I was talking recently to the widow of a medical school classmate and she was surprised to learn that Trump's White House doctor was not an M.D. but a D.O. The man became an ER doctor and is a Lt Commander in the Navy. I find that often patients do not know or ask the training of their physicians and are not aware of what the different initials mean for those who call themselves doctor. D.O's. graduate from a school of osteopathy and have quite different training from an M.D. Some states allow them to receive an M.D, if they do a medical residency and pass the necessary exams. Nurses can call themselves doctor if they are nurse practitioners and then take training to become a doctor of nursing. The initials for them is DNP. In my experience with these individuals, I have found that their medical training to be quite limited.
One important thing patients should check about their MDs is if they are board certified or board eligible. This means they have had the necessary training to take the board exams in their specialty and if they pass they then become board certified.
D.C. signifies a doctor of chiropractic or a chiropractor. They specialize in joint and spinal alignment. P.A stands for physician assistant. They generally have a two year training course and help physicians. L.V.N stands for a licensed practical or vocational nurse. They have 12-14 month training course and must pass an examination. O.D. is an optometrist. They can prescribe glasses but not do surgery. An optician may have no training, but just work in a eye doctor's office.
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