The doctor is in
What is the difference between a D.O. and a M.D.?
By Dr. Tom Cherry

In the 21st century, there is not much difference in the practice styles of a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy, or "osteopath ") and an M.D. (Medical Doctor, or "allopath"). We both attend medical school, do additional training in similar if not identical facilities, and practice in similar if not identical styles. Historically there has been quite a lot of difference and even some antagonism between the two styles.

In the 19th century, the state of American Medicine was quite poor. There were no laboratory tests or X-Rays. There were few medicines that could make a difference in people's lives. Surgery was primitive to say the least. Many physicians at that time had ideas as to how to make this better. In 1874 Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., D.O. truly organized his thoughts into a medical field called Osteopathy. He felt that the way his patients used their bodies influenced their medical health. In 1892 Doctor Still organized an osteopathic medical school in Kirksville, Missouri for the teaching of his theories. For more of the history of osteopathy, I encourage you to visit their website, www.atsu.edu/kcom.

The 19th century found other modes of experimentation with the practice of medicine. In 1873, $7 million was given by Johns Hopkins, a Baltimore banker, for the establishment of a hospital. It was completed in 1889 in Baltimore, costing over $2 million. The hospital was, at its time, state of the art. New ideas such as the germ theory of disease were emerging and these theories were incorporated into the design of the hospital, with changes in ways of heating and ventilation in the hospital.

Throughout the past 120 years, Johns Hopkins has remained state of the art, and many current allopathic concepts emerged from within its walls. I encourage you to read more at www.hopkins medicine.org.

Doctors of Osteopathy and Medical Doctors emerged from two very different views of medicine. Because of that, we had our conflicts over the years. Different medical schools were set up and for many years even different hospitals. Today many training programs are very similar. For example, Doctor Vora attended an osteopathic school in Kansas City while I attended an allopathic school in West Texas. Both of us did our additional training in Kansas City in Family Medicine. Doctor Vora attended Kansas University for his, and I was at University of Missouri at Kansas City. So while our forefathers in medicine had very different theories, today most osteopaths and allopaths practice very similarly.