Why You Should Choose A DO With Dr. Gonzalez

Dr. Javier Gonzalez is often asked the question: “Why should I choose a DO instead of an MD?” Well the final choice is up to you, but here we want to break down some of the benefits that patients receive by choosing to improve their health and wellness with a DO. 

Here are some of the facts:  DOs and MDs spend the same time studying and honing their skills in medical school and residency programs. You can learn a bit about Dr. Gonzalez’s educational background on VitaDox. Every DO spends four years in medical school, which is usually followed by an internship in one or more osteopathic hospitals. Residency programs are available in the full range of specialties for DOs. While Dr. Gonzalez was in residency, he took a humanitarian mission trip to Guatemala to help underserved communities. Both DOs and MDs must take licensing exams in order to practice medicine. In some states these exams are the same for both DOs and MDs.

Where DOs diverge from the rigid thinking of MDs is the focus during their medical training. A DO is, of course, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. Osteopathic medical education places more emphasis on the entire body, and focuses on preventive medicine, maintaining body posture, osteopathic treatment, and more. DOs also tend to focus more on family medicine, since their skills can be applied so widely and treatment is gentle and non-invasive. The approach is all about letting the body heal itself. Fun fact- over 75% of the DOs in the United States are in family medical practice! And Dr. Javier Gonzalez is one of them!

A DO like Dr. Javier Gonzalez is going to take into account the whole person, not just the illness or condition that the person is suffering from. Dr. Gonzalez takes into account physical symptoms, lifestyle, environment, and emotional well-being of his patients. His fantastic ratings on WebMD reflect his unique and effective approach. This approach dates all the way back to Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine. He believed in focusing on the patient, not on the disease. Dr. Gonzalez is continuing the tradition of focusing on the patient and taking into account all the factors that can give rise to an illness or adverse health condition. 

This means that Dr. Gonzalez is not going to jump straight to the use of drugs or surgery when he encounters an illness. Instead, Dr. Javier Gonzalez knows how to promote the body’s self-healing and self-regulating ability to help the body heal on its own. This means treatment is safe, non-intrusive, and has as few side effects as possible. 

Osteopathic Manual Medicine is also used by Dr. Javier Gonzalez in Tampa, FL. He uses gentle touch and manipulation (not cracking your neck like some crazy chiropractor!) to help align the body’s muscles and skeletal structure. Osteopathic manual treatment has been proven to work for many disorders, and it’s a natural alternative to drugs that just mask the symptoms and don’t treat the cause of health issues.

Proper bodily posture and alignment are key in health! There’s a relationship between the body’s structure and how well the body functions. Dr. Javier Gonzalez is trained and has over two decades of experience in using that critical relationship between body structure and body function. He’s trained to recognize how a disturbance in one system can impact the other system. And he can solve the problems by getting at the root of these problems!

So if you are interested in treating your health issues by getting to the root of the problem and not simply addressing symptoms, a DO like Dr. Javier Gonzalez is for you. Dr. Gonzalez takes his decades of experience and a holistic approach to help you get healthy.

Dr. Javier R. Gonzalez and his DOCARE Humanitarian Work

Dr. Javier Gonzalez, DO is especially proud of his humanitarian work with DOCARE International. Of course, Dr. Gonzalez is proud of his work these days, evidenced by his WebMD rating. But in order to build such a good rapport with patients and to become such an effective doctor, Dr. Gonzalez spent a lot of time training and honing his medical skills. He even took part in a humanitarian medical mission to Guatemala during his residency, which we’d like to talk about here.

When we asked Dr. Gonzalez about becoming a DO, he said: “I became a DO in part due to the philosophy of Osteopathic Medicine which is a holistic approach to understand a patient…”

That holistic approach of healing and using the body’s own abilities to heal itself was quite useful when Dr. Javier Gonzalez embarked on his humanitarian medical mission. As you can see from his great ratings on Vitals.com, he developed knowledge and passion during his mission. But why did he choose DOCARE international?

DOCARE International provides primary medical care to many underserved populations, enhancing peoples’ ability to lead healthy lives in conditions that most people would not deem ideal. DOCARE calls this an “ambush of circumstance.” DOCARE provides hands-on health experiences to students, residents, and volunteers of all kinds (including doctors like Dr. Javier Gonzalez!). Volunteers with DOCARE receive an immersive experience in helping people on a grassroots level, person-to-person. This teaches volunteers how social circumstances are a huge influence on a person’s health.

DOCARE International was founded in 1961. It is a grassroots medical outreach organization. They are largely dedicated to providing healthcare to underserved communities around the world, including Guatemala where Dr. Gonzalez’s mission was. DOCARE has a two-pronged approach when it comes to helping people: medical care outreach trips and also helping establish permanent healthcare clinics.

Short-term outreach trips are usually a few weeks long and offer chances for medical students and professionals to get hands-on and offer their services to an underserved community. Permanent clinics provide care in selected areas and allow medical students and residents to complete one-month rotations in healthcare clinics around the world helping underserved communities.

DOCARE works with doctors like Dr. Javier R. Gonzalez, DO and other nonprofits to make sure that they are always offering useful medical assistance, providing appropriate medical supplies, and ensuring a positive impact in communities around the world.

