Most D.O. schools do not have lower standards (although some do), they simply have lower averages for their accepted students. The reason for this is thought to be D.O. programs tend to accept more non-traditional students. That is to say, they are more open to individuals who made a late decision to pursue a medical degree (like myself), who did not do pre-med as undergrad's, who chose to work for a few years after college, etc... Just about any "odd" med student you can think of.

Many of the students these schools accept were not intially planning on attending a med school and so did not spend all their college years trying to obtain med-school quality grades, or preparing to take the MCAT. Still, the students they accept do typically obtain good grades throughout their undergrad careers (maybe a 3.0-3.2 GPA vs. the typical M.D. program average of about 3.5-3.7), and they may be very active in other areas of science and medicine (for instance, I have been very active in research). As I understand it, the avg. MCAT score for D.O. programs hovers around 24 or 25, whereas most M.D. programs sit a little higher - around 27 or 28, with a few reaching into the low 30's.

It should also be noted many states in the U.S. require D.O.'s to undergo an additional year of internship, a year of practice in excess of typical M.D. programs. Ideally, this additional year of training should close any gaps which may or may not exist in osteopathic medical education.

On a personal note, my family physician (for the last 10 or so years) is an osteopath, and I can emphatically state he is an excellent doctor. He displays genuine concern for any ailments I report to him, and he was extremely successful in treating me for a disease I had in my late childhood - when I began seeing him.

The only worry I think anyone in the medical profession should have concerning osteopaths is the few dubious practices in which a minority of osteopathic physicians engage. Techniques like OMT (Osteopathic Manipulative Therapies), which closely resemble chiropractic methods, are dangerous and unproven.

Podiatry in Canada have the same scope as chiropodists and can NOT be called Doctors !!!
The bulke of their practice is nail care and orthotics.....pretty sad !
Average DPM earn between 60,000-80,000$ !

http://www.cocoo.on.ca/

http://www.michener.ca/ft/chiropody.php

Chiropody in Ontario is a 2 year program, since 2006 is it a 3 year program, at a college level, and no MCAT........
Do 3 years and call yourself a foot specialist / chiropodist........sad for the profession of podiatry in Ontario !!
They can not do surgery (bone) that is limited to orthopods !!

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This is the reason why many of the Canadian students interested in Podiatry would come to US to study and get their residency training here in US. The lucky few that managed to find jobs in the US that would support them for a work visa would stay in the US.

DO is a legitimate path to a career in medicine. In larger cities, it is difficult for Podiatrists to earn a living. I heard of other DO programs offering advanced placement for Podiatrists. There are some that even go back to school to study at MD programs in the US.