My URO is a DO (anyone know difference between DO and MD Doctor?)

I'll take a stab at this one although it's sort of tricky.

A DO goes to a osteopathic medical school. A MD goes to a allopathic (traditional) medical school. Both have to do residencies after medical school. There are some osteopathic residencies, but often a DO will do a more traditional allopathic residency ( the ones that MDs go through).

Osteopathic medical schools focus more on disease processes in the body being related to imbalances in the spine--I'm really on shaky ground here but that's my understanding. But with that emphasis understood, a DO medical student still learns much the same material as an allopathic medical student. I would say there is more variability in the quality of DO medical schools than there is in allopathic medical schools; some are excellent and some aren't so excellent.

Most of what your urologist really needs to know he learned in his residency, so that's really where I'd focus my attention. If he trained at a good allopathic program then you can probably safely assume that the residency program thought he got a good education at his DO medical school. If he made it through his allopathic residency with out any problems and is board certified then that is further evidence that he is well trained and that he is probably comparable to his allopathic counterparts. If he trained at a osteopathic residency I can't really help you--I'm not familiar with them.

Hope that helps some.

Paul

If I were you, I would do a lot more research.  I might be wrong, but have always believed that a Doctor of Osteopathy was less fully trained than a Doctor of Medicine.  I'm sure you can find information inline to help you understand the difference between the two.

I know that if I was considering surgery I would always go to a medical doctor.  Particularly if I wanted DaVinci surgery. (I don't know if any OD's are qualified to do the DaVince surgery.)

Don't get me wrong, I have great respect for Alternative Medicine practitioners.  My daughter is a highly trained Accupuncturist and Herbalist.   After her Masters degree, she studied for years at a college of Oriental Medicine. She is now a Doctor of Oriental Medicine.  Osteopaths do at least that much, but I would not want one to operate on me.

I too have worked professionally with both MD's and DO's, and can agree with Swim on the fact that both can bring great skill to their chosen specialties. Sure, just as there can be less skilled DO's, the same can be said for MD's. The DO's that are specialist have received the same degree of training as MD's, seem to be more in-tune with the patients, and don't seem to have the same degree of royalty as some MD's seem to possess. In the end, I would consider the experience of the physician, the facility where he or she practices, and the accessibility of the office staff when making a decision to use or not use a doctor. Just my opinion of course, but I have seen incompetence in both, after all, the call the guys or gals that finish at the bottom of their medical or osteopathic school "doctor". Just another good case for the old term "buyer beware".

Randy