[Seaswept]

This doctor was recommended to me- He is a board certified Psychiatrist and also a D.O. , an Osteopathic doctor like a Holistic dr.

I never heard of such a combo and am looking forward to going. I'm hoping he will listen better than my current doc especially concerning side effects and wanting to be on less.

I made an appointment and he is booking into October, so he must be good?

Anyone ever been to one of these?

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by Seaswept

I made an appointment and he is booking into October, so he must be good?

NO! I went that route - waited for months for an appt with a doctor who was charging way above market. He was horrible. I ultimately found relief with a doctor who had a very reasonable wait time and charged at market.

Likewise, D.O. is a now unusual medical designation which does not guarantee anything.

So the proper way to put it is HE MAY BE GOOD and hope for the best.

I've seen D.O.'s before, but I never thought they were particularly any different than M.D.'s in how they treated my concerns. Didn't find them to be any more "holistic" than my M.D.'s have been.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by farmergirl

I've seen D.O.'s before, but I never thought they were particularly any different than M.D.'s in how they treated my concerns. Didn't find them to be any more "holistic" than my M.D.'s have been.

whatever "holistic" means, I must add - I find this word for want of a good definition

Theoretically, D.O.'s historically were trained to treat the "whole" person while M.D.'s were about treating the symptoms/illness. In current history, training of M.D.'s has changed so that they, too, theoretically treat the "whole" person as well. I know my experiences with our personal M.D.'s has been that we have some really good M.D.'s who are very much this way although as in all things, no two doctors are alike. A D.O. is also trained in osteopathic manipulation, which I know nothing about, but many of them don't use the technique in their practice of medicine so it becomes a moot point with them unless they do.

Both degrees require the same training (with the exception of additional training in that osteopathic manipulation that I mentioned), have to pass the same licensing requirements, etc., so it isn't a matter of one being more qualified than the other.

[PiperLeigh]

My sister is an MD. I go to a DO as my primary doctor. One is just as legit as the other. Both go through an entire med school program. The DO designation has exactly the same rights and responsibilities as an MD. They both have state board exams, licenses, etc and can practice medicine, write prescriptions, and when applicable to their specialty, perform surgery. You can have full confidence in one having equally legitimate credentials as the other from an academic standpoint. Which degree is conferred on a med student depends on the school/program they attend. 29 Med schools confer a DO degree on completion; 137 confer an MD degree. DO curriculum is extremely similar to the MD curriculum, but DO students get an extra 300-500 hours training and extra attention to the muscular-skeletal system. (My DO is in family practice seeing people for almost everything, but she's extra smart with muscular-skeletal issues- great for folks with bad backs and arthritis, etc). After my sister got her MD, she specialized in neonatology and went through a fellowship to have that specialty. Similarly, DO's can further their training and choose a specialty. Sounds like yours chose psychiatry. You should feel just as confident seeing a DO with a psychiatry specialty as you would an MD with a psychiatry specialty.

[Secretum]

My pdoc is a DO and he is very good. He listens to all of my issues, including those not directly related to bipolar. He even remembers to ask how my family is doing. He aims to have me on the least amount medication needed to stabilize me; we always start with low doses of drugs and increase them as needed. I love him and would highly recommend him.

However, no two DOs are the same, just as no two MDs are the same. Your new pdoc may be very different, but I hope that he is just as good as mine.

As a side note: I am a premed student and I want to go to a DO school! I love the philosophy of treating the whole patient.

[wing]

My hubs is a DO. He went to a DO med school, DO surgery residency, MD family practice residency, took the same tests for board certification as MDs, taught at an MD medical school, was the Chief of Department in Family Practice at a huge teaching hospital, etc, etc.There are DO and MD residencies, and a DO is qualified to apply for an MD residency.

The difference is that DOs have additional training during medical school in "osteopathic manipulation" which is similar to what a chiropractor would do. Usually you'll only find this done by a family practice doc or orthopedist. DOs are not necessarily more "holistic" apart from that.

My hubs now practices a new specialty in medicine called Hospitalist. He takes care of people referred to him by other doctors, including psychiatrists (for medical issues, not psych issues), only while they are in the hospital. He requests the consultations with other doctors. On discharge, the patient is transferred back to their original doctor. This system means there is ultimately one doctor coordinating care. You have one doctor who can explain why the others are seeing you. It is an exploding field because people want to have a go-to doctor who can "put together the big picture". Just giving out that information because people always ask, "What is a Hospitalist?" and you might see one if, God forbid, you or a family member is hospitalized.

Hospitalists can be DO or MD, as well.

[Seaswept]

Thanks guys. and for clarifying, I thought a DO was like a natropath (don't know how to spell it).
I'll give him a shot, oh and maybe he can work on my back too! Kill two birds.

Yeah and I have heard about the hospitalists. I think thats a great idea I don't know why they haven't done that sooner, streamline. Sounds like a great job for a DR.

[hamster-bamster]

So looking at the stats presented, I was wrong saying that DO is now unusual. Maybe in California. I have seen a DO once back in Texas. In all my long years in Northern Cal, and I have sought medical care a lot, I have never seen a DO office. Only MDs.