What is a DO?

A DO is a medical doctor, and the DO medical degree stands for Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. DOs are licensed to practice the full spectrum of medicine and surgery, and practice in every medical specialty in the United States.

The DO and MD degrees are legal and professional equivalents.

DOs (osteopathic physicians) and MDs (allopathic physicians) are both complete medical doctors with equivalent education, training, and practice rights. While osteopathy is a distinct branch of medicine, DOs complete the same medical and surgical training as MDs. In fact, the DO and MD residency training programs in the US have merged.

Both DOs and MDs:

• Complete 4 years of medical school

• Complete residency training in the specialty of their choice (for example: cardiology, family medicine, emergency medicine, surgery, dermatology, radiology, etc)

• Prescribe medications, deliver babies, admit patients to the hospital, order lab and radiology testing, and make referrals to other physicians

The only difference between DOs and MDs is that in addition to the standard medical school curriculum, DOs receive several hundred hours of training in hands on diagnosis and treatment of medical ailments. This additional training in hands on diagnosis and treatment gives DOs an extra “tool” in their medical toolbox, providing a unique, practical advantage in preventing, diagnosing, and treating acute and chronic pain, illness/injuries, and many medical conditions. This hands on medicine is called osteopathic manipulative medicine (osteopathy). To learn more about osteopathic manipulative medicine click here.

Dr. Saskia Lytle-Vieira is a board certified osteopathic physician (DO) practicing in Austin Texas, providing patients with osteopathic medical care for musculoskeletal problems (back pain, neck pain, joint pain, tendon and ligament sprains) and nervous system problems (headaches/migraines, traumatic brain injury, vertigo).