This is too bad, seeing all yall people arguing about what osteopathy is whether to have DO or have MD-O or what not!
I think you should just practice medicine because you like it...doesn't matter what the past founders did or said! There has been changes since then. Also who cares about them two letter initials at the end of your name....patients don't! Im not even a medical student yet! But I volunteer and have shadowed a couple of doctors and their patients call me doctor!!!! So this proves that patients can't tell if you are a DO or an MD or a ND or whatever other types of doctors their might be. These times you can't even tell who is an RN,LVN,PA or an MD,DO! They all dress alike. There is not distinctions between them.
Yes, someone mentioned that chiropractors are also doctors, yes they are....aswell as a Ph.D people...but their is only two MEDICAL doctors which are DOs and MDs...so you should be happy you have the oppertunity to change someones life by treating them! Also have the ability to prescribing medicines if you have to which others cannot. To my understanding NDs can prescribe some types of medicine but are limited.
DOs have that extra training in OMM as well as a different approch to treating patients. You should be happy because you studied osteopathic medicine. Yes you do have to explain what a DO is but thats just to your friends and family members and others who might ask. The other 2/3 of the people who don't ask think you are a MEDICAL DOCTOR! And thats it!
So all in all...just study medicine and put all this MD-O s*** to rest! DOs and MDs when asked what they do, they do answer they are medical students. I think someone mentioned this already above. They don't say they study allopathic medicine or they study osteopathic medicine. And people view a doctor as a doctor...what makes them doubt doctors is whether you are a "good" docotor or not. (i.e. care for them, treat them correclty, etc etc.) Not whether they have MD-O after their name.
Another thing...someone mentioned already...if you change DO to MD-O, how many people are going to be asking what is that!!!! You are in the same boat whether you change it or leave it. So why not just leave it as is and cont. with the education of our profession??? DOs are unique in a way of their philosophy so why do you want to associate them with MDs?? If I remeber right Dr. A. T. Still had the option to give his students (DO) the MD initials and he himself said no! He wanted to keep his students from being associated with MDs. So why associate them now????
So basically I said keep DOs as DOs. I personally like to be different...and I don't care how many people I have to explain what my philosophy would be!!!! I enjoy giving them a brief history! And for those of you who are going to say.. "wait til you have people asking you all the time" well...to answer your question...since the day I considered studying medicine...and I researched the areas I have wanted to be a DO and I have been explaining what a DO is to people. And that was before I started with my business degree!! 4yrs ago!
So

to all...and work together and don't fuss over two initials after your name!