The fact is both D.O.s and M.D.s are fully qualified physicians licensed to perform surgery and prescribe medication.

D.O.s bring something extra to medicine:

• Osteopathic medical schools emphasize training students to be primary care physicians.
• D.O.s practice a "whole person" approach to medicine with a focus on preventive health care.
• D.O.s receive extra training in the musculoskeletal system and how injury or diseases in one part of the body can affect another.  Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is incorporated in the training of osteopathic physicians and in the practices of many D.O.s