why osteopathy?

[Doctor Bagel]

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i'm curious as to everyone's reasons for picking osteopathic school instead of pursuing an md. are you interested in the holistic aspect of osteoapthic medicine? do you like the emphasis on primary care? is it just that your local school is an osteopathic school?

personally, i'm thinking i might prefer osteopathic school because i do like the whole idea of focusing on a patient's overall health, but there aren't any osteopathic schools near me and all the very few d.o.'s we have here seem to focus solely on alternative healthcare insted of having a more mainstream practice.

what about you?

 

[sophiejane]

Yes to all of the above, plus, I was the "anti-pre-med" when I returned to school to do my science prerequisites (after years as a professional musician)...I was and still am pretty much non-competitive and kind of disgusted by all the Type A gunners. I wanted to be somewhere where there was an atmosphere of cooperation, where people weren't jockeying to be first in the class and get only the top residency spots. I wanted to be somewhere where people put their money where their mouth is when it comes to placing the patient first and the doctor's ego second (or last). The allopathic schools I visited were largely populated by inexperienced and immature gunner-types and I knew I couldn't handle four years of that. My school has a diverse student body with a wide age range of students from a variety of backgrounds. All of this plus the bonus of OMM and the fact that my school is ranked 20th in the nation in primary care--all of this factored into the equation for me.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

yeah, i have heard that osteopathic school have better atmospheres and are more acceptinng of nontraditional types. i went to a heavily premed undergrad and then went to law school, so i've had a lot of experience being around those type-a gunners, and i also prefer not to be surrounded by them.

too bad there aren't any ostepathic schools in the pacific northwest.

 

[wholehealth]

You will not likely find a D.O. in practice that focuses totally on 'alternative medicine', that is the path the naturopaths take, if you are referring to homeopathy, oriental medicine, hydrotherapy, etc... The main difference between M.D.'s and D.O.'s is the use of osteopathic manipulation, and some of their diagnostic skills.

I have asked every question in the world and researched every corner of what you call alternative medicine. I have been a massage therapist for seven years now, clinically, and have had a little bit of training in all of the alternative treatments. I looked into naturopathic medicine, but the licensure is far too limited at present, and some of the views are a little left wing for me.

I have chosen D.O. because I can stay on my physical medicine path, which I have invested so much into, and practice the full scope of medicine in the U.S. I intend to use a few alternative treatments in my personal practice, but won't discuss that with any of the old-schoolers during residency...like I said, I have researched every corner of this including studying nutrition, so
feel free to send me a Personal message if you wish.

hope that helps a bit. 🙂

p.s. all of the naturopathic schools are in the northwest, you should check it out.

 

[kpax18]

I thought I've seen this thread before...😕
part 2 perhaps

 

[Doctor Bagel]

wholehealth, i actually did find a d.o. here in oregon who did specialize in alternative medicine, or at least marketed herself from that angle (of course what's "alternative" is always an issue). i'm originally from a state with an osteopathic school, so i know most do's aren't really "alternative" health care providers.

honestly, i'm not interested in naturopathic school, even though we have a big one in the city i live in. i'm more drawn to traditional medicine. i'm also concerned about the licensing issues.

kpax, thank you for making me feel so welcome. if i'm asking a repetitive question, you're always free to not respond.

 

[sophiejane]

Since you are going to have to relocate, I would seriously consider a state school (OSU-COM, TCOM, MSU-COM, NYCOM...there are a few others--I am sure you can find the list easily). Move there, get your residency established while you are applying, and you will have a much better chance of getting in (at TCOM only 10% of students can be out of state--it's a state law), and also much lower tuition (I am paying ~$7,000 a year for tuition and fees as a Texas resident--some private schools are around $25-30,000). I'd pick a area where I want to live first (or at least rule out the places I didn't want to live) and then consider the schools in that part of the country. They all have their pros and cons. Visit a few. Talk to students and faculty, see if they seem happy, and if you like the facilities. Check board scores for graduates, as well. That is important. Also, hospital and rotation affiliations.

Good luck!

sj

ps--I know how you feel about not wanting to leave the Pacific Northwest--I had to tear myself away from Vancouver Island after living there for two years...

 

[kpax18]

Originally posted by exlawgrrl
kpax, thank you for making me feel so welcome. if i'm asking a repetitive question, you're always free to not respond.

chill, man, i was just messin, i apologize if that made you feel uncomfortable. 😛

 

[DOSouthpaw]

I chose Osteopathy because of my school's emphesis on family medicine. Once here, I started to really get into the Osteopathic Philosophy, Manipulation, and other non Orthodox kind of things. Does that mean I won't prescribe drugs...no.. but it does mean that I will try to use all ten of my fingers before giving up and using just three. Are we Alternative Medicine? I don't know but I do know that we should be "an alternative" because there are enough MDs out there, and unfortunately we have diluted our schools with so many MDs, PhDs, and Wanna Bes, that osteopathy is hardely teached at all and when it is, it is boiled down to mear OMT which is just the tip of the theraputic benefits that osteopathy can allow. We should be proud to be Osteopaths, heck a ton of people in my class have "Student Doctor" written under their names on their lab coats, I have "Student Osteopath" that way when patients ask about it, I can tell patients that there is a choice. Oh well, off my saopbox.

Hey Wholehealth, what school are you attending?😀

 

[wholehealth]

sent you a pm...