I'm not a DO, but my colleagues include both. And, I know firsthand their education has some benefits including an emphasis on thorough physical examination and medical history BEFORE jumping to costly scans, labs, and other high tech. If you talk to any older physician, MD, or DO, they will bemoan the lack of emphasis in current MD education. Hell, some don't even learn to auscultate the heart and lungs thoroughly using a stethoscope. The curricula of both programs have, in the past, shared and improved based on their differences. That is a good thing.
https://www.ama-assn.org/residents-students/preparing-medical-school/do-vs-md-how-much-does-medical-school-degree-type
Preparing for Medical School
DO vs. MD: How much does the medical school degree type matter?
Sep 26, 2019
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Brendan Murphy
News Writer
As you ponder medical school, you may be wondering, “What is the difference between an MD and a DO?” In the U.S. there are two types of degrees in which physicians can practice medicine: MDs, a doctor of medicine, or a DO, a doctor of osteopathic medicine.
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The two degrees reflect different types of medical school training. MDs attend allopathic medical schools, while DOs attend osteopathic medical schools.
The similarities
About a quarter of U.S. medical students train at osteopathic medical schools. That number has grown significantly in recent years, with the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine reporting first year enrollment at osteopathic medical schools rising by more than 40% over the past decade.
In terms of the requirements to apply to MD and DO programs, the criteria is virtually the same, with both osteopathic and allopathic programs weighing grade-point average and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores heavily. The curriculum is largely the same structure, with students in both types of programs typically spending much of their first two years in the classroom and the majority of their second two years of training in a clinical setting.
Single accreditation, residency training
In the past, residency programs for trainees from osteopathic and allopathic medical schools have generally matched with residency programs through separate processes.
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In an effort to simplify the graduate medical education (GME) accreditation system in the United States, the organizations that accredit GME—the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA)—are changing how they do things. By 2020, all DO programs will match through the same process.
Those changes also impact licensing. Going forward, most residency programs will accept the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination, in addition to the United States Medical Licensure Exam taken by MD graduates.
Mind, body, spirit
Historically, DO programs have touted their methods as more holistic. One aspect of that is the osteopathic manipulative treatment, defined by the AOA as a “set of hands-on techniques used by osteopathic physicians ... to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness or injury.”
Those skills typically mean that osteopathic medical students spend an additional 200-plus hours training on the musculoskeletal system in the curriculum.
“If a student is somebody who really enjoys that patient-centered approach and really is of the mindset that medicine is a mind-body-spirit relationship, a DO program will serve them well,” said John D. Schriner, PhD, associate dean for admissions and student affairs at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, one of 37 member schools of the AMA’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium.
Most DOs choose primary care
While MDs and DOs will be fully entering the same residency match process for the first time in 2020, some programs have integrated to the National Resident Matching Program’s Main Residency Match.
According to AOA 2018 figures, nearly 57% of DOs practice in primary care specialties: 31.9% are family physicians, 17.8% are internists and 6.8% are pediatricians.
By comparison, about 32% of active U.S. physicians with MD credentials practice in primary care specialties: 12.7% are family physicians or in general practice, 12.9% are internists, and 6.5% are pediatricians. That data comes from the Association of American Medical Colleges.
AMA Membership eligibility: (MD and DO are considered equivalent)
https://www.ama-assn.org/member-benefits/member-eligibility-dues/ama-membership-eligibility
Membership eligibility
Membership in the AMA is open to:
Physicians who possess the United States degree of doctor of medicine (MD) or doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO), or a recognized international equivalent.
Resident physicians who possess the United States degree of MD or DO, or a recognized international equivalent, and are serving in residencies or fellowships approved by the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
Medical students enrolled in an educational program provided by a college of medicine or osteopathic medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA) leading to the MD or DO degree. This includes those students who are on an approved sabbatical, provided that the student will be in good standing upon returning from the sabbatical.
And here is what
Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, the long acknowledge "bible" of Internal Medicine (ask any physician--or only the MDs since that is so important to you-- has to say on the issue:
PART I INTRODUCTION TO CLINICAL MEDICINE
...
Osteopathic Medicine.
Founded in 1892 in the American heartland by the physician Andrew Taylor Still, osteopathic medicine was based originally on the belief that manipulation of soft tissue and bone can correct a wide range of diseases of the musculoskeletal and other organ systems. Over the ensuing century, osteopathy evolved progressively towards conventional (allopathic) medicine. Today, the training, practice, credentialing, licensure, and reimbursement of osteopathic physicians is virtually indistinguishable from those of allopathic physicians, with 4 years of osteopathic medical school followed by specialty and subspecialty training and certification by organizations such as the American Board of Internal Medicine. Some osteopathic physicians continue to practice spinal manipulation, primarily as a tool to address specific musculoskeletal complaints.
**A hat tip to dalton9a for reminding me of the above**
= new reply since forum marked as read
