The Osteopathic Philosophy

[premedmind]

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Would I be correct to say in my PS that I am interested in osteopathic medicine because they take a holistic approach to the body, and make sure to account for all components, including psychological and physical symptoms?

Is "holistic" the correct terminology?

 

[Bond8204]

"Accounting for all psychological and physical symptoms" is inaccurate or incomplete. Not to use the word in the definition too badly, but to be holistic in your approach to the patient means to consider the patient as a whole, rather than just considering their disease. You note how their life circumstances--who they are-- affect their experience of the disease and how you might go about your treatment of it.

Frankly talking about that stuff is pretty vanilla for an AACOMAS personal statement. I'd just talk about an experience with a DO and the positive qualities you saw in them (while, of course, refraining from denegrating any MDs).

 

[GiraffeAddict]

I'm no expert on terminology, but as for the content, I would think you would need to tie in something substantially personal into your discussion. It seems like a great approach at a detailed enough point of the philosophy and your interest in it, but you they need to see YOU, not just a detailed historical/philosophical account of their own profession. So, explain to them WHY this specific aspect of osteopathic medicine caught and held your interest, not just that it interests you, because they already know that.

 

[premedmind]

Must be a misunderstanding.

I am only using the reference to my interest in osteopathic medicine and its ability to relate psychological and physical symptoms to produce effective treatment with regards to one of my own personal experiences of illness.

I had an illness that involved a psychological problem, and pretty much my entire PS is devoted to that, as well as mentioning my enjoyment of working with people.

The end of the essay is devoted to explaining that if it wasn't for my physicians ability to integrate psychological and physical symptoms (the illness I had contained both), in a holistic way, I would have never been cured and this is the reason why I find interest in osteopathic medicine.

I also mentioned that is very important to take into account all components of the body when treating patients. I have not had shadowing experience with a DO so I can't comment on that in my PS.

Is this OK/accurate?

 

[Bond8204]

The end of the essay is devoted to explaining that if it wasn't for my physicians ability to integrate psychological and physical symptoms (the illness I had contained both), in a holistic way, I would have never been cured and this is the reason why I find interest in osteopathic medicine.

Right. What we're both saying above is that just inserting "in a holistic way" there sounds cheesy and generic. It's as if you took an MD personal statement and attached "in a holistic way" in order to make it your DO personal statement. That might not be true, but that's the way it reads.

You need to insert a small phrase about how his treatment was holistic and how that specifically affected your experience of the treatment.

 

[hopefuldoc87]

Would I be correct to say in my PS that I am interested in osteopathic medicine because they take a holistic approach to the body, and make sure to account for all components, including psychological and physical symptoms?

Is "holistic" the correct terminology?

I may be wrong, but I think our MD counterparts account for those components, too.


If it makes you feel any better, I wrote the same stuff in my PS for DO schools 😀

 

[premedmind]

I may be wrong, but I think our MD counterparts account for those components, too.


If it makes you feel any better, I wrote the same stuff in my PS for DO schools 😀

I get it. So just saying "holistic" is too cliche....guess I'll reword it or something.

What if I wrote something that I am interested in DO because they stress each component of the body as "fundamental"?

Is it true that MD's and DO's both stress the importance of all components of the body when patients seek treatment? If so, I could just use my DO PS for my MD PS....and change a few things here and there.

 

[scpod]

....If so, I could just use my DO PS for my MD PS....and change a few things here and there.

Almost every secondary application asks, "Why DO?", so you have a chance to answer that question then. In you primary you can certainly use the same one for both, although you may have to edit it for length.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

In my MD personal statement, I wrote that I hated people, and only cared about treating symptoms. And that I really didn't even care about symptoms, but I wanted to do a lot of procedures so I could make a lot of money and get chicks.

I got into Harvard, Stanford, and Baylor.

 

[TPBC]

In my MD personal statement, I wrote that I hated people, and only cared about treating symptoms. And that I really didn't even care about symptoms, but I wanted to do a lot of procedures so I could make a lot of money and get chicks.

I got into Harvard, Stanford, and Baylor.

Priceless!!

 

[Exalya]

I think that because of your history, discussing the holistic emphasis of the DO philosophy is great. I personally didn't know there was anything wrong with using the word holistic--in my "why DO" essays I used it interchangeably with "whole-person approach."

 

[ACD2007]

the way i best understand it is this, correct me if im wrong:

MDs treat diseases and are more textbook/science oriented and DOs treat people and are more willing to look outside the books

 

[275079]

the way i best understand it is this, correct me if im wrong:

MDs treat diseases and are more textbook/science oriented and DOs treat people and are more willing to look outside the books

Jesus Christ.

