DO vs MD - Osteopathic vs Allopathic - An Introduction

DO vs MD - Osteopathic vs Allopathic

This video serves as an introduction to the differences and similarities between the 2 paths to becoming a Physician in the US.

When visiting the doctor, chances are you didn’t even check what type of doctor they are - DO vs MD? Perhaps you didn’t even realize that there were two different training routes one can take to become a doctor. An MD, indicating completion of a Doctor of Medicine degree is the most common educational path completed by physicians and accounts for 89% of actively practicing physicians.

DO physicians, indicating completion of a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree, make up approximately 11% of practicing doctors in the United States. In general, an MD and a DO fulfill the same roles. An MD and a DO complete similar residencies, prescribe medications, and can practice in all 50 states.

The main difference between DO versus MDs is that DOs complete additional hands-on training in a technique termed osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM).

While there may have been vast differences in the past between DO vs MD, today both types of physicians get the same training in medical school, take the same licensing exams and fulfill the same roles.