<p>Around here, if you want to find an MD, you pretty much have to go to a hospital. There's only one med school in Maine and it only offers a DO, so, most private practices around here are run by one or two DOs.</p>
<p>What EXACTLY is the difference, why would you pick one over the other, and what's the difference in schooling?</p>
<p>A DO basically learns the same things a MD does plus OMT. Upon graduation, they have the same responsibilities as a MD, are eligible to perform the same procedures, work at the same hospitals side-by-side, and reimbursement/salaries are the same. There are DO pediatricians, internists, surgeons, etc. just as there are MD pediatricians, internists, surgeons, etc.</p>
<p>Medical school-wise, osteopathic students take the COMLEX whereas the MD students take the USMLE. DO students are eligible to match in the DO match or, if they are unsuccessful, they are eligible to obtain residency through the MD match (the MD match takes place after the DO match so this is logistically possible). MD students, on the other hand, are not eligible to participate in the DO match.</p>
<p>FYI: OMT = Osteopathic manipulative treatment</p>
<p>American</a> Osteopathic Association</p>
<p>As for why you might pick one over the other...Cost, location, family tradition, and preference for the theoretical basis of one or the other are all legitimate reasons.</p>
<p>Most people aren't as familiar with DO's; therefore, people are constantly under the misconception that being an MD is more prestigious. I would think that both are very competitive. After all, people have to leave their lives in a doctor's hands, no matter what the little letters after their name says. lol</p>
<p>Yeah, people think MD is more important than DO, while DO is actually more prestigious. All in all they are essentially the same thing. DO's however are usually sough after more and sometimes paid higher than MD's. I don't think its because of the schooling though. It might just be that they are harder to find in the medical field.</p>
<p>A D.O. is more prestigious? Jeez. I live in Maine and everybody is a D.O., and Maine sucks, so I just figured they were crappier because there's one med school in Maine and it's only for D.O.</p>