Advide for DO Ortho matching?

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Thurm1cr

Thurm1cr
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I'm hoping someone who has been through this can give me some practical advice...I really like Ortho but I want some honest advice about my chances of matching into a DO program in Michigan. I got a 543 on my COMLEX and 235 on my USLME. I realize that my COMLEX score isn't great, but my USMLE score is pretty good. The question I have is do they look at USMLE scores when applying to DO programs? And if they don't, is my COMLEX going to at least give me a shot as long as I rotate well at the programs I am interested in? Thanks for any and all help!!
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Thurm1cr said:
I'm hoping someone who has been through this can give me some practical advice...I really like Ortho but I want some honest advice about my chances of matching into a DO program in Michigan. I got a 543 on my COMLEX and 235 on my USLME. I realize that my COMLEX score isn't great, but my USMLE score is pretty good. The question I have is do they look at USMLE scores when applying to DO programs? And if they don't, is my COMLEX going to at least give me a shot as long as I rotate well at the programs I am interested in? Thanks for any and all help!!
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from what i can gather, DO programs value audition rotations way more than COMLEX scores, so your best chance at DO Ortho is to rotate in the programs where you really want to match. possible problem: you might have to spend at least 1 month at each place, leaving you little time to rotate at other places. but i guess if you know where you really want to go, then it doesn't matter as much haha
 
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VA1986 said:
DO programs could care less about the USMLE.

There is an anecdotal post on here about meeting residents at a DO ortho program. Two of them made low 500s on the COMLEX, but they both did an audition rotation and killed it.

Don't worry so much. The AOA released a publication listing the 2009 COMLEX averages for each specialty. Ortho's Step 1 average was 562 with a range of 408-751. Just keep working hard.
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Would you be so kind as to PM me that publication you are talking about, or at least direct me towards it? Thanks. :D
 
Now that a lot of the 4th years have finished up audition rotations, can anyone comment on a few of the programs that they know about? I've searched for quite a bit and most of the information people have commented on are from about 5 years ago...if someone is worried about privacy, feel free to message me. Thanks!
 
I would love if someone would PM me as well if concerned about privacy.
 
I would be interested in this as well..pm?

thanks
 
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There are some programs that will ask you specifically about your USMLE. Happened to my buddy.
 
Match has come and gone..any advice/reviews of programs from the future Orthopaedic surgeons of 2017?
 
There is a new review of 4 DO programs on there that was posted on 2/13/12; PCOM, Las vegas, South Pointe, and St. Mary's-KCUMB.
 
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You are right, its on their specific DO forum though. I don't see anything in the specific reviews of programs part that was linked so I made assumptions on no new ones being posted yet. My B.
 
Does an MS degree focused in orthopaedics have any weight on admission into the residency? I was speaking to a surgeon on email who is the dean of an MD school and he made the comment to me (I didn't ask about this) that my MS degree would hold a lot of weight when it comes down to residency applications. I thought it was strange that he mentioned this, and I personally am just trying to overcome a low GPA right now to get into a DO school.
 
Don't mean to thread hijack but follow up question on all this..... what would it take for a DO student to match into a ACGME Ortho program? Aside from the nerves of steel that it would take to skip the AOA Ortho match and stellar USMLE scores/grades.....

I know of 2 who have done it off the top of my head (Tulane and Banner) and I was thinking about giving it a try mostly because I want a more academic residency than a lot of the AOA programs offer
 
JohnCarterIIIDO said:
Don't mean to thread hijack but follow up question on all this..... what would it take for a DO student to match into a ACGME Ortho program? Aside from the nerves of steel that it would take to skip the AOA Ortho match and stellar USMLE scores/grades.....

I know of 2 who have done it off the top of my head (Tulane and Banner) and I was thinking about giving it a try mostly because I want a more academic residency than a lot of the AOA programs offer
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USMLE 240/50+, research, astounding letters, fantastic rotation performance, doing a stellar job at a place where a PD can witness it, unique extracurriculars, bribes, sexual favors, selling your soul....you get the idea.

