Which is your pick????
Doctors
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D.O. What does that mean???
sapphire
Contributor
drbill:
"Doctor of Osteopathy".... I actually voted MD because my doctor is one, but I know a lot of excellent, skilled, DOs. In my opinion it is not the degree, but the physician, that is the important thing.
In California, at one time DOs had to fight to prove they should have the same license as an MD. They are now equal in that respect. The training differs in that Osteopaths are trained to treat the whole person (they treat your body as an integrated whole), and they are trained in osteopathic manipulations (like chiropracters). Generally they are primary care physicians, but not always...
jennifer
Packhorse
Contributor
You can pick your doctor and you can pick your nose, but you cant pick your doctors nose.
Huh, I don't know anything about this.:huh:
So can D.O.'s prescribe medications and cut into your body? Are D.O.'s a part of most hospitals' staffs?
Can they give (and sign off on) a standard medical exam? That would be pretty useful.
How does a D.O. rank (in ability to *do stuff*) in comparison to say, a Physician's Assistant or a Nurse Practitioner?
So can D.O.'s prescribe medications and cut into your body? Are D.O.'s a part of most hospitals' staffs?
Can they give (and sign off on) a standard medical exam? That would be pretty useful.
How does a D.O. rank (in ability to *do stuff*) in comparison to say, a Physician's Assistant or a Nurse Practitioner?
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Oh yes, they can prescribe and even get surgical residencies.
DO's are very similiar to MD's but their basic science foundation is followed by a somewhat more wholistic medical school which does include more nutrition and manipulation. I would prefer their education, except the truth is that the MD route is more competitive and thus tends to recruit/attract more of the top tier candidates, in general. DO's have a bit of a stigma in American medicine as being second rate although it is not necessarily true and I prefer DO's in many ways. They are less "pharmecutically inclined" and actually study a bit more nutrition, unless I am mistaken.
Physician's Assistants and Nurse Practioners function with somewhat less autonomy, as they are under the orders of a physician. They can prescribe, within parameters, the criteria set by the MD. A DO does not need an MD's supervision to practice medicine.
Salary levels usually follow, but not always. Many CRNA's can make more than even some MD's, for example. Still, this is an exception.
DO's are very similiar to MD's but their basic science foundation is followed by a somewhat more wholistic medical school which does include more nutrition and manipulation. I would prefer their education, except the truth is that the MD route is more competitive and thus tends to recruit/attract more of the top tier candidates, in general. DO's have a bit of a stigma in American medicine as being second rate although it is not necessarily true and I prefer DO's in many ways. They are less "pharmecutically inclined" and actually study a bit more nutrition, unless I am mistaken.
Physician's Assistants and Nurse Practioners function with somewhat less autonomy, as they are under the orders of a physician. They can prescribe, within parameters, the criteria set by the MD. A DO does not need an MD's supervision to practice medicine.
Salary levels usually follow, but not always. Many CRNA's can make more than even some MD's, for example. Still, this is an exception.
paulthenurse
Contributor
FWIW, the best doc I've ever worked with was/is a DO.
On the flip side, the biggest fool I've ever worked with was/is a DO.
It's the individual person, not the degree, not the med school, that matters in the end. Find one you like and stick with him/her.
On the flip side, the biggest fool I've ever worked with was/is a DO.
It's the individual person, not the degree, not the med school, that matters in the end. Find one you like and stick with him/her.
Agree with Paul. One of the best internists in the town where I work is a DO. And I've known some MDs who have terrified me.
Other than the nutritional emphasis, how else does the D.O. school program differ from standard med school? Is the level of knowledge the same?
If they're not too different, why not just fold them into an MD program as another specialty?
If they're not too different, why not just fold them into an MD program as another specialty?
I voted for the MD. But I'd go to a DO. I had a dive buddy that was a great surgeon and if I remember right he was a DO. As with any health care provider it is the individual not the initials.
Joe
Joe
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