Where are DO's most accepted?

[dradams]

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I know some people do have an opinion one way or another towards DO's. I may be a future DO myself and was wondering if there are certain areas in the country where the opinion of
DO's is more favorable than others?

 

[DireWolf]

Usually in any state/city that has a D.O. school.

 

[dradams]

I don't know if that is always true. I currently live in Florida (NSU is in Ft. Lauderdale) and I know there is still quite a bit of bias against DO's (in my experience anyway). This could be because most people in Florida have moved from somewhere else. I'm not sure.

 

[DireWolf]

I'm just generalizing from the experiences I've had in cities/states that have D.O. schools. The only areas I know for sure from personal experience that are "D.O. friendly" are MO, OK, IL (not all parts), IA (not all parts).

 

[DOtobe]

PA is a pretty DO-friendly state, especially northwestern PA (the Erie area - obviously because LECOM is there). MI is also supposed to be very DO friendly. I have a friend at MSU-COM who says this is true, but I've never been there myself.

And Florida is a pretty big state. Do you live near NSU (sorry, I don't know where Jensen Beach is)? Maybe people in other parts of the state haven't heard of NSU.

It could also be that most of the population of Florida is over age 60 and has never heard of a DO 😉

 

[Runtita]

TX is supposed to be good to DOs...

And doesn't MI have more DOs than any other state?

 

[DD214_DOC]

The military is pretty good to DO's.

What do you guys mean by, "bias"? PDs and other physicians? I seriously doubt most patients would ever know you're a DO unless you told them, so I wouldn't expect much bias.

 

[sophiejane]

I read something recently that said PA has more DOs per capita than any other state. They also have two DO schools--PCOM and LECOM.

Texas is very DO-friendly, as well. I'd guess that's more true in Austin/Dallas/Ft. Worth and in small towns than in Houston, since there are 3 allopathic schools in the Houston area.

But I also think that the profession needs more "pioneers" to infiltrate areas that are traditionally not as "DO-friendly". The more people who learn about us and the good work that we do, the better.

 

[dradams]

True, many patients would not know. Also true that there is a large elderly population in Florida which may account for some of the bias that I have experienced.

 

[HKDO08]

I heard from an interviewer that Michigan has the second highest amount of D.O.'s (while Pennsylvania is first). I think I heard this right....

Lari

 

[lattimer13]

arizona likes the DOs

 

[HoosierDO]

KY is extremely anti-do...well maybe i shouldnt say that...i can only speak for louisville...not that they dont like DO's but no one knows what a DO is...and the ones who think they do...have a very biased and shady view of what a DO is...if you plan on practicing in ky...make up a pamphlet to hand out when people ask you what kind of dr. you are...most dont get it. There are a lot of one sided opinions against DO's here. It took me forever to find a DO to shadow, but once i did, he was absolutely amazing. I use to work in one of the busiest ER's here, in 6 months i only encountered 1 DO that came through!!! its quite aggravating, but that is how it goes i guess.

 

[isomerjohn]

Philadelphia Freedom

 

[sherman1]

I am originally from the Philadelphia area and there are tons of D.O's in PA, NJ, DE, and NY. It's probably due to the fact that there are 2 schools in PA, 1 in NJ, and 1 in NY ...Most people I've met know what a DO is and have been treated by one.

 

[daria]

Not sure about all of NJ, but definitely South Jersey (again, that's where the DO school is, and it's a good one).

 

[drvlad2004]

I believe that this is the top 5 states with licensed DOs:

1. Michigan
2. Ohio
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. New York

Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[DOtobe]

Shouldn't PA be somewhere on that list too?

 

[dradams]

I know Florida is number 3 in the country in numbers of DO's but I have still found quite a bit of bias against DO's from my experience, which doesn't seem like it should be the case with as many as there are here.

 

[drvlad2004]

Originally posted by DOtobe
Shouldn't PA be somewhere on that list too?

You are correct! I can't believe that I forgot Pa, especially when I just interviewed for U. of Pittsburgh's PM&R program. NY is not in the top 5, it is actually #6. Here is my revised ranking:

1. Michigan
2. Ohio
3. Pennsylvania
4. Florida
5. Texas

 

[osteo emt]

pa, pa , pa .......................... there are a ton of D.O. 's here. i can tell u that every hospital i've been to, at least half their staff is osteopathic. just dont go to states like wyoming, washington, washington d.c. , they literally have like 30- 50 D.O.'s in the whole state!

