SURVEY

[MTY]

i would like to do a survey for DO students and pre-DO students out there.
if you have a choice of adding MD (just two alphabet) next to your DO degree. would you do it?

this way, you can save your time from explaining to some annoying patients the difference between letter 'M' and letter 'D'. God, i hate those patients, but trust me there're ppl like that out there.
at the same time, you approach the art of healing with ostepathic approach in such that you can apply omm technique and so forth.

so what are you guys' thoughts on that? would you do it 'DO/MD'??

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[siulrc]

ABSOLUTLY NOOOOOOO! I don't need a MD title after my name to validate my future DO degree. Plus, I don't have any problem with taking time to explain to people what osteopathic medicine is about.
Keep posting.


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siul

 

[ADRIANSHOE]

I know what you mean about them doggone annoying patients...they seem to be the same ones who want you to explain what you mean by saying they have an arrythmia, or get upset when you tell them they are in congestive heart failure without explaining it to them....what is with all these patients wanting explanations of everything, why dont they leave us alone and let us dictate what is best for them without all this interference....its enough to make me want to become a Lab techinician.

 

[RollTide]

Good post John, my answer is no.

 

[wheatfarmer]

I want the letters "S.T.U.D" after my D.O.

or perhaps "J.U.S.T.A.S.G.O.O.D.A.S.A.M.D."

 

[Billie]

No I would not change if given the chance.

 

[DOc2be]

Absolutely, positvely NO! I will take pride in that DO after my name once I earn it. I really enjoy explaining to those who ask me now why I chose Osteopathic schools over Allopathic schools. If you truly want to be an Osteopathic Physician, you won't mind spending a couple of minutes explaining your degree to your patients....even though it may be repetitious at times.....

 

[drusso]

No, I do not want to change or alter the D.O. designation in anyway. But, I do love how certain ideas get recycled on the internet

Other suggestions that have been made over the last couple of years include:

M.D.O
O.M.D.
M.O.D.
MD(D0)
M.D., Dipl. Osteo.
MDo
oMD
MD(O)

...and my all-time-personal favorite...AMG (to replace BOTH the MD and DO degrees) to stand for "American Medical Graduate."

If you think D.O.'s have it bad, think about how the MBBS's and MBChB's must feel...at least with the "D" in there you get some hint at "doctor."

 

[UHS2002]

No, DO/MD doesn't appeal to me. I do like
MD/O. Why?

Because what I study IS medicine, so I am going to be a doctor of medicine, just with an "extra" thrown in there (OMT, that is). I don't think that, philosophically, my approach to my patients is going to be that distinct from my MD counterparts. My training will have had a somewhat different slant at times (very few times) and I think that should be clear, thus the /O.

So, if what we are studying is medicine, the initials after our name should, at least, read MD or DM, because we graduate with a doctorate in medicine.

That is why IMGs can put MD after their name, because they did receive the equivalent of a doctorate in medicine from their respective countries. They are, for all effects, doctors in medicine. By insistig in using only DO we are saying "Nooooo, I am not a doctor in medicine, I am a doctor in osteopathy", well is there such a thing as "osteopathy" which is a completely different entity than "medicine"?! I don't think so.

For me it is less a matter of "recognition" as a physician and more a matter of principle. When I tell a patient I am not a "medical doctor", I am a "doctor of osteopathy" I am implying that these two things are distinct. Then, just about on the same breath, I tell him/her that I am basically a "medical doctor" such as is someone who is licensed to practice all aspects of medicine. No wonder people get confused!

Allow me an analogy:although ob/gyns don't do much other than obstetrics and gynecology, they don't call themselves Do (Doctor of Obstetrics) and radiologists don't call themselves DR (Doctor of Radiology), even though that is the kind of medicine they practice. But we have to be different, don't we?! We have to make sure that everyone knows we practice "osteopathic medicine", whatever that is which is soooo different from the rest of medicine out there...

 

[jmor702]

I want to display a DO after my name. I am going to an osteopathic college, because I am not interested in becoming a MD.

I don't know about other parts of the country, but here in Oklahoma, I have met many people will only go to DOs for medical treatment. They experience a qualitative difference in the way they are treated.

It is not just OMM or OMT. These are not add-ons to an MD medical practice. It is an approach to patient care, involving the treatment of the whole patient. As a DO I am not as interested in treating illnesses as I am in treating people. And by so doing affecting the quality of their lives in a positive way.

 

[Rookie]

I agree, I think if a patient asks, it gives us as DOs an opportunity to educate the general public about the DO profession and dispel some common myths. I believe if you are good physicians, you can earn the respect of any patient whether you are MD or DO. On the other hand, if you are an incompetent physician, then again, whether DO or MD, you are still incompetent in the eyes of the patient. Keep the two degrees seperate

 

[ms]

Why does www.windsor.edu (under the heading medical program for health care profesionals) has a program to issue a MD degree to DO's?

