Letter from Michael Brown, DO

As an osteopathic physician (DO), I have listened the past few weeks to uninformed national news media personalities and celebrities malign our profession. When President Trump contracted COVID-19, it came to light that his personal physician was a DO Suddenly, “experts” on the subject of physician credentials came out of the woodwork to erroneously disparage his professional qualification, motivated only by their political ideology. They would not have made the same comments had his physician been an MD. Commentators from CNN, MSNBC, and even celebrities like Cher have made or posted comments showing their ignorance of what an osteopathic physician is and does.

I want to set the record straight. Only DOs and MDs are licensed to practice medicine in the fifty states. In Missouri, DOs and MDs are licensed by the Board of Healing Arts. One in ten physicians in the United States is a DO, and almost one in four medical students is attending an osteopathic medical school. Missouri has two osteopathic medical schools: AT Still University – Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (founded in 1892 – the first in the nation) and Kansas City University (the largest medical school in Missouri with campuses in Kansas City and Joplin). Because Missouri is the founding state of osteopathic medicine and the fact that we have two schools with three campuses, it is highly likely that you either see a DO or know someone who does. Osteopathic medicine is Missouri medicine – born and bred.

So, what’s the difference between a DO and an MD? We both train in similar ways including attending four years of medical school followed by three to seven or more years of postgraduate training depending on the specialty we choose. Both DOs and MDs train in residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education. We both must pass board examinations to be licensed. You will find many DO’s in primary care specialties, but also in every medical specialty where we must pass high stakes exams to ensure competency. The primary difference between a DO and MD is their medical school training: DO’s attend osteopathic medical schools and MDs train in allopathic medical schools. DOs are trained to look at the whole person and believe there is a relationship between the mind, body and spirit. We also receive additional training on the musculoskeletal system and many DOs practice osteopathic manipulative treatment, a set of hands-on techniques to diagnose, treat and prevent illness or injury. This holistic philosophy is expanding into MD training and philosophy as well. Because of our whole-body approach to patients, a higher percentage of osteopathic physicians go into the much-needed primary care medical specialties.

So next time you visit your physician, check to see if they are a DO or MD, and understand that regardless of the letters following their name, the main difference is how they approach your care, not their qualifications.

Michael Brown, DO
President, Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons