Do you prefer a M.D or D.O?

technically they can do the exact same thing....M.D. is viewed (by people who dont really know much about it) as being better though...and the allopathic schools are usually harder to get into that the osteopathic ones.....i would want the M.D. over the D.O. any day

A long time ago M.D's were viewed as being the "better" doctors but now a days there is not too much of a difference between the two. Yes the D.O schools are a little easier to get into but they take similar classes as the M.D schools. I work in an emergency room and there are both M.D and D.O physicians that are highly qualifiied and know whay they are doing. To better answer your question, it is not like a M.D is going to know something that a D.O. doesn't. They are both trained professionals.

As a D.O. myself, obviously I am biased. We have more modalities available to us than our M.D. counterparts. We can offer everything that they offer and MORE - in the form of manipulative medicine which is sometimes useful.

Even though its role is very limited in the ER...from time to time I have instantly given relief to a patient with a musculoskeletal problem / headache where my M.D. colleague would've prescribed some drugs and MAYBE the patient would fel better tomorrow - maybe not.

As for the pervasive myth that our educational requirements aer less - it's a myth.

I trained in a military residency and outscored the FIVE M.D.s that were in the program with me.

Some MDs/DOs are very smart, some not so much....you can not accurately generalize. It all boils down to the individual doctor.

M.D...D.O.'s are great too, but when I need answers I am going to trust my body to an M.D. If I need surgery, an M.D. is going to get me there. I used to work for a D.O. and found that their treatments only address a few certain issues--pain isn't one of them.

M.D. all the way. Given the generally poorer educational requirements for a D.O., wouldn't you want the best and most knowledgeable person to treat you?

Honestly I wouldn't say such thing as this or that is better.

What do you mean by better, by the way? Expressing yourself in such a way could be a sign that you don't understand dis-ease. Maybe read Rudiger Dahlke's book about disease, that can make things clearer.

Just see what is better FOR YOU, IN THIS MOMENT.

And also know you can do a lot to support your own health, by changing your thoughts and life-style.

I am sure this may serve your very well.

Good luck

My concern with DOs is that many of them incorporate a lot of pseudo-scientific BS into their practices and frequently advise against having vaccines. Here in the UK, we don't have DOs that work in the same capacity as they do in the US. In answer to your question, I'd always see an MD.

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Lighty.....

...Oh Lighty...A common tactic used by the Alties when backed into a corner is to bash Psychiatry and surgery.

Obviously both Psychiatry and surgery encompass a complex variety of modalities, so it takes an equally complex variety of scientific techniques and experimental design to investigate it's role in various diseases. For obvious reasons, both Psychiatry and surgery do not always lend themselves very well to RCTs. The alties claim this is the same for their practices.

If we take acupuncture for example, it's not easy to design an adequate placebo for such trials. However, what needs to be pointed out that just because it's not easy to conduct experimental designs for such trials is NO excuse for them not doing it! In fact, “sham acupuncture” controls demonstrated this point.

Some RCTs do exist for surgery and all of it has plenty of research and surgeons continually try and make surgery more evidence based. However, surgery is a craft and a Surgeons skill matters when it comes to outcome, that's not in doubt. However, the alties cannot attempt to use this as an excuse. The difference between Altmed practices and surgery is that at least our practices are regulated and are at least plausible. AltMed, with he exception of herbals, is for the most part implausible too.

Another main difference here is that unlike AltMed we don't use this as a reason why our practices shouldn't be tested, instead, we continually try and find other scientific techniques and experimental design to test what we do. The alties don't do this.

Don't make the mistake of dismissing the possibility that psychiatry and surgery could become more scientific.

2/3 of published medical science research and other research is refuted in a few years

90% of the the knowledge taught a MD is proven inaccurate

the only hope you have is the DO who may look else where for the answers.

freedman.com the book WRONG

DO's are going to be more open minded and work with what works , rather than a set protocol which may be very damaging.

EDIT: I changed my mind, ospteopaths are the same close minded ilk as MD

I used to have some respect for D.O.s, but I am now concerned about the beliefs and ideologies of some of them. Things like supporting homeopathy, acupuncture and other alternative therapies/medicines, which are not backed up by evidence or plausible biophysical theories. And that is a big red flag. Stick to the proper doctors is my advice.

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EDIT: Thanks Rhianna, for your edit. I would add that surgery and homeopathy is a false analogy anyway - surgery has irrefutably saved many many lives. Homeopathy is preposterous nonsense and no saved lives can be attributed to it. This demonstrates my problem with DOs.