6
doc • Winter 2014
Kentucky
What Do D.O.s Do?
Doctors of osteopathy have an
added touch
By Tanya J. Tyler
Most people know the letters “M.D.” identify someone as a medical doctor. But
if you were in the hospital
and the person treating you
wore a lab coat with the letters “D.O.” on
it, you would probably wonder what those
letters stood for. And once you learned they
designate the person as a doctor of osteopathy, your next few questions would be
logical: What is a doctor of osteopathy? And
is there a difference between a D.O. and an
M.D.?
According to the American Osteopathic
Association (AOA), D.O.s, like M.D.s,
are fully qualified physicians licensed to
prescribe medication and perform surgery.
Their training is quite similar: Both complete four years of basic medical education
after earning an undergraduate degree; both
pursue graduate medical education by taking internships, residencies and fellowships
after med school; and both must pass state
exams to obtain their licenses.
“We have to know everything the M.D.
student knows,” said Rob Brandenburg,
D.O., who is currently at the University of
Kentucky Medical Center on a gastroenterology fellowship.
D.O.s must graduate from an osteopathic
medical school accredited by the AOA’s
Commission on Osteopathic College
Accreditation. The curriculum emphasizes
preventive medicine and comprehensive
patient care. Like M.D.s, D.O.s can choose
to practice in a medical specialty such as
pediatrics, family medicine, psychiatry or
ophthalmology. D.O.s are found in all the
same hospital and health-care venues as
M.D.s. However, osteopathic medicine has a
distinct approach to care that incorporates a
healing touch.
Osteopathy began in this country in 1874.
It was founded on a philosophy of treating people, not just symptoms. The term
“osteopathy,” which means “bone disease,”
was coined by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still. D.O.s
practice a “whole person” approach to health
care, according to the AOA. This approach
appealed to Brandenburg.