What is the difference between an M.D. and a D.O.?

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O. or DO) is a four-year graduate-level academic degree offered to physicians and surgeons in the United States. Holders of the D.O. degree are known as osteopathic medical physicians. D.O.s are trained much in the same way as M.D.s, with the addition of osteopathic manipulative medicine techniques. In the United States, the D.O. and the M.D. are the only two degrees permitting licensure as medical physicians. D.O and M.D. physicians have similar training (both requiring four years of training in the basic and clinical sciences and the successful completion of licensing exams). Osteopathic medical physicians receive additional training in Osteopathic Manual Manipulation. Although U.S. osteopathic medical physicians currently may obtain licensure in 47 countries, osteopathic curricula in countries other than the United States differ. In some countries outside of the United States, D.O.s are known as "osteopaths" and while their scope of practice ...  more

The Medicin Doctor or Doctor of Medicine (M.D. or D.M.) is a doctorate level degree held by medical doctors. Once admitted to medical school, it takes four years to earn a M.D. degree. The course of study is divided into two roughly equal parts. Preclinical study generally comprises the first two years and consists of classroom and laboratory instruction in core subjects such as anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, pathology, and neurosciences. Once the student successfully completes preclinical training, he or she moves on to the clinical portion. This usually occupies the final two years of medical school and takes place almost exclusively on the wards of a teaching hospital. The students observe and take part in the care of actual patients under the supervision of residents and attending physicians. Rotations on clinical services such as internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, and psychiatry are the foundation of this curriculum, ...  more

The difference between medical "doctor" and having a "doctorate" is rooted in the practical knowledge required to attain the "doctor" status while a "doctorate" evidences satisfaction of an institution's educational requirements (i.e. credit hours, theses, etc.) leading to that level of a post graduate degree.  more

A medical doctor (allopathic physician) (M.D.) and a doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) generally have the same educational background and length of study. Both are required to complete an undergraduate degree - usually with an emphasis on biological or chemical science - followed by four years of medical school, and then a residency program. A residency program is done in the area of specialty chosen by the physician such as surgery, gynecology, or psychiatry. The length of this residency program varies by the physician's specialty, but typically is two to six years. All physicians must then pass state licensure requirements and examinations. In regard to primary care physicians, the basic difference between these two types of doctors is becoming more narrow all the time. The philosophical differences of the two types are becoming somewhat non-existent and, in recent years, the training each receives has begun to cross the traditional lines of "conventional" and "osteopathic" ...  more