Can an Osteopathic Doctor become a Medical Doctor?

Question

I was wondering if one becomes a ostepathic doctor, would they be able to be an MD later on?

Answer 1

Above poster was talking about orthopedic, not osteopathic.
Osteopaths (D.O.s) have the same practicing rights as M.D.s. This means that both can do any type of surgery, both can write prescriptions, and both can be in the same specialties.
There used to be a difference, but that was nearly 100 years ago. Nowadays, they're both pretty much the same. Back in the 1800's, D.O.s were limited in their practice. But they also tended to treat the patient as a whole, as opposed to just the illness, which many doctors did back then. They also used osteopathic manipulation, which can best be described as a hybrid of physical therapy and chiropractic, to treat people. Nowadays, like I said, D.O.s both have the same practicing rights, they both look at the whole person, and lately a number of M.D.s have been taking a course in manipulation and use it with good success.
So, if you're a D.O., you're essetially the same as an M.D. No need to change later on.

Answer 2

IN the US, osteopathy is a parallel path to licensure to practice medicine and surgery. The Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) is granted by accredited Colleges of Osteopathy which are separate from Colleges of Medicine. Graduates of D.O. programs are often eligible to study for medical specialties and subspecialties with M.D.'s. Thus, in the US, you may find D.O.'s who are specialists in internal medicine, family practice, or pediatrics who have taken their specialty training along with M.D.'s, in M.D. training hospitals.

This, however, does *not* mean that the D.O. "becomes an M.D." by virtue of this training. This is an academic distinction, since D.O.'s and M.D.'s may have identical post-graduate training. This idea is that D.O. and M.D. are different academic degrees, and the only way to get either designation is by graduating from that kind of school.

So, if an osteopath (D.O.) want to be an M.D., that is, have the degree of Doctor of Medicine, they would need to go to an M.D.-granting medical school for four additional years. As we have seen, since D.O.'s can get the same post-graduate training as M.D.'s, there is little or no reason to do this.

Answer 3

Not without returning to medical college. Osteopaths are now accepted in all hospitals and specialties; so why would he want to?

Answer 4

no, that's why they went to a DO school to begin with. hahahaha!

personal bias and joking aside, the only way to become an MD is to graduate from an institution that issues that specific degree. it doesn't matter if you already have a DO, Ph. D, whatever.

Answer 5

The two are equivalent. Graduates of both types of schools routinely find themselves in the same residency program working side-by-side, and that continues throughout their practice lives. So there would be no point.

Answer 6

You have it backwards. You have to be an MD *before* you can specialize in osteopathy (or any other medical specialty, including surgery)


Doug