 

[MTY]

i don't know much about that windsor program. for sure, the MD, degree is a foreign medical school degree. i think u pay a pretty penny for two meaningless alphabet. still, an interesting program worth for further 'investigation'.

 

[RollTide]

I wrote the administration about this program several months back telling them what I thought of it. I am not sure what happened to the the response they sent me, but I posted it on another thread about this topic. The dean wrote me back saying that this program was created out of a lawsuit that was filed by a student at WVCOM who wished to enter their program. Apparently they had refused the student advanced standing because he was in a D.O. program, so the student filed a lawsuit that was later settled out of court(the student decided not to attend). This person who wrote me back promised me that the information on the website was worded poorly, and that they were NOT just handing out degrees, and that any D.O. student wanting to enter the program would have to complete required coursework in the clinical sciences in order to graduate. I think he also mentioned that no one had entered the program as of that time. This guy spoke very poor english and had no answers to the rest of my questions(like how were they educating students with only 5 faculty members). Just thought I would add what I knew about this subject. I encourage others to write these scum and lobby for them to at least change the wording on the website.

Joshua

 

[MTY]

rolltide,
which thread did u post it on? i would like to read it.

thanks

 

[MTY]

ROLLTIDE,

i'm just a little confused about the msg that you posted. which program were you talking about? the one at windsor (about getting a MD for DO students?)

hey, if the dean doesn't even know what he is talking, i don't think anyone would wanna go there for their program. that's totally ridiculous. besides, it's a foreign MD, i don't think you can do much with it anyway.

 

[ADRIANSHOE]

MY GUESS is that a person who already has a DO degree would get the MD degree, practice under their DO license while advertising as a MD/DO, thats the most logical use of such an otherwise useless degree...kinda wasteful of your money, but different strokes for different egos.

 

[ryanpj]

I think that I agree with UHS-2002. I think that we should retain our "roots" and distinctiveness, but at the same time make ourselves more marketable for the ignorant and uninformed. So there is my 2 cents.

 

[MTY]

ryanpj,

to further back up your statement, look at this dental degree DMD(dentistry of medical doctor), hmmm...seems alot more attractive to patients, doesn't it?

 

[RollTide]

The DMD degree is actually the minority in denistry. The DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) is the degree offered at approx. 75% of dental schools. But you don't hear dentists wanting to throw one degree out the door. Sound familiar? Two degrees, one profession, what a novel concept.

 

[MTY]

yup, you're definitly right about that.

 

[futuredo]

Adrianshoe,
Having an DO/MD degree may not be a waste of money to some. If you end up living in a country which does not give full practice rights to DO's, you'll be much better off with something that will allow you to practice medicine.
I think that it is important for DO's to use OMM, at the same time, trying to be so seperate and different from MD's may hurt us.

 

[ADRIANSHOE]

that is true, however, most countries that allow MDs to practice while excluding DOs require that the MD be LICENSED AS AN MD in the united states...so just getting the paper wouldn't be enough. Also, many of these countries don't even let MDs in to practice because it is based upon a NEEDS basis and they perfer their own citizens/subjects over americans if possible.
Besides, the percentage of people actually doing going to another country to practice is probably small enough to where i would guess that for most of us its a nonissue.
Aid organizations have their own set of rules, wherein DOs are often able to practice as part of the mission without actually adhering to the country in questions normal parameters. But you do make a good point, for the 1-2% of DOs who may want to move to a less developed country to practice medicine, there may be some benefit to getting a makebelieve MD diploma.

 

[MTY]

i heard a friend who has an MD from offshore med school was criticizing DO doctors. it upsets me because i believe DO Schools provide just as good training as other med schools. however, he got me with a statement, "at least offshore MD is recognized all over the world." i guess that kinda got me for a moment.
what is your opinion on that?

talk about racist or sexist, this is alphbetist!!!

 

[Phillip]

There is a copy of the 1999 International Licensing document from the AOA that describes where DOs can and can get full practice rights. In in the Files section of www.vote-do.com. Hmmm...this thread happens to be appropriate for the website....



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Phillip
www.vote-do.com

 

[Phillip]

Even though it's confusing to patients, UHS2002, I can understand completely what you are saying, and it's a very good point.


>>
For me it is less a matter of "recognition" as a physician and more a matter of principle. When I tell a patient I am not a "medical doctor", I am a "doctor of osteopathy" I am implying that these two things are distinct. Then, just about on the same breath, I tell him/her that I am basically a "medical doctor" such as is someone who is licensed to practice all aspects of medicine. No wonder people get confused!



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Phillip
[email protected]
www.vote-do.com