i know that the whole MD vs. DO conversation has been done. but what about between these two schools. please give me knowledgable feedback. dont' bash either if you really have nothing to back it up. i just need some good honest and knowledgable reasons of pros/cons...

thanks everyone

I would stay in the U.S., easier funding, easier licensing and higher standard of living. This is only my opinion. Good luck

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"Peace through strength." Ronald W. Reagan

How many people on this board do you think have attended both? Probably none. So I doubt if you'll get any truely "good honest and knowledgeable reasons of pros/cons."

First, I am a SGU grad and a PT member of the administration. I am an emergency physician in DE where we have plenty of DO's. I get asked this question all the time. If you want to practice in an area where the DO is accepted, by all means go to the DO school. There are still some states where DO's have to have separate hospitals, although this is becoming less common. The general public does not know what a DO is. Many think it designates an optometrist. Osteopathic programs are just as vigorous as allopathic programs. However, getting an MD degree from SGUSOM places you in the "MD" realm, although IMG status. I am sure whichever decision you make will be a good one. All the best in your career!

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John Madden, M.D.
Director Office of Career Guidance & Associate Dean
St. George's University School of Medicine

This is not true!...There are 5 states that require a DO to complete a traditional rotating internship to be licensed, but I am unaware of any state that can tell an AOA or AMA certified osteopathic physician which hospital (JCAHO or AOA accredited) they can practice at. More importantly, no state specifies that a hospital must be certified by one organization or the other.

If a DO does a LCGME approved residency, they are certified by the AMA and have absolutely no licensing diffence between US trained allopathic physicians. THIS is why people say that getting a "DO" is superior to a foreign "MD" or "MBBS," which require additional certification by the ECFMG.

Dr. Madden: Please post your source for the above statement.

Stay in Atlanta. Go to DO school if you are accepted there. It will make licensing and residency much simpler. If you can't go there, go to SGU. Either is a good option, but it is best to go to school in the US if you have the option. Don't get caught up in the DO/MD thing. I work with DO's in my rotations and the topic rarely if ever comes up.

Best of Luck!

this is inaccurate! No DO's have to have a separate hospital, where on earths did U get this idea? May be in 1950 but not for last twenty years. As for the extra one year residency so many speak of it's built into the ACMGE residency. To count, it requires a one paragraph paper petition to DO association and is granted almost every time. Plus the extra yr. is built into almost all DO residencies now. I would say this least of worry now.

It's a little worrysome that there are licensed physicians spreading this false information. For your information, and the information of your students, DOs do NOT have to have separate hospitals anywhere in the country. By law, DOs are licensed to practice medicine in any hospital. Now are there hospitals where there might not be a DO on staff? I'm sure there are. It all depends on the area you're practicing in. In New York, DOs are pretty well known. In tennessee? Not likely, although there is an osteopathic medical school opening there and the word will spread I'm sure in short time.

I made a decision between Ross and PCOM-Ga campus and I chose Ross. It came down to the decision of me being an MD vs a DO. Hold on repliers, wait until you read the whole thing. I actually like the principles of osteopathic medicine a lot, and I know that you are not ostracized in the hospital setting as a DO, but it comes down to public knowledge of what a DO is. I am from GA and I had never heard of a DO until I started applying to med schools. Another contributing factor is that I did not want to restrict myself to just practicing in GA, although I wouldn't mind staying either. I am in my 2nd year, and I am very happy with the decision I made, but at the time of making a decision it was very hard.

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Reese Bobby: "Real simple, son! Cops are coming! There's a kilo of Colombian bam-bam under the car. Time to be a man. You got hair on your peaches or what?"

So, in your opinion D.Os only practice in GA? BTW D.O from U.S is reccognized in many countries abroad as a medical degree as well. I hope you'll be just as optemistic when you get to the residency placement and licensing time. Though i have nothing against ROSS. I went there myself. But given a choice.... D.O hands down.

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George S. Patton