Osteopathic Medicine 101

A lot of people wonder what kind of medical doctor I am going to be when I tell them I am going to be a D.O. rather than an M.D. Here are a few practical comparisons and contrasts...

Medical School

MD DO

MCAT (admissions test) MCAT (admissions test)

4 years of Medical School 4 years of Medical School

3 years min. post grad train. 3 years min. post grad train

USMLE Boards I, II, and III COMLEX Boards I,II, III

Dr. of Allopathic Med. Dr. of Osteopathic Med.

The difference between the COMLEX and the USMLE is mainly in the osteopathic philosophy that is covered on the COMLEX and not the USMLE.

There are about 50,000-60,000 practicing D.O.'s in the U.S.

There are probably 800,000 practicing MD's in the US.

The number difference is why our profession doesn't have as much exposure in comparsion to the MD world. The relationship between the two is excellent for the most part and at a lot of hospitals and group practices you see MDs and DO's working alongside each other all the time...

Hope this is helpful..

Greg