When you visit a physician, do you care if it’s an MD or a DO?

25 comments

1. Personally? no preference. I’d bet that most Americans don’t even know that there’s a difference.

2. I’m not a medical professional but my understanding (based on the episode on the history of the DO degree on the podcast Sawbones) is that a DO is considered essentially identical in training to an MD. There’s a somewhat different history behind the DO degree but over time the two degrees have converged to the point that there isn’t really much of a difference.

   My PCP is a DO and she seems like a regular doctor.

3. I would prefer an MD, but I can’t say I run across DOs much in the first place to worry about it.

4. they have to go through the same training and pass the same licensing exams so to me they’re equivalent

5. This might be the first time in my life I’ve ever considered the difference

6. No, I don’t care. MDs and DOs are equivalent degrees, DOs just learn a few extra techniques. I also don’t care if I see a PA or an NP for most things.

7. I have had both and if it weren’t for the letters behind their name, I wouldn’t notice a difference.

   Maybe the only difference is that the DOs have had better bedside manner, but definitely don’t have a sufficient sample size to make a judgement on that

8. I’d sometimes prefer a DO, depending on what’s going on , however they’re few and far between where I live. So MD it is, just wish they’d stop supplying NPs instead

9. I’ve dealt with both. They weren’t much different.

10. They both have rigorous medical school and residency requirements. Some people actually prefer a DO. Some people prefer a MD. I prefer a DO for primary care, because they are a little more geared towards a more holistic approach.

    https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/do-vs-md

11. I don’t care about MD vs DO, but I do care about doctor vs NP

12. No

13. DOs tend to have a more overall, holistic approach.

    I saw one for years—he was great.

14. I’ll just mention that there’s a lot of misunderstanding in the general population about what a DO actually is. It is not the same as a doctor of naturopathic medicine, it is not functionally equivalent to being a chiropractor, it doesn’t *necessarily* involve oils and fragrances and acupuncture and unusual light therapies, etc.

    “Alternative medicine” in general gets a bad rap among a lot of folks, and the different types of “alternative medicine” are not really well understood. A lot of people think there’s a binary between doc in a white coat you visit in a hospital or high-tech clinic vs old Chinese guy in a back alley crushing herbs with a mortar and pestle. (Even then I know plenty of DOs practice in a hospital with a white coat etc.)

15. I just switched Doctors. I chose a DO this time. She seems to be more friendly but that could just be her personality. The thing I like most is all of her appointments are 30 minutes as opposed to an MD where most appointments are either 15 or 20 minutes.

16. My pcp is a do

17. One of my best friends is a DO, and I’d trust him with my life. Experiences with doctors vary a lot, but I haven’t encountered enough DOs to have any prejudice for or against them.

18. I work for a health system, so I’m well acquainted with the degrees and would prefer a DO for my primary care doc for a more holistic approach to care. It’s just hard to find DOs. The degrees are equivalent, but you see a lot less DOs in the US.

19. It doesn’t matter. I’ve been treated by both, as well as physicians assistants and nurse practitioners. For routine stuff, it’s more about the personality than the degree in my opinion.

20. In the US a DO and MD are practically the same thing and held to the same standards. This is different than other places in the world (so I have heard).

21. As long as I’m getting a doctor and not a nurse practitioner I’m good

22. DO and MD are equally qualified – 4 years of med school, residency training, board exam. There are some other “doctors” that do a lot of wacky stuff outside of evidence based practice (naturopaths, chiropractors, etc), but I have no problem with a DO.

23. I’ve got a lot of complex health issues for which I see specialists, I’ll take the MD.

24. > Are osteopaths regarded as highly as medical doctors?

    MDs are generally higher regarded than DOs. The average GPA and MCAT scores are higher for MD than DO. https://www.prospectivedoctor.com/is-md-better-than-do/.

    Also, the top/famous medical schools are mostly MDs. There were only 5 DO schools in the Top 100 of US News medical school rankings, which the highest one at #36. https://thedo.osteopathic.org/2022/05/do-schools-make-u-s-news-world-reports-2023-best-medical-schools-lists

    Some people want MDs from a top med school. Some people prefer DOs. For me, what’s important is a doctor who is thorough and not rushed. I would prefer a patient and caring DO, than a doctor from Harvard Med School who is dismissive and curt.

25. As an MD myself, any perceived difference whether it’s positive or negative is bullshit. They function exactly the same in reality and DOs are able to apply for MD residencies and there was one DO in my residency class and she was exactly the same as everyone else. Things about bedside manner and a holistic approach are more on an individual level

    There may be a very small portion of DOs who actually use OMM in their practice (which is why some people out there think they’re like chiropractors which also isn’t true) but as far as I know it’s a very very small minority