How to Decide Between an M.D. and a D.O.

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DO has weaker admission stats AND teaches outdated forms of quackery? Thanks for making my healthcare choices easy: MD.

scared patient of FL 12:02AM August 22, 2012

I am a future DO student. I have researched all fields including naturopathic, osteopathic and allopathic. I have a 3.67 GPA and have not yet taken the MCAT all though I will be soon. I intend on applying next year after I finish my pre-requisite program in Ill. They are the only program where you can finish all science credits in just two terms as opposed to 1 to 2 years. I have recently changed doctors to a osteopathic doctor and it’s the first time I have been treated by one. I have to day the difference is night and day. I am treated like a person and she treats the "whole me" not just individual symptoms or problems. She can tell what’s wrong when I walk into her office that is how much she is in tune with my body. After experiencing a doctor like that my mind was completely made up. I wanted to treat patients the way she did. I think too many times doctors just keep treating symptoms and never get to the bottom or root of a problem. She won me over. After seeing MD’s all my life and experiencing an OD’s exam I will never go back. I want to help people the way she does every day. I have been excepted pending completion of my pre-requisite program and I never even considered applying to an MD program. I am completely sold on the Osteopathic program, both the curriculum and the philosophy.

Kim Rogers of WA 9:24PM June 23, 2012

I about to decide whether I am going to pursue DO or MD. I am and always have wanted to be a rural primary care physician, and this won't get in the way of either allo or osteopathic.
The choice is so hard! 20 years down the road, I think I will be an excellent small town doctor with little flack from people, even though I intend to go back to Ontario Canada where there are nearly no DO physicians heard of.
One thing I don't like about osteopathic doctors is that most of them I see are overweight, whereas the MD's aren't. Why does this have to be? I want to go to school with the best and brightest and most socially competent individuals.

Ryan Burkholder of FL 8:25AM June 02, 2012

As a future DO, I have at times been frustrated by the number of people, mostly outside of the medical profession, who hold negative perceptions (or are otherwise uninformed) about the osteopathic branch. Let's face it-- these stereotypes are a result of admissions averages that differ by just a couple points on the MCAT or in a GPA-- differences that are overblown in the ultra-competitive world of med school admissions. It's almost amusing how people who know little about the unique characteristics of osteopathic medicine somehow know that they're "less competitive". I blame the AOA to some degree on the lack of understanding among the public. Admittedly, I was hesitant about pursuing a DO initially, fearing that I would have to constantly defend my abilities against these stereotypes. I'm an Ivy League grad who had a 3.5 GPA and a 32 MCAT. Are there MD's walking around with lower stats? Sure. Will some people assume that I'm "less qualified" anyway? Probably. I've conceded that people will always hold biases against others for myriad reasons-- and you can't trouble yourself with caring. We're all after one thing-- learning the art of healing-- and as many successful physicians have said, grades and scores predict how well you'll do academically in med school, but have little bearing on how you'll be as a physician. After educating myself about the curriculum and philosophy at osteopathic and allopathic schools, I know that both MD and DO students alike receive excellent (and equivalent) medical training. The extra education DO's have in manipulation only enhances our feel for and understanding of the body. It would be great to see the AOA doing more to dispel the stereotypes and misinformation.

Future DO of MA 1:00AM May 21, 2012

As a professor with years of experience as a member of the admissions committee at an osteopathic medical school, I could provide you with multiple examples of students with higher GPA & MCAT scores who were rejected in favor of students with lower GPA & MCAT scores. The reason is because the osteopathic medical schools are seeking motivated, dedicated students with good interpersonal skills. The DO schools are looking for well rounded men and women who will make outstanding physicians. Purely academic markers such as GPA and MCAT scores are important but only to a point. An introverted genius with few social or interpersonal skills does not make a good physician. Any student being accepted into a medical school (DO or MD) must be in the higher eschalon of his/her college class but take a moment and think of the other qualities that you would like to see in your physician. Academic ability, as important as it is, should not be the only criteria for acceptance into medical school.

