Visiting a medical office can be sometimes a confusing one, especially if it is a bigger group practice with several various practitioners there that may see you on your visit. This is especially frequent in a pediatricians office where your child may be seen by a MD, a DO or even a CNP or a PA. What do all of those titles mena and what makes them different from one another ? This article will look into some of those titles to determine what each of those ones stand for and what training they have to take care of you at times when a physician is not available. This article will describe just those kinds of medical positions rather than the healthcare accounts receivable or medical receivable factoring type of positions that are also professions in a medical office.

There are two types of medical doctors or physicians that are trained to be taking care of patients in their specific areas. The first one is the MD which means a Doctor of medicine and this is the more common one for physicians taking about 90% of the doctors nationwide. After four years of undergraduate study in college, they are required to go to 4 years of medical school. After medical school they then do a residency edcuation for another 3-7 years to discover the type of medicine they wish to concentrate on and focus on learning that.

A DO stands for a Doctor of osteopathic medicine and only consists of about 10 % of our medical doctors. Their training is almost the same as an MD where they must attend 4 years of medical school, followed by 3-7 years of a residency and receive additional training in the musculoskeletal system which involves the nerves, muscles and bones of a person as well. A DO looks at their patients as a whole body and focuses on preventative care for the whole person not just a specific symptom. The largest difference between the 2 is that a DO is trained to do osteopathic manipulations on their patients where a MD is not.

An RN stands for a registered nurse and helps the doctor in a variety of ways with administering shots and drawing blood for additional testing. They do not however, diagnose or treat a patient’s ailments. A NP stands for nurse practitioner and is a registered nurse who has completed additional education and training with a minimum of a graduate degree. An NP can provide much of the same care to a patient as a doctor may and can also be a patients primary care provider if they choose. They help patients with common medical conditions including chronic illnesses and may prescribe medications in addition to diagnose their problems.

A PA stands for a Physician’s Assistant and is licensed to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. Their duties are to see patients and diagnose and treat them by ordering tests, helping with surgery and writing prescriptions for medicine. They must attned additional medical certification and training to become a PA.

Be Sociable, Share!

Tagged with: •

Filed under: Ask The Big Dog

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!