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| *Women health>>>Osteopathic Medicine |
What is the difference between osteopathic and allopathic medicine? |
Which type of doctor do you prefer? Pretty good answers, but not quite there. Yes, the term "allopathic medicine" is not really used as much by MD's but was coined by the Homeopaths. Andrew Taylor Still M.D. observed that the medicines of his time (mid-late 1800's) did more harm than good. He viewed the body as having the natural ability to heal itself, and th role of the physician was to simply put it in the best position to do so. He came up with a system of musculosketal manipulations to allign the bones and relieve muscle strain, pressure on nerves, and restore circulation and lymphatic flow. The term osteopathy is based on Homeopathy and Allopathy terms used by the homeopaths. The field came to be referred to as osteopathic medicine as traditional medicine was incorporated into the overall practice by the Littlejohn brothers (both M.D.s) who ran the Osteopathic school in Chicago. Today, osteopathy is used outside of the US, and osteopaths are more like chiropractors and are only licensed to do manipulations and are not complete physicians like the DO's in the US. Both MD's and DOs are fully licensed to practice medicine in any specialty, with the same education except that DO's also learn musculoskeletal manipulations, but the majority do not use them in practice, as it takes more time than the current healthcare system will allow. As to MD schools being better and DO schools being a fallback, that is not always the case for many people. There are no numbers on this, but a large portion of current DO students chose to go to DO schools, many applied to both, and some did use the DO schools as a fall back as they traditionally have been easier to get into. However, that is changing. The average GPA and MCAT scores are catching up. Also, most residencies consider the physical diagnosis skills of DO graduates to be superior to the graduates from MD schools. Besides, you can get an MD at a school in the Carribean where the GPAs and MCAT scores are lower than either the DO or MD schools within the US. THOSE are the real fallback schools. Also, the holistic, patient centered approach has been pretty much adopted by the MD schools, further lessening the difference between the two. As to my preference, and well everyone else's whether they know it or not, it doesn't matter. There are good doctors and there are bad doctors, it doesn't matter what letters come behind their names. Many people see DOs and have no idea they aren't an MD. Osteopathic medicine (formerly known as osteopathy) is "a complete system of medical care with a philosophy that combines the needs of the patient with current practice of medicine, surgery and obstetrics. The emphasis is on the interrelationship between structure and function, and has an appreciation of the body鈥檚 ability to heal itself." [1] Outside the United States, "osteopathic medicine" is often used interchangeably with "osteopathy". Allopathy or Allopathic medicine (from Gr. allos, other, and pathos, suffering) is the name given by Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy,[1] to the methods of his medical foes. The term is sometimes used today to refer to conventional medicine. The correct meaning and use of the term is a point of contention, even among authorities on the subject.[2] Practitioners of alternative medicine have used the term "allopathic medicine" to refer to the practice of conventional medicine in both Europe and the United States since the 19th century. In the U.S., this was also referred to as regular medicine 鈥?that is, medicine that was practiced by the regulars. The practice of "conventional" medicine in both Europe and America during the 19th century is sometimes referred to as the age of 'heroic medicine' (because of the 'heroic' measures such as bleeding and purging). the best preferably, is osteopathic medicine. There does not seem to be much practical difference between the two. This name, "allopathic", is not something that we MD's use - it has no practical meaning for us. Both groups are licensed to practice medicine. The most notable difference I see is that people who cannot get into medical school will then apply to osteopathic school. This implies to me that if one looked at the overall academic achievement, the MD's would come out way on top. However, I know and work with many excellent DO's. Having the best academic qualifications to get into med school does not necessarily make a good doctor. I once had to give anesthesia for a surgeon who was so proud of his education that he named his office the "Exeter-Yale-Princeton Clinic". The guy was a complete idiot in the operating room. Osteopathic medicine (formerly known as osteopathy) is "a complete system of medical care with a philosophy that combines the needs of the patient with current practice of medicine, surgery and obstetrics. The emphasis is on the interrelationship between structure and function, and has an appreciation of the body鈥檚 ability to heal itself." Outside the United States, "osteopathic medicine" is often used interchangeably with "osteopathy". Allopathy or Allopathic medicine (from Gr. allos, other, and pathos, suffering) is the name given by Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy,to the methods of his medical foes. The term is sometimes used today to refer to conventional medicine. The correct meaning and use of the term is a point of contention, even among authorities on the subject. I prefer allpathic doctor When I was visiting medical schools, I visited several MD and DO schools. DOs essentially take the same types of "in-school" boards and have the same education as MDs with the addition of learning manipulation (their chiropractic type treatments.) I dunno if it was a fad at the time or if they still do it, but many graduates of DO school in the early 90s took the MD boards in addition to their DO boards without any additional studying. I did end up doing my residency (I鈥檓 a foot doc) at a hospital where DOs were performing residencies in family practice, internal medicine, and radiology. There are good and bad DOs, just the same as MDs. To get board certified in a certain area like plastic surgery, the DOs and MDs share the same requirements and have to do the same things. As for the argument about people going into DO school because they couldn鈥檛 get info MD school, I suppose that is true and it does happen. I could have gone into either and chose podiatry instead. Judging the quality of a doctor based on what they did before they got into medical school is a valid way to make judgments, but not always the best. I knew many residents who had poor grades that I wouldn鈥檛 hesitate to send my family to now that they are in practice, and some 4.0s that I would avoid at all costs. And the other way around, of course. I think that patients would get more mileage out of choosing a doctor that they trust and get along with than by what there grades were coming out of undergrad. P.S. My favorite endocrinologist and interventional cardiologist (My wife goes to the cardiologist, I don't need one yet, thank goodness) are DOs. My favorite internist is an MD. |
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