Do I HAVE to shadow a DO to be a strong applicant?

[PikaPikaPika]

GPA/MCAT aside, of course.

But I'm worried about adcoms wondering if I'm choosing DO just because it has a lower GPA/MCAT average and not because I'm interested in the OMM and philosophy behind it. I've personally seen demonstrations and listened to DOs talk about osteopathy every semester and that's how I formed the interest to apply to these schools

I have had a LOT of MD shadowing experience over the last two years (trauma, surgery, family, internal medicine, radiology, ER, etc) and right now I'm taking 5000000 classes and volunteering and other ECs and am not even in the mood to go find people to shadow to prove my interest right now during the summer.

So the question: I know shadowing a DO would be in my best interest, but is it a "given" for every DO applicant to have shadowed one?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[duswdav]

the requirement for shadowing a DO varies from school to school. the school i was accepted to(yay!) required a letter from a DO.
good luck!

 

[IamaBanana]

It's an easy way to separate people from the group. Think of it in two ways:
1: Don't give anyone a reason to put you in the "no pile"
2: You're not in the mood? When they ask you why you didn't is that what you are going to say? Go find a DO, shadow once a week for a couple months. Yep, you sound pretty busy. There is no busy that is too busy when you are talking about med school

 

[fiznat]

Find out if the schools you want to apply to require a letter from a DO. Many schools do.

Other than that, I'm not sure that it would be absolutely required if you have very good numbers. If you don't or if you're average, I would really think twice about taking a shortcut on this...

 

[willen101383]

Yeah....do you really want to give anyone a reason to think you arent 100 percent serious or 100 percent committed to the "DO cause?" Because DO schools are 100 percent anal about this stuff and want people to further the cause (even if you dont give 2 ****s about it which is the case at my school with most people).

I shadowed a guy for 2 8 hours shifts one weekend and got a letter. Is it really that big of an issue for you?

 

[SLC]

I didn't shadow a DO, and I was accepted.

I had a DO letter, but it was from my next door neighbor, who was a resident until I started turning in my applications. I've since gone in and witnessed her at work. Thing is, she doesn't do anything that really makes OMM appropriate so shadowing her I may as well have been shadowing an MD. She did EMG's the entire time.

In my interview it was brought up that I didn't shadow a DO or submit a DO letter. But I explained that my state has a very low concentration of DO's, and that the one DO I knew was a resident. I told them I had a letter (I didn't submit it to the school because they required a physician (MD or DO) who I had shadowed at least 20 hours with). It just took some reassuring that I wasn't using DO as a backup, and they were fine with it.

There are a handful of schools out there that require DO shadowing, but you'll find a few that won't need or require it.

But like the poster said above, when you're talking med school tere's no such thing as "too busy". And nobody is going to want to hear the truth, that you weren't motivated enough to find a DO to shadow.

 

[Goro]

Well, let's put it this way: shadowing a DO can only help you (by showing u that you at least interested in a career that you're going spend the next 40-50 years in).

And NOT doing MAY hurt you. I still remember a guy I interviewed who was stellar on paper, but didn't shadow a DO. He came from an area rather rich in DOs, so he didn't have the excuse on not being able tofind one. So i asked him "why didn't you shadow a DO". His answer "I was too busy".

He got rejected.

So yes, people do get accepted even without shadowing a DO, but it's in your best interests to do so.

GPA/MCAT aside, of course.

But I'm worried about adcoms wondering if I'm choosing DO just because it has a lower GPA/MCAT average and not because I'm interested in the OMM and philosophy behind it. I've personally seen demonstrations and listened to DOs talk about osteopathy every semester and that's how I formed the interest to apply to these schools

I have had a LOT of MD shadowing experience over the last two years (trauma, surgery, family, internal medicine, radiology, ER, etc) and right now I'm taking 5000000 classes and volunteering and other ECs and am not even in the mood to go find people to shadow to prove my interest right now during the summer.

So the question: I know shadowing a DO would be in my best interest, but is it a "given" for every DO applicant to have shadowed one?

 

[PikaPikaPika]

Alright 6 posts is enough to make me convinced that I need to go find one. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

[VeeTeeHokies]

It's an easy way to separate people from the group. Think of it in two ways:
1: Don't give anyone a reason to put you in the "no pile"
2: You're not in the mood? When they ask you why you didn't is that what you are going to say? Go find a DO, shadow once a week for a couple months. Yep, you sound pretty busy. There is no busy that is too busy when you are talking about med school

+1 on the whole post, but reason 1 goes for everybody and everything.

