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What
is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)?
If you're like most people,
you've been going to a doctor since you were born and perhaps didn't know if
you were seeing a D.O. (osteopathic physician) or an M.D. (allopathic
physician). You may not even be aware that there are two types of complete
physicians in the United States.
The fact is, both D.O.s and M.D.s are fully qualified physicians licensed to
perform surgery and prescribe medication. Is there any difference between
these two kinds of doctors? Yes. And no.
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D.O.s practice a "whole
person" approach to medicine. Instead of just treating specific symptoms
or illnesses, they regard your body as integrated whole.
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Osteopathic physicians focus
on preventive health care.
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D.O.s receive extra training
in the musculoskeletal system -- your body’s interconnected system of
nerves, muscles and bones that make up two-thirds of its body mass. This
training provides osteopathic physicians with a better understanding of
the ways that an injury or illness in one part of your body can affect
another.
Today osteopathic physicians
continue to be on the cutting edge of modern medicine. D.O.s combine today's
medical technology with their ears, to listen compassionately to their
patients; their eyes, to see their patients as whole persons; and their
hands, to diagnose and treat injury as well as illness.
D.O.'s and M.D.'s are alike in
many ways:
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Applicants to both D.O. and
M.D. medical colleges typically have a four-year undergraduate degree
with an emphasis on scientific courses.
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Both D.O.s and M.D.s
complete four years of basic medical education.
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After medical school, both
D.O.s and M.D.s can choose to practice in a specialty area of medicine
-- such as surgery, family practice or psychiatry--after completing a
residency program (typically two to six years of additional training).
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Both D.O.s and M.D.s must
pass comparable state licensing exams.
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D.O.s and M.D.s both
practice in fully accredited and licensed health care facilities.
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