 

[premedmind]

In practice, there is really no difference between MD and DO.

In medical school, MDs are taught to treat the symptom while DOs are taught to address all aspects of how the symptom arose. Of course there is also OMM.

Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[spicedmanna]

In practice, there is really no difference between MD and DO.

True.

In medical school, MDs are taught to treat the symptom while DOs are taught to address all aspects of how the symptom arose. Of course there is also OMM.

Correct me if I am wrong.

Hmm. What's all this talk about treating symptoms? No good physician, whether MD or DO, is just going to just provide symptomatic relief and ignore everything else. That's ******ed. Good medicine always treats the whole person and attempts to find the etiologies for the illness (and to understand the pathophysiology of the condition(s)), and to resolve them, if possible. 🙄

The training is remarkably similar. In the first two years of medical school, we (meaning MD and DO students) are taught the very same basic sciences and clinical elements. There may be differences in presentation of the subjects and emphasis, but the material is essentially the same. The most notable difference is that it is mandatory for DO students to learn OMT and it is integrated into the curriculum.

 

[RySerr21]

the way i best understand it is this, correct me if im wrong:

MDs treat diseases and are more textbook/science oriented and DOs treat people and are more willing to look outside the books

Consider yourself corrected.

Is it true that MD's and DO's both stress the importance of all components of the body when patients seek treatment? If so, I could just use my DO PS for my MD PS....and change a few things here and there.

Ill tell you once so you never have to ask it again. MD and DOs are IDENTICAL in how they practice medicine. One isnt more holistic. One doenst focus more on psychological or alternative medicine. Its all BS. Use your MD PS for your DO PS (just make sure you fit the chraacter requirements), it really doesnt matter. I did, and I know most people do.

 

[faxncc]

Consider yourself corrected.




Ill tell you once so you never have to ask it again. MD and DOs are IDENTICAL in how they practice medicine. One isnt more holistic. One doenst focus more on psychological or alternative medicine. Its all BS. Use your MD PS for your DO PS (just make sure you fit the chraacter requirements), it really doesnt matter. I did, and I know most people do.

totally AGREE!!! (that's what I did) Unless of course you have the time to write 2 PS's then go for it.

 

[JanikeyDoc]

Would I be correct to say in my PS that I am interested in osteopathic medicine because they take a holistic approach to the body, and make sure to account for all components, including psychological and physical symptoms?

Is "holistic" the correct terminology?

If you can write about a real life example of the osteopathic philosophy in practice, I think it can work. Osteopathic medicine does have a holistic philosophy from what I know, the patient is composed of body, mind, and spirit. You will need to think of an example from what you have witnessed in real life and apply it.

 

[Semicolon]

Jesus Christ.

I thought the same thing.

If you can write about a real life example of the osteopathic philosophy in practice, I think it can work. Osteopathic medicine does have a holistic philosophy from what I know, the patient is composed of body, mind, and spirit. You will need to think of an example from what you have witnessed in real life and apply it.

Yes, "body, mind, and spirit" is part of the tenets of osteopathic medicine, but as above posters have stated, this no longer has ANYTHING to do with modern practice. DO's do not observe any patient's "body, mind, and spirit" except perhaps some hardcore DO's (which I've never heard of personally).

 

[sshashid87]

I know this thread's a couple days old but...I am essentially using the same PS for MD schools as DO schools...my PS answers "Why medicine?, why me?" I didn't think I had to address the osteopathic philosophy since both are medical schools...is this okay or should I consider a rewrite....?

 

[Tizoc]

It should be. The secondaries are where schools typically ask you the "why DO" question, so I wouldn't worry about your PS not covering it.

 

[Semicolon]

I know this thread's a couple days old but...I am essentially using the same PS for MD schools as DO schools...my PS answers "Why medicine?, why me?" I didn't think I had to address the osteopathic philosophy since both are medical schools...is this okay or should I consider a rewrite....?

This is perfectly fine; you don't need to rewrite. 🙂

 

[bioman2006]

.

 

[JanikeyDoc]

I thought the same thing.



Yes, "body, mind, and spirit" is part of the tenets of osteopathic medicine, but as above posters have stated, this no longer has ANYTHING to do with modern practice. DO's do not observe any patient's "body, mind, and spirit" except perhaps some hardcore DO's (which I've never heard of personally).

Some schools take it very seriously, especially AT Still.