 

[FattySlug]

I feel like I am in trouble. I am applying this circle too and haven't done any DO shadowing. People keep saying there is no difference between DO and MD then what is the point of separating the two shadowing experiences?

Not like DO has a different set of approach when they treat patients. So this comes down to just checking the checklist type of thing then.

 

[MythicDawn]

I HIGHLY recommend DO shadowing. It doesn't matter if its a family physician or heart surgeon, as long as it is DO. Also, like the posts above mentioned, some schools require/love to see DO recommendation letters.

 

[hchang9]

Does it matter how long we shadow the DO? I took an intro to OMM class and the instructor said I can come shadow her for one day if I want.

 

[blinkboy1156]

Yeah....do you really want to give anyone a reason to think you arent 100 percent serious or 100 percent committed to the "DO cause?" Because DO schools are 100 percent anal about this stuff and want people to further the cause (even if you dont give 2 ****s about it which is the case at my school with most people).

I shadowed a guy for 2 8 hours shifts one weekend and got a letter. Is it really that big of an issue for you?

Two days of shadowing and boom. Got a letter. Get it done.

 

[Kalu123]

If you have a pre-health advisor, ask if they can recommend a DO that allows students to shadow. I shadowed a DO for one day, for maybe 3 or 4 hours and he offered to write me a letter. I was pretty lucky to find someone who was that willing to help, but so what if you shadow once a week for a month? It's not that bad.

Btw, I was never asked about my (one day) DO experience in any of my interviews. I was only asked "why DO?" and how I felt about about the osteopathic philosophy.

 

[tman1820]

I got in without a DO letter. I did shadow a DO, but wasn't able to get a letter since I only went a few times...plus I had worked with the MD who wrote my letter for 3 years, so I decided that I wouldn't stress out about the DO letter since the MD one was actually a good representation of me, not a boring " I met him and he seems like a decent guy, but I really don't know him" type of letter...but I would recommend getting one if you can find one, although it can be challenging and a time consuming process to find one.

 

[Sasbo]

I got in without a DO letter. I did shadow a DO, but wasn't able to get a letter since I only went a few times...plus I had worked with the MD who wrote my letter for 3 years, so I decided that I wouldn't stress out about the DO letter since the MD one was actually a good representation of me, not a boring " I met him and he seems like a decent guy, but I really don't know him" type of letter...but I would recommend getting one if you can find one, although it can be challenging and a time consuming process to find one.

I'm happy you posted this, tman. I am applying this cycle and was a little worried because I shadowed a DO and MD but am only getting a letter from the MD because she was able to spend the time to get to know me better and write a stronger letter. It's good to see that there's still hope, although a DO letter would have been ideal.

 

[n3xa]

There are a couple of schools that are firm on the DO letter. A quick search on the SDN forums should yield the excel spreadsheet that lists which schools require what kind of physician letter, if at all.

 

[Eric01]

I had a great connection with my psychiatrist who is a D.O. unfortunately I'm not sure if I'd be able to "shadow" him in that his work is rather private. I would absolutely love to get a letter of recommendation from him though because I know it would be stellar.

Is it ok for a patient/doctor relationship to turn into a professional thing like that? I've actually never done shadowing but I guess it won't hurt to ask, or see if he has colleagues I could shadow. Really would like a LOR from him though.

 

[duswdav]

Two days of shadowing and boom. Got a letter. Get it done.

this.
i applied without shadowing at all and was put on the waitlist. i called the school and asked them what i could do, and they told me the only thing i could do while i waited was shadow. i shadowed a DO 1.5 days and i got the acceptance call shortly after i reported my experience. (by shortly i mean about a month)

**edit**
i had 4.5+ years of clinical experience when i interviewed.

 

[KTownGT]

It definitely will not hurt your chances getting a LOR from a DO.

As others have said, it varies depending on school.

 

[Emerald84]

No. but you do need some familiarly with osteopathic medicine.

 

[Honze55]

In a word, I'd say: yes

DO schools seem to be ultra paranoid about being safety schools or second choices for applicants that didn't get into MD program. The more you can show the admissions committee that you ACTUALLY want to be a DO, the more likely you are to have them offer you admissions.

Besides, how can you truthfully say you know what it is to be an Osteopathic physician until you've shadowed one? Really, all you have to do is shadow an MD and you'll know what it's like to be a DO, but you'll never know that unless you shadow the DO!

 

[MeowMix]

If you have a 35 MCAT and a 3.8 GPA and a beautiful volunteer record and you can credibly profess undying love for osteopathy and talk about how it changed your life as a patient, then I do not believe you need to shadow a DO.