that DO's are more likely to become general practitioners, and MD's are more likely to become specailists. But even that is slowly changing.

 

[Robz]

I just tell them I like bones.....

 

[liverotcod]

Sounds like a pretty reasonable mistake for people to make. Osteo=bone, pathia=sickness. So osteopathy literally means sickness of the bone.

Actually "osteopathic" would be a better term for the kind of medicine commonly called "orthopedic."

 

[jiy76]

wow its good to know my relatives arent the only ones who think I'm trying to get into a bone school. At least I don't feel that bad now. 😳

 

[raptor5]

I use the DMD DDS analogy b/c most people have no idea what degree their dentist has, including me.

 

[medic170]

I use the DMD DDS analogy b/c most people have no idea what degree their dentist has, including me.

Is there any difference at all between a DMD and DDS?

 

[no-see-um]

Is there any difference at all between a DMD and DDS?

Different states have different letters.