Many people who embark on a DOCARE mission talk about how it changed their worldview, and Dr. Javier Gonzalez is no different. Upon returning from his mission trip in Guatemala, Dr. Gonzalez gained an even deeper understanding of what it means to help people through medicine. The integrative approach of a DO served Dr. Gonzalez well during his time in Guatemala, since he had limited tools at his disposal. 

Dr. Javier Gonzalez helped a lot of people through his holistic approach of caring for the whole body, not just addressing symptom after symptom. Dr. Gonzales says that his humanitarian mission with DOCARE taught him a great deal about different cultures but it helped him refine his approach to medicine as well. Lucky for his patients in the Tampa FL area, Dr. Gonzalez has brought all the knowledge and expertise from his humanitarian mission into his own practice of medicine. Give him a call today and see how a holistic approach to medicine can change your life and improve your health for good.

More About Dr. Javier R. Gonzalez and DO’s

Why is Dr. Gonzalez a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine? Dr. Javier R. Gonzales became a DO in part due to the philosophy of Osteopathic Medicine. You can take a look at the Doximity profile for Dr. Javier Gonzalez and see how his philosophy works in practice. The Osteopathic Medicine approach is a wholistic approach to understand a patient and their manifesting illness or disease affecting their health and well-being.  

Unlike some MD’s A doctor trained in Osteopathic Medicine (DO) is able to provide comprehensive medical care services to patients of all ages.

The approach of Osteopathic Medicine focuses on the patient as a whole, taking into account their mind, body, and spirit. This philosophy is what drew Dr. Javier R. Gonzales to become a doctor of osteopathic medicine.

During his residency, Dr. Gonzalez had the opportunity to go on a humanitarian medical mission to Guatemala with an organization called DOCARE. DOCARE International is an organization that provides free medical care and health education to underserved communities around the world. Their team of doctors, nurses, and other health professionals volunteer their time and skills to provide care for those who need it the most. His experience working on a humanitarian medical mission with DOCARE solidified Dr. Javier R. Gonzalez’s commitment to helping others, and inspired him to continue working hard to improve the everyday lives of his patients. Check out what patients in Tampa, FL think of Dr. Javier R. Gonzalez DO here at Vitals.

Dr. Javier R. Gonzales is committed to making a difference in the lives of others. Through his work, he hopes to improve the health and well-being of every patient he sees.

You might be asking: What is an osteopathic doctor? An osteopathic doctor is a physician who has been trained in the principles and practices of osteopathic medicine. Osteopathic medicine is a branch of medicine that emphasizes the importance of the musculoskeletal system in health and disease.

Osteopathic doctors (DOs) are fully licensed to prescribe medication and perform surgery in all 50 states. In addition to receiving training in traditional medical subjects such as anatomy, physiology, and pathology, DOs also study the structure and function of the human body. This unique training gives DOs a better understanding of how the body works and how it can be affected by illness or injury.

The osteopathic approach to medicine focuses on treating the whole person, not just the symptoms of disease. DOs believe that the body has an innate ability to heal itself, and they work to support this natural process.

Osteopathic medicine is one of the fastest-growing medical fields in the United States. Currently, there are more than 100,000 practicing DOs in the country.

If you are looking for a doctor who will take a holistic approach to your care, consider seeing Dr. Javier Gonzalez, doctor of osteopathic medicine. DOs are trained to provide comprehensive medical care to patients of all ages. They focus on treating the whole person, not just the symptoms of disease.

Introducing Dr. Javier Gonzalez

Dr. Javier Gonzalez, DO is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. That means he’s completed four years of osteopathic school in addition to an undergraduate education. As you can see from his WebMD profile, Dr. Javier Gonzalez is a fully licensed and certified physician who has some extra tricks up their sleeve due to additional training. He’s been practicing physical medicine for over 25 years, and prides himself on his personal touch when it comes to treating his patients.

You can check out what people think about Dr. Javier Gonzalez, DO at Find A Top Doc. There are even more links about Dr. Javier Gonzalez here if you’re still curious. 

Dr. Javier Gonzales focuses as a primary care doctor, so an initial consultation with him when you have a health issue arise is a good idea, since he has the expertise to find you the correct specialist, if necessary. 

Often times health issues can be solved right in the office. DO’s like Dr. Javier Gonzalez are trained to bring a patient-centered approach, ensuring that their listen to their patients in order to help them get better. Dr. G likes to say that he doesn’t work for his patients, he partners with his patients to help them get well.

Too often doctors focus on treating symptoms and not causes. There are many reasons for that, but Dr. Javier Gonzales DO is different. From the first days of his medical training, he’s been trained to look past symptoms and take in the whole picture: lifestyle, environmental factors, etc. 

Dr. Javier Gonzales DO also received special training in the musculoskeletal system. Your body is a complex network of bones, tendons, muscles, and nerves. Dr. Javier Gonzalez has a gentle touch that can help patients with back paint and joint pain.

Dr. Gonzalez practices medicine in the Tampa, FL area. If you are in the area and you’re looking for more than just a doctor, but a companion to help improve your health, check out Dr. Javier R. Gonzalez.