D.O. vs M.D.

  • Both D.O.s and M.D.s have a four year undergraduate degree prior to medical training.
  • Both D.O.s and M.D.s have spent four-years in medical education. Both take the MCAT and are subject to a rigorous application process.
  • Historically, D.O. schools are more open to the non-traditional candidate.
  • D.O.s, like M.D.s, choose to practice in a specialty area of medicine and complete a residency program ranging from 3-7 years.
  • Some D.O.s complete the same residency programs as their M.D. counterparts (as did Dr. Smolar)
  • M.D. students take the USMLE exam
  • D.O. students take the COMLEX exam.
  • Both must pass a state licensing examination to practice medicine.
  • D.O.s completing MD residencies complete the same board examinations.
  • D.O.s perform surgery, deliver babies, treat patients, prescribe medications, and work in the same settings as M.D.s. D.O.s use the same tools, treatments, and technologies of medicine as M.D.s.
  • D.O.s receive extra training in the musculoskeletal system, which make up the muscles and bones of a person.

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