When do you think the DO stigma will go away? If ever?

[Kingsmen2018]

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Serious question. When do u think the general public will really know that MD aren't the only physicians. Everyone I've talked to who don't know anything about medicine think "oh he's a DO? he's not a real doctor."

Do you think this will go away with time, as DOs and MDs share residencies?

 

[Medic741]

Serious question. When do u think the general public will really know that MD aren't the only physicians. Everyone I've talked to who don't know anything about medicine think "oh he's a DO? he's not a real doctor."

Do you think this will go away with time, as DOs and MDs share residencies?

I really want it to be the case... but as long as DO schools are opening with questionable rotations & HUGE class sizes I just don't see it happening. Getting rid of grade replacement on AACOMAS is a good step to make DO applicants easier to compare to MD applicants on school's 'matriculant stat' pages.

Hate to say it, but so many DO programs just aren't comparable with MD programs with teaching hospitals & class sizes of ~90 students. Combine that with decades of negligible branding outreach of what "DO" means...

I will never forget going into my pre-med advisor and asking: "Should I apply to DO schools?"

He looked at me... shocked and replied "what are those?" Sigh...

But with more DO's practicing medicine the 'brand recognition' will spread & all will be ok! Eventually... Especially if all DO students dedicate themselves to excellence in their careers... IMO that's probably the best way to move forward & something every DO student can do!

--Some guy who chose DO over MD

 

[sdhere1234]

the AOA is the biggest battle that current/future DO's have to deal with, unfortunately.

 

[Lawpy]

DO schools should adopt LCME standards for medical education and convert to MD schools, with OMM as an elective. The differences between the two pathways are historical and political on part of the DO orthodoxy.

 

[Toutie]

Wow, this topic has never come up before. 🙄

 

[Dox4lyfe]

Until the O in DO doesn't move to the front and become an M, the stigma will live on.

 

[UBLI-EINSTEIN]

If any DO schools sometime can beat Harvard, Yale school of medicine. Eliminating DO stigma might be possible. However this is unrealistic. Unfortunately.

 

[bingob2]

Serious question. When do u think the general public will really know that MD aren't the only physicians. Everyone I've talked to who don't know anything about medicine think "oh he's a DO? he's not a real doctor."

Do you think this will go away with time, as DOs and MDs share residencies?

The reason its easier to get in, is because less people want to be a DO. The day having DO next to your name holds the same prestige as having an MD, then they will both be equally competitive. A chicken and egg scenario.

If DO schools started to do things significantly differently than MD's with better results, then you might see this happening. Or just outright make it much harder to become a DO than an MD, thus solving the prestige thing.

 

[harkas]

Everyone I've talked to doesn't care about the difference between an MD and a DO. I've lived in WA, OR, and MA. You live in CA, where the ratio of pre-medical neurotics are 1:3 😉 Consider the source. I once attended a Q&A put on by an admissions committee from a medical school in CA where a student from UC-Davis was freaking out about a B+ in one of his classes. Perspective is lacking, man.

I don't know where this idea of DO students being lazy/not committed to excellence comes from. DO students aren't tainted students just because they attend schools with lower GPAs/MCATs. They work hard, if not harder, than MD students. In my last job, I worked in academic medicine, and I saw residency applications of DO candidates who had extensive ECs including tons of research/volunteer work and excellent USMLE scores and PS from no name DO schools compared to MOST of the MD candidates applying for the same residency. Of course, there are DO students who probably should never have considered going into medicine because their scores/grades are terrible. But guess what? There are MD students like that too.

That being said, I agree with @Medic741 about the rotations and history of DO schools, I think that's where the DO stigma will stay strong for a long time. But the key is to stop grouping things into larger categories ("DO this, DO that") and being obsessed with prestige. Focus on being the best medical student you can be so you can be the best doctor you can be regardless of the two letters next to your name. I PROMISE you, it will not go unnoticed.

There are people who have had to overcome worse stigmas than DO vs. MD in their careers and lives, and they're doing just fine.

P.S. The place I worked for had an incredibly prestigious fellowship program in its field with only 4 spots, and one was given to a DO. The school they graduated from would surprise you.

 

[UBLI-EINSTEIN]

It's funny to talk about eliminating DO sigma. Has the US ever successfully eliminated issue of racism or so?
NO. These are all ongoing process and sometimes even becomes more sever.
Stereotypes are there. People insisted. If that stereotype represents a stigma or a negative bias, then it will stay forever.

 

[bannie22]

No reason for DO schools to exist to be honest. The medical field should be streamlined to transition them to MD, just like how their residency programs are being integrated.

 

[Dr. Stalker]

 

[wholeheartedly]

Out in the real world the places I've been, no one cares. In my small community clinic we have a DO, I don't think most people know she's a DO. It's not hurting her at all. In my big academic medical center former job we had DO in the derm residency, plus a boatload elsewhere.


you have to realize that a not insignificant number of patients don't know whether they're seeing an NP, PA, MD, DO or the janitor half the time.

 

[Goro]

I don't know. How big is the supply of ignorant pre-meds? That's where the stigma mostly lies.

In the real world, I'd give the profession about ten years before the current AOA leadership retires and the current DO residents and newest attendings realize that the "more DOs good!" mindset of the AOA is actually hurting the profession, and the mandate goes out to COCA to become more LCME.

 

[theonlytycrane]

--Some guy who chose DO over MD

Why DO over MD? J/w

 

[kamakazi5]

It seems like most are answering this based on our knowledge of medical education. The general public (or many in medical school for that matter) doesn't understand the first thing about the LCME, COCA, etc. If pressed, all know MD equals doctor and a small subset knows DO equals doctor even though many have likely been treated by one at some point in their lives.