MD v. DO

A MD physician are individuals who can practice any aspect of medicine and have privileges in taking patient histories, writing prescriptions, performing surgeries, owning private practices, and even teaching in academic medicine. In hospitals and clinics, they are usually a leader of a healthcare team which is composed of resident physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and  medical assistants. In terms of knowledge / schooling and training, an allopathic physician (MD) will go through:

• 3 - 4+ years of undergraduate studies, to attain a Bachelor's of Science/Arts degree in any major (BS or BA)

• 4 years of an allopathic medical school, to attain a Doctor of Medicine degree (MD)

• You are now a resident physician (if you go into residency, which you should)

• 3 - 7 years of residency, to attain formal training in a clinical setting before becoming a fellow or attending physician

• Optional: 1 - 3+ years of fellowship, to attain formal training in a subspecialty

• You are now an attending physician! Congrats!

In terms of hours worked and salary, an allopathic physician will:

• Work 60 - 80+ hours a week during residency and make an average of $60,000+ a year

• Work 60 - 70+ hours a week as an attending physician and make an average of $250,000 a year

• Note: This all depends on what specialty you enter. More competitive specialties typically make more money

A DO physician are individuals who can practice any aspect of medicine and have privileges in taking patient histories, writing prescriptions, performing surgeries, owning private practices, and even teaching in academic medicine. In hospitals and clinics, they are usually a leader of a healthcare team which is composed of resident physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and  medical assistants. In terms of schooling and training, an osteopathic physician (DO) will go through:

• 3 - 4+ years of undergraduate studies, to attain a Bachelor's of Science/Arts degree in any major (BS or BA)

• 4 years of an osteopathic medical school, to attain a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree (DO)*

• You are now a resident physician (if you go into residency, which you should)

• 3 - 7 years of residency, to attain formal training in a clinical setting before becoming a fellow or attending physician

• Optional: 1 - 3+ years of fellowship, to attain formal training in a subspecialty

• You are now an attending physician! Congrats!

In terms of hours worked and salary, an osteopathic physician will:

• Work 60 - 80+ hours a week during residency and make an average of $60,000+ a year

• Work 60 - 70+ hours a week as an attending physician and make an average of $250,000 a year

• Note: This all depends on what specialty you enter. More competitive specialties typically make more money

* This is where DOs differ than MDs. DOs typically learn Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) throughout their medical school studies. OMM is simply manipulation of the body in order to alleviate physical medical symptoms. OMM is completely optional after medical school ends, unless if you are trained by DO physicians who use OMM in your residency or if you choose to take an OMM fellowship for board certification in OMM.