You have to have everything line up just right and then hope/pray that you will get ranked high enough. This is what I have been told by a few alumni from my school who have done it. It's possible, but extremely difficult.

Best of luck if that's what you choose to do.
 
DoktorB said:
USMLE 240/50+, research, astounding letters, fantastic rotation performance, doing a stellar job at a place where a PD can witness it, unique extracurriculars, bribes, sexual favors, selling your soul....you get the idea.

You have to have everything line up just right and then hope/pray that you will get ranked high enough. This is what I have been told by a few alumni from my school who have done it. It's possible, but extremely difficult.

Best of luck if that's what you choose to do.
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Lol want to expand on the bribes, sexual favors, and selling my souls.....

As much as I like my school and osteo had I know how deep the issues ran before applying I might have gone MD..... can only move forward tho
 
JohnCarterIIIDO said:
Lol want to expand on the bribes, sexual favors, and selling my souls.....

As much as I like my school and osteo had I know how deep the issues ran before applying I might have gone MD..... can only move forward tho
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I hear ya. It's tough going into a surgical field.

There are some great DO programs though. Work hard enough and you will find a good place to train.
 
JohnCarterIIIDO said:
Lol want to expand on the bribes, sexual favors, and selling my souls.....

As much as I like my school and osteo had I know how deep the issues ran before applying I might have gone MD..... can only move forward tho
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Do you mind if you could expand on this?
 
TeeHeHe said:
I would assume he is referring to the extreme difficulty of matching into MD surgical residencies as a DO.
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The difficulty of matching MD surgical residencies as a DO is clear before you start your first day of class. Don't think he's referring to that..
 
On a lot of the applications for 4th year audition rotations in ortho they ask for your COMLEX score. Ive been accepted for rotations at the ones that i have applied. If they accept you for an audition rotation with your score, is it safe to assume you are in the running to interview/match there if you do well on the rotation? Im trying not to rotate at places that may give me an audition but have cutoffs for interviews/matching, thus wasting the limited amount of weeks I am allowed to do ortho. So far Ive only heard of Des Peres, Doctors, Harrisburg, and Toledo as the hard cutoffs for matching ortho with 600+,thus with a mid 500 score I am not going to apply for audition rotations there.

Does having a solid foundation in sports medicine and conservative orthopedic management have any pull in getting interviews you think? I was a physical therapist before medical school...
 
I've seen the averages
DeeV021 said:
Ive been accepted for rotations at the ones that i have applied. If they accept you for an audition rotation with your score, is it safe to assume you are in the running to interview/match there if you do well on the rotation?
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Do they ask for your score when you set up an audition rotation? I asked upperclassmen who told me they just take down your name, ask you when you wanna come, then send you the application and required records your school has to send them. But, this was for more non competitive specialties. Maybe its different for something like ortho?
 
Every place I've applied to for an audition has asked for my scores. It's usually phrased along the lines of "We require a 550 or above to rotate, so if you could just send a copy of your scores, that'd be great"
 
dok_martin said:
Every place I've applied to for an audition has asked for my scores. It's usually phrased along the lines of "We require a 550 or above to rotate, so if you could just send a copy of your scores, that'd be great"
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For ortho?
Ya, must be a competitive specialty thing.
 
Captain DO said:
I've seen the averages


Do they ask for your score when you set up an audition rotation? I asked upperclassmen who told me they just take down your name, ask you when you wanna come, then send you the application and required records your school has to send them. But, this was for more non competitive specialties. Maybe its different for something like ortho?
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When filling out the application, they all ask what you made on COMLEX 1 and 2 (if taken). Im assuming since they gave me an audition rotation that my comlex is sufficient enough for interviewing cutoffs too?
 
That comlex is solid! Just make sure to do lots of audition rotations and get good ortho letters
 
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