DO vs MD – Let’s Take a Closer Look at Degrees in Medicine
Students looking to study medicine can take different routes to receive their medical degree. Some students decide to pursue the path of Allopathic medicine and receive an MD degree. Others choose to pursue the path of Osteopathic medicine and receive a DO degree.
DO vs MD, is one better than the other? What is the difference? Let’s take a closer look at these two degrees in medicine and you can decide for yourself!
DO vs MD:
About the degrees in medicine
| Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine – DO | Doctor of Allopathic Medicine – MD |
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DO vs MD:
Path to the degrees in medicine
| Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine – DO | Doctor of Allopathic Medicine – MD |
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Admissions Requirements:
Training Programs:
Licensing Exams:
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Admissions Requirements:
Training Programs:
Licensing Exams:
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What are the similarities between MDs and DOs?
MDs and DOs follow similar educational routes. They both start by earning a four-year undergraduate degree, and most of them take pre-medicine courses during this time. After completing their undergraduate degree, they attend either medical school or a college of osteopathic medicine.
After four years of medical education, both MDs and DOs must complete an internship and a residency. A residency is a period of on-the-job training under the supervision of more experienced doctors. Some MDs and DOs may also choose to do fellowships to further specialize in a specific area of medicine.
It’s interesting to note that MDs and DOs often train side by side in residencies and internships despite attending different types of schools. Additionally, both MDs and DOs must pass a licensing exam to practice medicine professionally. The specific type of licensing exam taken depends on the state in which the MD or DO resides.
How Are MDs and DOs Different?
Education: Both allopathic medical schools and colleges of osteopathic medicine are competitive to get into. There are fewer students in colleges of osteopathic medicine compared to allopathic medical schools. Only a quarter of medical students in the US attend a college of osteopathic medicine.
DOs have extra education, usually about 200 hours, to learn osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). It is also called osteopathic manipulative technique (OMT).
DO vs MD – At the end of the day both degrees in medicine place the patient as the priority and physicians from both philosophies can do their jobs well.
We here at Avalon University School of Medicine offer an MD degree to help prepare the next generation of physicians. If a degree in medicine is what you are searching for, look no further than Avalon University School of Medicine.
Click here to apply now!
Click here to read more on the difference between DO vs MD.
SOURCES:
MD vs. DO: What’s the Difference? (2023, February 6). Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/do-vs-md/