Tom Quinn, DO of FL 9:49AM May 17, 2012

I cannot disagree more with the previous commenter's statement that DO's have a harder time getting into allopathic residencies. About half of the graduating osteopathic medical students enter allopathic Programs each year, with many getting into some of the most prestigious ones such as Harvard, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, Stanford, etc. I know DO's who have been accepted and excelled at all of these Programs. The misconception of the commenter is largely propagated by the fact that there are 10 times as many MDs as DOs in the US. Therefore, it is natural to see fewer DOs in some specialties.
As for the alledged academic differences, there are many "higher tier" students who choose osteopathic medical school, and I have seen many less intelligent allopathic students as well. I went to Cornell, had a 3.5 GPA, a 32 MCAT, was an Eagle Scout, and I went to an osteopathic medical school (NYCOM). And I am da*n proud of it , too! It is true that DO schools may look at applicants in a more wholistic manner and not just their numbers. But I believe that this process selects for the best candidates - intelligent and bright, but also compassionate, mature, and able to communicate effectively with their patients.

TZ, Osteopathic Family Physician of NY 11:15PM May 15, 2012

I would like to add one clarification to the above statement that "you will be able to apply to almost any residency program in any specialty." While this is true in theory it is not true in practice. For competitive fields (plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, urology, ENT, dermatology, etc), it is much more difficult to enter those fields as a DO than an MD (its very difficult even as an MD graduate!). Additionally, very very few DO graduates are accepted into allopathic residency programs (i.e. your major top academic centers), at least in these competitive fields. If you plan to pursue one of these fields, it is in your best interest to consider an MD school.

MD matched into competitive specialty of PA 4:32PM May 02, 2012

As a graduate of an Osteopathic Medical school, I can tell you that D.O. schools look to recruit well-rounded candidates that may have had interesting, former careers. In my medical school class there were 9 nurses, an Alaska fisherman, and a 46 year-old former EMT. I was the youngest of my four best friends and I started medical school when I was 30. The president of my medical school was an engineer whose company built my medical school and decided while the school was being erected that he wanted to pursue his dream of being a doctor. Our life experiences carried many of us a long way. We felt comfortable speaking with our patients almost immediately and for me, my former business management skills helped me stay organized and multi-task in situations that needed it.
You can see that looking strictly at board scores does not give you the full picture of what amazing students osteopathic schools enroll. Even though I now work at an allopathic medical school, I am proud of my D.O. degree and display it proudly on anything that has my name or signature.

Kenneth Stewart of GA 9:49AM April 28, 2012

As a current Osteopathic Student I agree with the comment by the AOA that to say lower tier applicants should apply to DO schools is an insult to every single DO in the country. There are a number of people that scored outstanding on the MCAT (we are talking upper 30's to low 40's) and decided that osteopathic medicine suited them better. While most DO schools cannot have average MCAT scores as high as schools like Dr. Busnaina's alma mater (University of Pennsylvannia medical school), they do apply osteopathic principles to look at the applicant as a whole person, not just a set of numbers. Further, over the years there have been notable physicians that have held DO degrees, such as Ronald R. Blanck (Surgeon General of the US Army 1996-2000), Ronald A. Maul (Former command surgeon of the U.S. Central Command), or Edward Yob (personal physician on George HW Bush). Typically "lower tier" applicants do not acheive such positions.
I strongly urge any student that is interested in medicine to take the time to research both DO & MD tracks and decide based on their research, rather then what their scores are.

TL of PA 3:36PM April 27, 2012

I applaud almost everything that Veritas Prep has written in this blog. My concern is that he defines a “lower tier of applicants” solely on the basis of two quantitative measures – GPA and MCAT. There are many factors that describe good aspiring physicians, and grades and MCAT scores are only two.
As the association representing the nation’s osteopathic medical colleges, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine applauds and echoes the comments made by our colleagues at the American Osteopathic Association. Osteopathic medical colleges have historically emphasized the personal qualities and attributes of applicants in their admissions decisions. While undergraduate grades and MCAT scores also are considered, and do play a role in predicting success in medical school and on licensing exams, they do not necessarily predict success as a physician – excellent physicians require knowledge, skills and abilities beyond those that can be measured by tests.
Of more than 15,500 prospective students who have applied for 2012 osteopathic medical school entry, an increase of 6.31 percent over the prior year cycle, only about 5,500 will be accepted and enroll at one of the nation’s colleges of osteopathic medicine. The continuing growth of osteopathic medical education (from fewer than 10,000 students in 1998-99 to more than 20,000 students in the most recent academic year) points to the growing understanding among medical students that the osteopathic approach to medical education will prepare them to meet the nation’s health care needs and concerns.
Unfortunately, ratings and rankings publications such as US News and World Report frequently place too much emphasis on quantitative measures, and not enough on other measures of quality.

Tom Levitan, AACOM of MD 4:28PM April 24, 2012