D.O. Or M.D.

By: Mackenzie L.

As you head into Medical School, no matter what school it is, you will have to pick between being a Medical Doctor or a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. This Blog post will cover what a Medical Doctor(M.D.) and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine(D.O.) does, how they are different, and which is more popular.

A doctor of Medicine(M.D.), is what most people think of when they think of a doctor. They follow the allopathic way of treatment. Allopathy is the practice that aims to fight disease by use of drugs or surgery. More physicians that tend to specialize, such as Orthopedics, Cardiology, and Neurology, tend to be M.D.s instead of D.O.s. M.D. attend schools that under the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).

A Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, follows the holistic way of treating their patients. Holistic means that the doctors are concerned with more than just what they see and are told. They are concerned with the whole, they consider patient’s environment and nutrition before they treat. D.O.s must take 200 extra hours compared to an M.D. to learn how to manipulate the musculoskeletal tissues to help with pain where a M.D. would just tell you take pain killers. D.O.s tend to be primary care physicians. D.O.s attend schools that are under the American Osteopathic Associate Commission within the Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA).

There are a vast number of M.D.s compared to D.O.s, 67.4% of physicians are M.D.s, whereas only 7.3% are D.O.s and the rest received degrees outside of the U.S. So you can see that M.D.s are more popular choice for medical students. If you would like to know more to find which is the best match for you just go to http://myheart.net/articles/md-vs-do/.

Article: Ahmed, Murtaza, Dr. "DO vs MD: What's the Difference & Which Is Better? • MyHeart." MyHeart. N.p., 06 Aug. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. 

Definitions: Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2016./ 

Picture One: https://www.carstickers.com/prodimages/3060_medical_doctor_hospital_sign_md_symbol_sticker_decal.jpg 

Picture Two: http://rlv.zcache.co.uk/doctor_of_osteopathy_round_sticker-rcc759f0313a64f62b2e8d1a59d0362a9_v9wth_8byvr_630.jpg?view_padding=%5B285%2C0%2C285%2C0%5D