What the letters mean
An MD is awarded by a medical school after four years of study, and on its own it is a degree rather than a licence. A physician practises on a state licence granted after the national examination sequence and at least a year of postgraduate training, and specialises through a residency of three to seven years.
MD and DO are the two physician degrees in the United States. Both carry a full, unrestricted licence to practise medicine and surgery in every state, both train in the same residency programs, and both are counted as physicians. The difference is the school and the osteopathic training that comes with a DO.
On a provider record the letters are filed by the provider themselves, as free text, so MD may appear alone or beside a fellowship or a second degree. What a physician actually practises comes from the specialty codes on the record and never from the letters.
What we hold on them
These letters span more than one specialty, so there is no single list behind them. Browse the lists for counts by specialty and state, each refreshed nightly, or see what a record carries.
Closely related, and where to find them.
Closely related
Find them
- Physicians physician data by specialty, state and employer.
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