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Why do so few DOs practice OMT?
- Thread starter subtlewonder
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most specialties dont easily lend themselves to the use of OMT (i.e. anesthesiology, dermatology, pathology, ophthalmology, psychiatry, etc.)
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You know, I asked my PCP about that too since he is a DO and he had told me that there are a variety of reasons behind it and one of his main reasons was that he was not good at it as were most of his classmates. He did not see any reason to try to use OMM when he thought he wouldn't be doing the patient any good. Another DO to whom I had asked this question replied with the response that there was not enough time inbetween patient visits. I for one am excited to be learning OMM and hope and plan to use it quite frequently!
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qBuster Douglas said:
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subtlewonder: Is it perhaps that OMT is not as well accepted and that DOs fear they will be ridiculed if they act different than MDs...
I highly doubt this is a reason...the most frequent answers I hear, coming from a major metropolitan area is the time factor and not being good at OMM. I am sure there are other reasons out there but I have never heard a DO say the above response that you provided. Maybe you should go ahead and ask some DO's.
I highly doubt this is a reason...the most frequent answers I hear, coming from a major metropolitan area is the time factor and not being good at OMM. I am sure there are other reasons out there but I have never heard a DO say the above response that you provided. Maybe you should go ahead and ask some DO's.
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subtlewonder said:
The irony is that most of us ARE in primary care, where OMT lends itself to best be put to use...but who are the doctors who have the LEAST amount of time to spend with patients (due to the criminally-mismanaged health system/insurance/managed care mess in this country?)...? Primary care docs, that's who.
Fear of "ridicule" has nothing to do with it. This is not an 8th-grade dance and we don't all get dorked-out quite as easily as we used to. Nor do professionals "ridicule" one another on a regular basis, in my experience.
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subtlewonder said:
There are just as many MDs that I have met that would love to add OMM into their training.
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I feel the problem is, as sophie put so well, money and time. Renumeration for treatment is not good... especially with the current health insurance billing policies and tactics. Treating somebody can take time... if the average doc is limited to 10-15 minutes with each patient, treatment seems unfeasible.
As for the "ridicule" thing... From what some faculty have told me, this held "some" truth. In the seventies, the osteopathic profession was fighting to be treated as equals. Several doctors on the front lines faced major discrimination... not the wussy stuff we complain about today. A lot of docs decided to focus on the mainstream in order to blur any preconceived notions from the allopathic community. They did not want to appear different to their peers. They focused more on the EQUAL rather than the DIFFERENT. This is evidenced by the fact that some of us who are currently training are better at OMT than some of our preceptors. It's not rare to teach some of them a new technique.
This, of course, is no longer true. The profession now proudly trumpets its osteopathic heritage and manipulation techniques. Some are bold enough to say, that's what makes us better. So, I don't think a significant amount of people are fearing ridicule. It's much more likely that they either suck at it, or choose not to believe in it. I've seen both. That's why we're busting our butts trying to prove this stuff with research. We want to get paid and get some evidence for the "Negative Nancies" at DO schools. 🙂
ATnS
As for the "ridicule" thing... From what some faculty have told me, this held "some" truth. In the seventies, the osteopathic profession was fighting to be treated as equals. Several doctors on the front lines faced major discrimination... not the wussy stuff we complain about today. A lot of docs decided to focus on the mainstream in order to blur any preconceived notions from the allopathic community. They did not want to appear different to their peers. They focused more on the EQUAL rather than the DIFFERENT. This is evidenced by the fact that some of us who are currently training are better at OMT than some of our preceptors. It's not rare to teach some of them a new technique.
This, of course, is no longer true. The profession now proudly trumpets its osteopathic heritage and manipulation techniques. Some are bold enough to say, that's what makes us better. So, I don't think a significant amount of people are fearing ridicule. It's much more likely that they either suck at it, or choose not to believe in it. I've seen both. That's why we're busting our butts trying to prove this stuff with research. We want to get paid and get some evidence for the "Negative Nancies" at DO schools. 🙂
ATnS
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The reason Osteopaths don't practice OMM in their invidual practices is largely due to the way they are trained in OMM and Osteopathic principles during medical school. At my school we have all the regular medical school curriculum and then on Wednesday afternoon of each week we ge an OMM lecture and lab. It feels like I need to bring my passport in order to attend. Most of the docs do nothing but practice OMM. This of course is fine but a very very small minority of my classmates want to do only OMM. So the majority of my classmates just see OMM as something they have to do to get through the program. Basically just learn it and then lose it. Osteopathic schools need to integrate OMM into the basic curriculum more! Integrate it into our basic science courses and our clinical medicine courses. Also the basic science faculty need to buy into Osteopathic medicine. I have heard numerous times during lectue negative views of OMM from basic science faculty.
Also, Osteopathic medical schools need to realize that the majority of the students in this generation of their medical students are there because they didn't get into M.D. schools. As such, they need to take it upon themselves to say now we got you were going to teach you why osteopathic medicine is benificial to patients, how you can integrate it into modern medicine, and why you should be proud to be a D.O. (Not just that we're better than M.D.'s b/c we have another "tool" in our bag). Before applying to D.O. schools I don't know how many times I've heard Osteopathic medicine is Mind, Body, and Spirit integrated into one. That so far has been just propaganda. As I said our medical curriculum is identical to M.D. schools except for 3 hours once a week. If we want to be different, our medical education needs to reflect that difference and not just and provide us with an "extra" class.
Please don't take this post as myself being anti D.O. or wishing I hadn't attended a D.O. school. This is however my opinion of a problem within the education of Osteopathic medical students that I see.
Also, Osteopathic medical schools need to realize that the majority of the students in this generation of their medical students are there because they didn't get into M.D. schools. As such, they need to take it upon themselves to say now we got you were going to teach you why osteopathic medicine is benificial to patients, how you can integrate it into modern medicine, and why you should be proud to be a D.O. (Not just that we're better than M.D.'s b/c we have another "tool" in our bag). Before applying to D.O. schools I don't know how many times I've heard Osteopathic medicine is Mind, Body, and Spirit integrated into one. That so far has been just propaganda. As I said our medical curriculum is identical to M.D. schools except for 3 hours once a week. If we want to be different, our medical education needs to reflect that difference and not just and provide us with an "extra" class.
Please don't take this post as myself being anti D.O. or wishing I hadn't attended a D.O. school. This is however my opinion of a problem within the education of Osteopathic medical students that I see.