 

[DermpathDO]

D.C. is a state??? since when???
also in the Federal sector in D.C., there are many DO's in NIH and FDA, Bethesda and Walter Reed, so DO's are very well represented there

 

[twaspatz]

Originally posted by osteo emt
pa, pa , pa .......................... there are a ton of D.O. 's here. i can tell u that every hospital i've been to, at least half their staff is osteopathic. just dont go to states like wyoming, washington, washington d.c. , they literally have like 30- 50 D.O.'s in the whole state!

I think Wyoming only has like 100 people in the entire state, so that's a great ration 😀

 

[group_theory]

Originally posted by drvlad2004
You are correct! I can't believe that I forgot Pa, especially when I just interviewed for U. of Pittsburgh's PM&R program. NY is not in the top 5, it is actually #6. Here is my revised ranking:

1. Michigan
2. Ohio
3. Pennsylvania
4. Florida
5. Texas

Correct states, wrong order 🙂

Here is the correct order, w/ numbers to back me up (Source: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine 2002 Annual Report, page 14)

1. Pennsylvania
Total DOs: 5,477
Active DOs: 4,900

2. Michigan
Total DOs: 5,192
Active DOs: 4,443

3. Ohio
Total DOs: 3,589
Active DOs: 3,197

4. Florida
Total DOs: 3,527
Active DOs: 2,865

5. Texas
Total DOs: 3,083
Active DOs: 2,691

6. New York
Total DOs: 2,992
Active DOs: 2,817



AND THE LOWEST (numerically)

1. District of Columbia
Total DOs: 37
Active DOs: 34

2. Wyoming
Total DOs: 50
Active DOs: 45

3. Vermont
Total DOs: 57
Active DOs: 48

4. North Dakota
Total DOs: 58
Active DOs: 57

5. South Dakota
Total DOs: 71
Active DOs: 64

Active DOs are under age 65 and have not yet informed the AOA that they have retired

 

[drvlad2004]

Thanks for finding the corect stats. I can't believe that Washington, DC has so few DOs for such a major metropolitan area. When I did a PM&R elective at Georgetown/National Rehabilitation Hospital, I was surprised by the very low amount of DO attendings and residents on staff, especially for PM&R. It was an unimpressive program to begin with. Just on appearance, it was evident to me that DOs are poorly represented in DC.

I am not surprised that Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Vermont have the fewest DOs. There's only 500 people who live in those states combined if you don't include Burlington, VT😀 .

 

[fun8stuff]

I was just glancing over this post and I thought I would let you know that from what I know Michigan is very DO friendly... I have lived in MI all my life and went to a DO my whole life as well. In fact, I think there was a study done that people are more satisfied after visiting their DO. Every once inawhile I run in to a person who thinks of a DO as a witchdoctor and other weird thigns, but I usually try and set them right 😉 Most people I have talked to are under the impression that they are pretty much the same thing; most people say some thing like, "what is the difference between them? is there a difference?"...

 

[osteo emt]

hey dermpathoDO, i think we all know d.c. isnt a state and what i was trying to say but i guess petty statements get u through the day. anyways, if u want to make a snappy argument at least check your facts. as group_ theory kindly explained with documented facts D.C. only has 34 active D.O.'s in the entire territory, city or district or whatever u want to call it. it has the least D.O.'s of any area in the U.S. So maybe where u are is where they all practice.

 

[elvingomez]

havn't seen california thrown around here.... how is it here?

 

[DMAKSIMOVIC]

maybe it's because the AMA in California tried to turn them all into MD's in the 60's. Then the DO school was shut down. I'd say that set them back a few years.

 

[EUROdocMOM]

SIDEBAR...
As a native of the DC area, I had never heard of a DO until I went to Germany (already 27 years old then)! Found them there abundant as military docs.
DC is low on DO's in private practice, yet it is a very good place to practice-especially the suburbs where the very health conscious, well-educated, over-stressed, and affluent patient population is seeking our philosophies and expertise (gives new meaning to the term "medically underserved").
If I could STAND to live there again and sit in traffic for 4 hours a day, I'd open my doors as a D.O. that advertises the heck out of our WHOLE patient approach.
So, when you are asking about "DO friendly" areas, consider that you may be highly sought practicing in areas with low numbers!