M.D vs. D.O

[OlufunshoBY]

This is the second year I am applying to medical school. I have considered applying to DO and international programs as a second option. I want to make it clear to others who might be in my situation; 95% of people who go to D.O. school go because they could not get in to M.D. program. DO philosophy is unique and they make excellent physicians, equal to MD's at face value and ability but they are considered second tier by the whole american medical community in an unspoken sense. Competing for residency versus an MD would prove very difficult.

While i agree that some go into DO school because they couldn't get into MD, i disagree that DO are regarded as second tier by american medical community in an unspoken sense. Unfortunately, it's a notion that still exist among premed and even med students (especially 1st and 2nd yr) prior to their clinical experience.

I am doing an externship program now in wheeling hospital WV (after my 1st yr of med school). It has dual accreditation, as long as you know what you are doing, nobody cares whether you are a DO or an MD. Whether you have a DO or MD beside your name really doesn't matter anymore when someone is sick and needs to be treated. If you can make them better, then you are a good physician. Period!

good luck

[dazd&confusd]

Younger, please provide your source for the statistic that 95% of DO students are MD wannabees. Also, if this is a prejudice that is unspoken going around between MD and DO, please fill me in on how you were able to find your way into such a conversation; I am keenly interested. It sounds like you are simply repeating what you have read and heard.

Could you please provide some names of practicing MDs who feel that the DO education is inaddequate (you need not give names on this board, I would gladly speak with you in private)? If we are to improve our programs, it would be of great benefit to us to have conversations with said people.

While our schools do tend to have lower GPA and MCAT cummulatives, our classes are diverse in age and many students are in the middle of career changes. Thus they are going back to complete MCAT requirements having been out of school and away from the material for many years. This makes the MCAT all the harder and therefore this can drag scores down a bit. Case in point, I am the youngest of my study group and my age is 32.

And, as a point to residency, over half of our class has already stated intent to enter rural family practice. So, please don't assume that specialty residency cannot be had because there are a disproportionate grouping of DOs in family practice. Again, many people are in the middle of a career change and simply want to move home to the country and take care of locals.

Let's please stop chatting about what is "better" and what is or isn't. I strongly encourage everyone to find the career path that is right for them and also as important a school that fits your personal needs.

"If you are a good doc, regardless or your degree, you will land on your feet " this is quote from Dr Wilson (MD-pulmonologist) when I asked some of the tough questions on DO, MD stereotypes.

[tavia]

ok Krust3 you say that some hospitals do not hire DOs, but if the DO take the USMLE then would they hire them.

[Puttinfool]

I was having chest pains but could not get in to see my regular doctor, a D.O. so the clinic put me with an M.D. The MD rushed my to the emergency room at a hospital where I was put thru all kinds of test. The next day I went home and they had found nothing wrong with me. The following day the chest pains came back and I was able to see my D.O. He gave me a once over, had me lay on my back, put his fist under my back and pressed down and after the initial pain was over, I was fine. Turns out I had a rib that had "dislocated". In 5 minutes or less the DO fixed what the MD in the same clinic plus the MD's at the hospital never figured out. MD's simply are too narrow minded and rely on others and meds to attempt to find a cure.