What Is a DO? Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Career Explained

If you’ve been researching different medical schools and keep seeing the letters “DO” alongside “MD,” you’re not alone in wondering what the difference is.

While both are medical degrees and both produce fully licensed physicians, they are not the same path. Understanding what a DO actually is before you commit to either direction is essential for premeds.

What Does DO Stand For?

DO stands for Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. It’s one of two medical degrees you can earn in the United States that qualify you to practice as a fully licensed physician. The other is an MD, or Doctor of Medicine.

DOs can prescribe medications, perform surgery, and practice in any specialty across all 50 states. There are currently over 167,000 practicing DOs in the United States, making up roughly 11% of the physician workforce. That number has grown significantly over the past two decades as more osteopathic medical schools have opened.

Osteopathic medicine was founded in 1874 by Andrew Taylor Still, a physician who believed that conventional medicine of his era was doing more harm than good. Still developed a philosophy centered on the body’s ability to heal itself when its structure and systems were properly aligned. That founding philosophy still shapes how DO programs are structured today.

The Osteopathic Philosophy

DO programs are built around a distinct set of principles that differentiate osteopathic medicine from allopathic medicine on paper. The American Osteopathic Association outlines four core tenets:

1. The body is a unit. 
2. The person is a unit of body, mind, and spirit. 
3. Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated. 
4. The body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing, and health maintenance. 

Rational treatment is based on understanding these principles.

In practice, this philosophy emphasizes treating the whole patient rather than just the presenting symptoms, with a particular focus on preventive care and the relationship between the musculoskeletal system and overall health. Most DOs practice in primary care, which reflects that orientation.

What Is Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM)?

The most concrete expression of osteopathic philosophy is OMM (Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine), also known as OMT. DO students spend 300 to 500 additional hours during medical school learning hands-on techniques designed to diagnose and treat patients through physical manipulation of the musculoskeletal system.

Some of these techniques are evidence-based and have legitimate clinical applications. Others are not supported by current science. Craniosacral therapy, for example, involves touching specific points along the spine to supposedly alter the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. That claim has no meaningful scientific backing.

The more important thing to understand as a premed is what happens to OMM after medical school. The overwhelming majority of practicing DOs do not use OMM with their patients once they’re in residency and beyond. You spend hundreds of hours learning it, and most physicians set it aside entirely. That’s not a reason to dismiss the DO path, but it is a reality worth understanding before you commit to it.

DO Medical School: What to Expect

The first two years of DO medical school cover the same foundational sciences as MD programs: anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, and pathology. The final two years involve clinical rotations across the same core specialties, including internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, OB/GYN, and psychiatry.

The key differences show up in the details.

DO students complete their OMM training on top of the standard curriculum. Those hours have to come from somewhere, and they come at the expense of the time MD students spend on other coursework, research, or clinical preparation.

Many DO programs are also not affiliated with large academic medical centers the way most MD programs are. This affects the quality and variety of clinical exposure students receive. Rotation sites can be spread across different institutions, sometimes in different states, which adds both logistical complexity and financial cost. Research opportunities at DO programs also tend to be more limited, with significantly less NIH funding flowing to osteopathic institutions compared to allopathic ones.

For the full breakdown of how to apply to DO medical school, including the AACOMAS application process, personal statement requirements, and letters of recommendation, read our complete AACOMAS Application Guide.

MD vs DO: Key Differences

Understanding what a DO is naturally leads to the question every premed eventually asks: how does this compare to an MD?

The short answer is that both degrees produce licensed physicians, but they are not equal in what they open up for you.

Admissions

MD programs are more competitive. The average MD matriculant enters with a 3.81 GPA and a 512.10 MCAT score. The average DO matriculant enters with a 3.60 GPA and a 502.97 MCAT score. That’s a serious gap. 

Licensing Exams 

MD students take the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination). DO students take the COMLEX (Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination). Many DO students also choose to take the USMLE because some residency programs prefer or require it, particularly in competitive specialties.

Residency 

Overall match rates are close at 93.5% for MD seniors versus 93.2% for DO seniors in 2026. But the specialty-level data tells a very different story. In 2026, 208 MD seniors matched into plastic surgery. 4 DO seniors did, out of 230 positions. The gap in competitive specialties like neurosurgery, dermatology, and interventional radiology is similarly stark.

International Practice 

The MD degree is widely recognized globally. DOs face additional licensing hurdles when practicing outside the US.

But this topic deserves more than a quick summary. For a full breakdown of every difference between MD and DO, including the residency match data by specialty, misconceptions, and a decision framework for premeds, read our complete guide: MD vs DO: Med School Differences and How to Choose.

Should You Become a DO?

The DO path is a legitimate route to becoming a physician, and for the right student in the right situation, it’s the right call.

If your goal is primary care, family medicine, emergency medicine, psychiatry, or physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), a DO degree will serve you well. DO graduates match into these fields at strong rates and build excellent careers. If you’re drawn to osteopathic philosophy and the whole-body approach resonates with your vision of patient care, that’s worth factoring in, too.

But if you’re drawn to competitive specialties like dermatology, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, or orthopedic surgery, the data should make you stop and think. The structural disadvantages of the DO path are most obvious when the stakes are highest.

And if you’re considering a DO school just because your stats didn’t clear the MD threshold, stop right there. Instead, taking a gap year to strengthen your application, building more research experience, improving your grades and MCAT score, or strategically applying to 30+ schools may be better long-term moves than committing to a path with fewer options.

For a deeper look at whether applying DO as a backup makes sense for your situation, read our guide: Should I Apply to DO Schools as a Backup?