System vs Symptom
Just as patients have their individual reactions to disease, so do doctors have their individual approach to patients. I've had fabulous care, indifferent care, and terrible care from the many doctors I've met since I was diagnosed. I am very lucky to get nothing less than fabulous care from my principal medical team of Dr MC, Dr SC, Dr G and their staffs and associates.
Aside from a doctor's personality, there is a very distinct difference in how one may be treated, between two types of doctors practicing medicine in the U.S. On the one hand, you have MDs, or Doctors of Medicine; on the other hand, you have DOs, or Doctors of Osteopathy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a sketch of the difference between the degrees here. Each branch of training is equally rigorous and demanding; the emphases are just a little different.
You may ask yourself, does it really make a difference? I maintain that it does. Dr MC, my primary care physician (PCP), is a DO. Had he been my doctor when my blood pressure spiked in 1997, I know that he would have moved beyond "your genetic tendency toward high blood pressure has finally manifested itself", to ask "but why has it done so when nothing else in your life has changed?" And, as time went on, I doubt that he would have blown off my other concerns, as my then-PCP did. Things would be very different for me now, as early detection is the key to improved chance of long-term survival.
I am certainly not saying that all MDs treat symptoms only - it depends, of course, on the physician's personality and approach to medicine and patients. I am saying that it is more likely that a DO will see that symptom in terms of the body as a whole. If the patient is willing to ask questions (and not all are; I just happen to be the elephant's child) an MD might follow up; a DO will follow up.
Go ahead and ask your doctor what training path s/he followed. If you've been seeing that doctor for a long time, you probably won't be surprised by the answer.
Aside from a doctor's personality, there is a very distinct difference in how one may be treated, between two types of doctors practicing medicine in the U.S. On the one hand, you have MDs, or Doctors of Medicine; on the other hand, you have DOs, or Doctors of Osteopathy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a sketch of the difference between the degrees here. Each branch of training is equally rigorous and demanding; the emphases are just a little different.
You may ask yourself, does it really make a difference? I maintain that it does. Dr MC, my primary care physician (PCP), is a DO. Had he been my doctor when my blood pressure spiked in 1997, I know that he would have moved beyond "your genetic tendency toward high blood pressure has finally manifested itself", to ask "but why has it done so when nothing else in your life has changed?" And, as time went on, I doubt that he would have blown off my other concerns, as my then-PCP did. Things would be very different for me now, as early detection is the key to improved chance of long-term survival.
I am certainly not saying that all MDs treat symptoms only - it depends, of course, on the physician's personality and approach to medicine and patients. I am saying that it is more likely that a DO will see that symptom in terms of the body as a whole. If the patient is willing to ask questions (and not all are; I just happen to be the elephant's child) an MD might follow up; a DO will follow up.
Go ahead and ask your doctor what training path s/he followed. If you've been seeing that doctor for a long time, you probably won't be surprised by the answer.
Labels: doctors
posted by rcclive at
10:31 AM
2 Comments:
I enjoy hearing your perspective on this difference between MDs and DOs. I have had a very different experience with both, and I suggest that it's not the difference in training but more a difference in personality and work ethic. My husband went to a DO for years before we met, and when we were married I was finally able to convince him to switch to my MD. He'd been exhibiting (and complaining about) classic Diabetes symptoms (always thirsty, fatiqued all the time even though he exercised regularly and ate well, unexplicable weight gain and/or loss), and was not diagnosed until he went to a medical hospital with angina. I think it's that some people care passionately about other people, and some people are just doing their jobs to get the paychecks and fancy cars.
It's the same in libraries, isn't it? Some librarians, though very good at reference and research, are really just there for the academics of it all and don't really notice what the customer needs. Of course, we librarians don't generally drive cars as fancy as doctors do . . .
:-)
By
Cat Herself, at 5:26 AM
You are right, of course. I've had good MDs too, but at this stage in my life and disease I don't want to take any chances. Above all, we should all be willing to switch doctors, whatever their background and training, if there's a disconnect between symptoms and treatment. Life's too short (etc.)
I sure didn't join the profession for the money ...!
By
rcclive, at 7:48 PM
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