Carib MD vs DO

[aychamo]

Hello there

My good friend and I are both planning on med school. We are also both trying to get our backup plans setup. Currently, it is that we are going to hit Saba.

Always researching, he looked up some DO med school stuff, and was curious about that. I asked myparents about it, and they gave me a *very* negative answer towards DO med school.

For background: my father is a orthopedic surgeon from Baylor med school, and my mother is a RN who worked for a while in both a DO hospital and a MD hospital. Suffice to say, they know pretty much what they are talking about it.

My dad said I would face much more prejudice as a DO than as a Carib MD, and that he would much rather send me to a carib MD school than a US DO school. That is fine with me, either way. My mom stressed the imporant of the MD. My dad said one of the huge problems would be that as a DO you have to compete against (american) MDs for MD residencies. I know you face similar problems as a carib MD, but you still have the MD with your name. He said that part of the prejudice that DOs face is their learning of manipulations, which most don't practice, but to the MD crowd that is a huge stigma.

Personally, if it comes down to it, I will feel better off with a carib MD than a US DO.

Anyways, I just wanted to pass this along. I'm sure people will have opposite opinions, but since this is straight from the horses mouth (people that know them and have been there), I just wanted to let you guys know about it.

[WantMD]

I chose the Carib MD instead of DO route myself.

I've heard from DO's that they routinely get asked what DO is. One guy told me that he has been asked "When will I see a *real* doctor?".

I have nothing against DO. I have met some people in my pre-med classes that really want to be DO's not MD's. They feel that the DO philosophy of treatment is more in-line with their own beliefs. To those people, I say go for it. Most people though (myself included) would choose DO as an alternative to a U.S. MD program. In my case I chose Carib MD.

By the way, I think it's pretty cool that your MD father recommends a Carib MD program. During the last couple of months, I have met and spoken with numerous MDs, all of them were encouraging and supported my decision. I know that this is a small sample of people but they all thought it was a great idea. I was surprised, I expected them to warn me about the "evils" of off-shore schools. Actually, most of them knew people who had gone to AUC, Ross, SGU & UAG and all said they were great doctors.

Good Luck & Follow your heart & gut, not a map.

WantMD :-)

[anencephalic]

. My dad said one of the huge problems would be that as a DO you have to compete against (american) MDs for MD residencies. I know you face similar problems as a carib MD, but you still have the MD with your name.

Not necessarily. DO's have their own residency programs to which ONLY DO's can apply (that is, allopaths are excluded). In addition, DO's can compete for the same allopathic residencies that US MDs and IMG MDs compete for. Hence, it is possible that getting the DO may give you more residency options than either US MD or IMG MD. As far as stigma, most of the DO's I practiced with didn't come out and say that they were DO's, and it seemed no one really cared. Most thought they were MDs. In the final analysis, their patients received exceptional care from them and didn't bother to make a distinction of wheter or not their doctors were MDs or DOs, but rather caring, competent, and compassionate physicians. Something to think about...
Best of luck in your decision!

Aloha,

[jwmgkjm]

I've worked at both DO and MD hospitals and not found much difference clinically. However, there is some bias regarding "what is a DO?", especially in areas of the country that don't have DO medical schools. This bias can affect you financially because insurance companies sometimes limit the number of DOs on their referral lists in the world of managed care. (Alot of people select their doctor simply based on who is on their list) This is important because when you are in private practice, you need to be able to get your name on as many managed care lists as possible.

Kat, CPA, MD, PGY-1

[Stitches]

I first encountered the term "DO" on this website. Are there DO's in Canada? It stands for Doctor of Osteopathy right? haha, I'm still not sure, correct me if I'm off. My point is, good choice on the MD. I'm one of those "What's a DO?" people. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of those out there. Either that or I'm a moron. Actually, it could be the latter.

[wolfvgang22]

Most people have never heard of DOs because it's enough for them to see Dr. ***** on a shingle or in the yellow pages, and DOs often practice together with MD colleagues. So no one ever asks.

They see the white coat and the DOs proficiency and that's enough.
I admit that before I started looking at medicine as a career, I was one of most people. I put my trust in doctors, whatever their qualifications, because I was ignorant average Joe.

Now that I'm a more educated average Joe, I know what DOs are, and I know that there are some very fine DO schools (such as University of North Texas).
I now see DO everywhere I look...yellow pages, newspaper, etc. If the University of North Texas would have admitted me, I would have gone in a heartbeat. But their standards are practically as high as the MD school standards now.

jwmgkjm mentioned the only reason I wouldn't want to be a DO (getting on the HMO list). However true that may be.

I wouldn't avoid DO because I've heard from DO's that they routinely get asked what DO is. One guy told me that he has been asked "When will I see a *real* doctor?".

This guy belongs to the same kind of people who will scrutinize your credentials and demand to know why you went overseas, and not to Yale. They said this same stuff to the PA, the nurse, the psychiatrist, the neuroligist, and said it to their last doctor.
So just brush them and their petty fears away. It's really about them, not you. Let 'em go find that over-priced Beverly Hills doctor from Yale. And pay through the nose for him. Most patients don't know and don't care who's a DO and who's an MD.
8)

[stephew]

please do a search on VMD for this topic. Its been discussed quite a bit.