While many medical professionals earn their Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees, there are licensed physicians with other medical degrees. One such degree is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, or DO doctor. DOs are fully licensed physicians who practice with a “whole-person” approach to medicine. They typically focus on the connection between the body's structure and its function, though the extent to which this influences day-to-day practice varies widely. Some people feel that DOs give a more holistic approach to healing the body.

Here's what to know about a DO doctor, how they train, and what their philosophies might be.

Defining the DO Designation: Scope, Training, and Licensure

DOs can work in all medical specialties, just like an MD. In the United States, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) is a fully licensed physician with training largely parallel to that of an MD. Licensure requirements, such as state medical boards and credentialing standards, are functionally equivalent between DOs and MDs.

The DO designation primarily reflects the philosophical heritage of osteopathic principles, not a difference in physician competence or scope. DOs can prescribe, perform surgery, and practice in every specialty in all 50 states and nearly every country. The ACGME single accreditation system (which took place between 2015-2020) unified MD and DO residency pathways.

More information here:

DOs vs. MDs – Which Is the Best Degree?

Key Educational and Philosophical Differences Between DOs and MDs

There are many similarities between MDs and DOs—both go through extensive training, get board-certified, prescribe medicine, and practice across the entire United States. Modern DO and MD clinical training environments are now essentially identical in most teaching hospitals. However, they have a few key differences that you should know about.

The first is that MDs and DOs attend different types of medical schools. While DO medical education includes the same core biomedical and clinical curriculum as MD programs, they also have additional dedicated training in osteopathic principles and osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM/OMT).

Deciding whether DOs or MDs are the best degree is mostly a matter of personal preference. When considering where to apply to medical schools, it's best to try and match your personal values and career aspirations to the philosophy of any particular MD or DO school to find the best match for your specific situation.

Practice Patterns, Specialties, and Salary Considerations

It's tough to define exactly how DO salaries compare to the salaries of physicians with MD degrees. However, recent reports indicate that the majority (about 57%) of DOs specialize in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, or osteopathic manipulative medicine. And while salary differences are overwhelmingly attributable to specialty distribution, not degree, the specialties often favored by DOs do tend to rank toward the bottom of the pile as far as medical specialties go.

Dr. Jim Dahle, the founder of The White Coat Investor, has said before that, “One of the things I have noticed that no one ever seems to talk about is that intraspecialty pay variation is higher than interspecialty pay variation.” This means that even though many DOs specialize in lower-paying specialties, there is still a path to an above-average salary. Compensation is identical when controlling for specialty and practice models—payers do not differentiate between a DO vs. an MD.

Implications for Peer Physicians: Referral, Collaboration, and Credentialing

DOs meet the same credentialing and privileging standards as MDs in hospital systems. The DO board certification pathways (like the AOA or ABMS) are widely accepted. There is increasing movement toward ABMS certification among DOs, and ABMS-certified DOs may be eligible for AOA certification without an exam. While AOA boards and ABMS boards are both widely accepted, some academic programs may express preferences for ABMS certification.

While DOs and MDs are both licensed physicians, there may be certain cases where it makes sense to involve a DO. DO training may provide added value in musculoskeletal medicine, headaches, pregnancy-related pain, etc. One situation might be where a patient is presenting with acute musculoskeletal complaints. An osteopathic doctor could potentially treat the patient toward a more successful outcome.

It's also important to understand that medical biases against DOs may still exist in academic medicine. However, younger generations of physicians increasingly view the degrees as equivalent.

More information here:

Choosing Your Physician Board Certification Organization (ABMS, AOA, ABPS)

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, DOs and MDs share the same mission: delivering high-quality, evidence-based care. Whether a physician holds a DO or MD degree tells you little about their clinical ability. Modern training pathways, licensure standards, and residency programs ensure parity between the two designations. The differences between the degrees are largely philosophical and educational, and they matter far less than other factors.

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