LifeBridge Health Blogs » mdmd for life, National Osteopathic Medicine Week, osteopathic medicine » M.D. or D.O. – What type of doctor is best for you?
M.D. or D.O. – What type of doctor is best for you?
Pop Quiz – Is your physician a M.D., or a D.O.? Should it matter to you?
Many people don’t realize that in the United States there are two groups of physicians fully licensed to prescribe medicine and to practice in all specialty areas, including surgery.
In many respects, there is little difference between the two. Both types must graduate from an accredited medical school. Before they can start their careers, newly minted M.D.s and D.Os receive additional, on-the-job graduate medical training through internships and residencies, which typically last three to six years.
But it is the type of training they receive that sets them apart. M.D.s, or medical doctors, learn to treat specific symptoms or illnesses, whereas D.O.s, or doctors of osteopathic medicine, practice a “whole person” approach to medicine with an emphasis on preventive health care. They are trained to consider the health of the whole person and use their hands to help diagnose and treat their patients.
According to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), “D.O.s receive extra training in the musculoskeletal system – the body’s interconnected system of nerves, muscles and bones, providing them with an in-depth understanding of the ways that illness or injury in one part of the body can affect another. With this knowledge, D.O.s incorporate osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) into their patient care, using their hands to diagnose illness and injury and to encourage the body’s natural tendency toward good health.”
I bring this up because National Osteopathic Medicine (NOM) Week begins today. NOM Week brings supporters of the osteopathic medical profession together to focus on one common goal – increasing awareness of osteopathic medicine and osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) in communities across the country.
If you’re in the process of selecting a new primary care physician, the AOA lists several questions to ask yourself before considering an osteopathic physician. Another great resource for Northwest Baltimore residents in selecting a doctor is the Physician Directory of Md.MD For Life magazine, which you can see here.
What do you think? What factors do you consider when selecting a doctor? What is more important – reputation or experience and training?
To schedule an appointment with one of our highly trained physicians and find out why LifeBridge Health is Baltimore's premiere health care organization, call 410-601-WELL.
Filed under: mdmd for life, National Osteopathic Medicine Week, osteopathic medicine
8 Responses to "M.D. or D.O. – What type of doctor is best for you?"
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As an allopathic (M.D.) medical student myself I am secure with myself and my thought process. I fully support the osteopathic community and have worked with and been treated my several great Osteopathic physicians. I would, however, like to point out that sometimes I read about things like "indepth training in the nervous system." or "using your hands to diagnose." This may be true but it implies that we (M.D.s) do not do thse things. I have spent countless nights studying the nervous system, receieved training with neurologists, neuro surgeons, neuro ophthalmologists and Ph.Ds of neuro anatomy and clinical psychology. So while I support th DO's and don't put their training down, they must at the sametim respect our level of training (after all Harvard, Yale, Cornell, UPenn etc are MDs..and yea they understand the nerves of the body pretty well too). Secondly…We ALL use our hands to diagnose…this is fundamental. I don't just look at a patient and say "You have a gallstone." I obviously was trained to a complete physical with palpation percussion, etc. The M.D. community thrives on prevention and we even have a residency program dedicated to "preventative medicine." We try to use physical activity, diet and lifestyle changes as a first resort when possible. I know this was long but I just don't want people to think that the M.Ds just throw meds and surgery around. In the end the American patient is fortunate to have two wonderful groups of physicians to choose from!
I greatly have to disagree Tom! First off it seems funny how you try and name ivory league colleges like this makes a difference at all. I have gone to both M.D and P.O and i’ve had so many doctors (md’s) make you feel like your taking up too much of their time and tell you to refer your questions to the nurse -oh excuse me!?Another big thing for MD’s is that you describe something and they have this magical ability to tell you its nothing without ever touching you!It’s obvious that i had alot of pain with my nerves and back and i went to a DO and on my 2cd visit i was diagnosed through an emg with neuropathy and oh also my back pain that the md’s diagnosed sitting in a chair turned out to be a tumor luckly myDO did touch and feel instead of just saying they are fatty tissue!!!!Go with a DO if your at your wits end
I’m sure there are a lot of wonderful Dr.’s out there that are thorough and don’t feel superior to their patients. But through my experience it just seems Do seem to really give their patients the time and genuineness they need to help make them relax and trust the process. I’m sure there are good and bad in everything but for a PCP (primary care physician ) i would prefer a Dr. with a D.O
For me the post is a little too technical as far as the terminology is concerned but I think I understand the point that it is trying to make. When it comes to zeroing down on a physician or a doctor, his experience, training, reputation, qualification, specialization as well his personality, all are important. As a layman, I shall first go visit my family physician to diagnose my problem and guide me to a specialist or a super specialist. I would prefer to take the advise of someone who may not be a specialist but is experienced enough to guide me in the right direction.
My wife was injured in a car accident a few years ago and was seing doctors of course. Then she never healed all the way. So she went to an O.D. and has seen results since then. Now we have hope. Sometimes you have to try them both to see what one will work best for your body.
Some interesting information about the way the U.S. healthcare system works here.
I have to admit I had no idea what a D.O. was before I read this article. Cheers!
I’m a DO student. I felt the need to thank Tom for his post. It was very friendly and encouraging, when often similar posts can turn fowl. I just wanted to thank Tom for his thoughts and i agree with your statements. It’s unfair for DO’s to claim that they (we) own certain aspects of medicine, because it will never be the case across the board. We are all in this together and society will need as many caring, knowledgeable, and competent physicians as society can get. There are both great, OK, and poor DO’s and MD’s, it’s the person that makes the physician not letters.
Very nicely written blog.It gives very vital information to the people who are unaware of this kind of topics.Keep posting like this.Thanks a lot!! It will really help me to explore my mind with these blogs. Thanks Again!! And Please Keep sharing!!!