Are DO and MD degrees becoming the same in the United States?

Health · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Once considered a cult by the medical establishment, osteopathic medicine has evolved into a mainstream profession. Today, osteopathic physicians (DOs) and allopathic doctors (MDs) share identical training, licensing, and practice rights. Yet, the history of this convergence is marked by bitter professional conflict and a struggle for legitimacy.

Founded in 1892 by Andrew Taylor Still in Kirksville, Missouri, osteopathic medicine emerged as a radical critique of 19th-century medical practices. Still, a frontier physician, argued that contemporary medicine was morally corrupt and relied on harmful substances like arsenic and opium. He proposed a system focused on musculoskeletal manipulation, believing that many diseases originated in disordered bone and tissue structures.

For decades, the American Medical Association (AMA) actively opposed the movement, labeling it a cult and discouraging professional association. This tension peaked in the 1960s in California, where the state eliminated the practice of osteopathy, offering DOs the chance to convert their credentials to MD degrees for a nominal fee. However, the profession persisted, and by 1974, the California Supreme Court ruled that DO licensing must be restored.

The modern era is defined by a rapprochement between the two paths. Since 1969, DOs have been eligible for full membership in the AMA, and today, their training is virtually indistinguishable from that of MDs. Both attend four-year medical schools and complete the same ACGME-accredited residencies. While DOs receive additional instruction in musculoskeletal manipulation, most do not utilize these techniques in daily practice.

Despite this integration, some debate remains regarding the utility of maintaining separate educational pathways. Proponents of osteopathic philosophy emphasize a patient-centered, holistic approach, while critics argue that the core principles—which view the body as a self-regulating unit—do not fundamentally differentiate the practice from mainstream evidence-based medicine. As of 2018, there were over 145,000 osteopathic physicians and students in the United States, reflecting the field's significant growth and its complete assimilation into the medical mainstream.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• Nearly a third of American medical students now train for a DO
• Is osteopathy a medical discipline or a controversial system of physical manipulation?
• An MD means a new doctor in America but a research degree in Britain
• “Physician” once meant drug doctor, not surgeon—with a 1400 quarrel
• Why British doctors hold bachelor's degrees and American doctors hold doctorates
• Oxycodone is a potent tool for pain, but it demands careful, supervised management.
• The liberalizing king born to Napoleon's rival
• A potent cancer treatment once threatened the survival of an ancient forest species
• When healthy eating becomes a pathological obsession with purity
• Comfort medicine now starts long before the final bedside vigil
• Orthopaedics literally means straight child, and began as advice for parents
• When infection crosses borders the whole world becomes the patient

More in Health, medicine and disease · More in Health · Latest · A–Z · All topics