Comment to me from an MD about DO's

[Doctortobee]

This is kinda funny...I was waiting in line at Wendy's and I had my Biochem book with me. The people in front of me saw my book and asked about my major. Eventually he asked where I have applied and I rattled off a few schools (all DO, of course). He said that I should have applied all over and why I applied DO. I gave him my little speech about why...Finally he asked if I wanted to practice physical therapy???!!?!?!?! Now this guy is an MD with a prestegious medical group!

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[metsn02]

Originally posted by Doctortobee
This is kinda funny...I was waiting in line at Wendy's and I had my Biochem book with me. The people in front of me saw my book and asked about my major. Eventually he asked where I have applied and I rattled off a few schools (all DO, of course). He said that I should have applied all over and why I applied DO. I gave him my little speech about why...Finally he asked if I wanted to practice physical therapy???!!?!?!?! Now this guy is an MD with a prestegious medical group!

This encounter should tell you more about this individual than the profession itself. It should also make you question the "prestigious medical group" that he is associated with considering that he really doesn't have a clue about his own profession. Also I might point out that physical therapists ARE professional medical practitioners that serve a key element to the medical treatment spectrum. We as future health care providers need to move beyond these petty hierarchical separations and be open to utilizing multiple treatments and therapies for promotion of health.

In the end, who really cares what some dude in a Wendy's line has to say. Go into your nearest level 1 trauma center and see what nurses, EMT's, and lab techs have to say about DO's working in their hospital. They are the true backbone of our health care system and upon whom we as physicians will lean on for advice and support regarding patient care.

 

[none]

I wonder about all of this. People come on this board pretty regularly with some negative comment an MD made regarding osteopaths and I do wonder exactly what the general opinion is out there. Lots of people post things like the above, but that's no more informative than what the OP overheard. Have their been any more scientific polls conducted that gauged MD opinions on these matters?

 

[DOtobe]

I think that for the most part MD's are accepting of DO's. But just like with anything else, you will have the few jerks out there who will think they are better than everyone else and feel that they are so much more SUPERIOR because they are MD's. I think that once the old-school MD's start to get out of the profession there will be less doctors who don't know who DO's are and more doctors who will see them (us) as their equals.

Just my two cents.

 

[none]

Yeah, that's probably true...but one would think the AMA would enjoy such poll topics regardless.

 

[DOtobe]

Originally posted by none
Yeah, that's probably true...but one would think the AMA would enjoy such poll topics regardless.

Yeah, I'd like to see the results of a poll like that...

 

[SoCal]

Here's one for ya...I was working with a bunch of MDs in a predominately geriatric practice. The MD whom owned the practice hired a DO to help him with the patient load...when I asked what the DO stood for, he told me Dumb Ox. Can you believe this. He was a good Dr. but was not too proud of his title. Pretty sad...since I am sure all of us would kill for those two letters now. good luck

 

[drusso]

I'm a D.O. in a predominantly allopathic institution. I've never heard any negative comments to me about being a D.O. or D.O.'s in general.

 

[cdreed]

Hello all! I work in a military medical facility. It seems as though the government really accepts a DO's true ability. When asked of my commander, he commented that most DOs in our hospital perform equally well as the MDs. He also submitted that the OMM is a nice addition because active duty members suffer a lot of problems with an etiology that OMM most efficiently addresses. From my personal perspective, my PCP prior to the military was a DO and the best darn physician I've been blessed to have. I also appreciate the time and personal touch that DO's offer me now. A DO delivered my baby last year and took exceptional care of us both.

 

[neuropsych]

I think the public's (and in this case, a medical professional's) ignorance of the osteopathic profession is to blame. Perhaps the American Osteopathic Association should play a more active role in popularizing osteopathic medicine? They've made quite a few improvements to their website and I've noticed that some ads have been designed as well (has anyone seen these ads in actual periodicals?). I have a feeling that if more money was invested into promoting the osteopathic profession, more people -- the lay public and medical professionals alike -- would become more aware of osteopathic medicine. Whether or not this would affect people's perceptions of the profession is an open question.

In my experience, most people do not have a negative opinion about DOs. I have worked with several DOs in allopathic settings and have noticed no difference in how they are treated nor have they told me that they are treated any differently by their MD counterparts .

Hmm...wonder who Dave Thomas's physician was when he was around?

Cheers,

neuropsych

 

[Bevo]

my father is an MD and he's the one who introduced me to Osteopathy. I got friends who are in Med school now and during the rotations?(Im not sure what they're actually doing they are now 3rd years). Anyways, they both got to watch and interact with some DOs and said they were impressed by them. They had thought that DO was something less when applying to medical school. One said he would apply to them if he had known what he knows now back then.

I think if an MD tells you crap about a DO, its because he is somewhat ignorant to what is Osteopathy is or is just a jerk. But for as many MDs out there who think poorly of Osteopathy I bet there are just as many who think highly of Osteopathy.

 

[gaffer]

I recently had a DO that works in an sports med clinic, with another md, proofread some of the stuff i was sending off to schools, just to see what he thought about it.
What I had done in the essays was in writing about osteopathic medicine, I kept using the words osteopathic medicine. I found it to be redundant so at times i used words like 'osteopathy' and osteopath instead.
After the DO went through the essay he noted to me that as the younger newer generation of DO's come in (including him, he's 30) there is a push to make osteopathic medicine more visible as a professional field. His point was osteopathy and osteopath sound more alternative and while there is nothing wrong with using those terms, until osteopathic medicine is more recognized as medicine and not jibber-jabber it's best to use terms such as osteopathic medicine and osteopathic physician.

just something to think about.

 

[jhug]

funny thing is-- i've heard many "sub-specialists" ie:thorasic surg, ortho surg, nueros.....say similar things about the FP group!! Truth be told, ANYONE who would say something demoralizing or degrading toward any group is a pompous fool, not worth the air they breathe.

 

[Dr JPH]

Jealousy and insecurity are the root of negative comments.

If you ever feel "second rate" or that you are beneath an MD...think of this...

As a DO you will know MORE than an MD.

How f***ing funny is that? They put down your education, but you actually know more s**t. I think that's great.

I'm laughing right now.

Nuff said.

 

[Dr JPH]

The Hammer listens to no one...mind of his own.