I know getting into an Orthopedics residency is hard. But I was wondering how much harder is it for an Osteopathic doctor to get an Orthopedics residency. Also, for orthopedic residents out there...what do you recommend a medical student do to increase his chances of getting an orthopedic residency. thank you
DOs as Orthopedic Surgeons
- Thread starter daact
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sorry I can't help you out too much here, but may I suggest that this topic become a "sticky" only because I have seen it over and over and over here.
As far as DO's becoming ortho's, gun for it! Try your best, its competitive no matter where you come from MD or DO, but give it your best shot, if you bomb, no matter, don't give up, come back and do it later.
As far as DO's becoming ortho's, gun for it! Try your best, its competitive no matter where you come from MD or DO, but give it your best shot, if you bomb, no matter, don't give up, come back and do it later.
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As an aspiring orhtopod myself and being DO, here are some pearls of wisdoms that have been handed down from me from program directors and chief residents at ortho programs, both allo and osteo.
1. Kick major butt in school. Learn as much as possible and be the best student you can be.
2. Ace the boards. In a majority of people's opinion, this was the most important thing. For the USMLE, the score to shoot is above a 230, most preferrably in the 240 and above range.
3. Rotations. Shine like the sun. Do anything and everything that will make you stand out and affirm the program that you can be a good fit on their team.
4. Research. The osteopathic profession does not promote as much research as the allopathic world. Getting some publications or experience under your belt wouldn't hurt.
As for the osteopathic student, you are going to have a difficult time matching into an allopathic program. However, there are osteopathic programs out there that you can match into. Whether you are going to be MD or DO, it's one tough road but it's doable if you want it that bad. Good luck!!!
1. Kick major butt in school. Learn as much as possible and be the best student you can be.
2. Ace the boards. In a majority of people's opinion, this was the most important thing. For the USMLE, the score to shoot is above a 230, most preferrably in the 240 and above range.
3. Rotations. Shine like the sun. Do anything and everything that will make you stand out and affirm the program that you can be a good fit on their team.
4. Research. The osteopathic profession does not promote as much research as the allopathic world. Getting some publications or experience under your belt wouldn't hurt.
As for the osteopathic student, you are going to have a difficult time matching into an allopathic program. However, there are osteopathic programs out there that you can match into. Whether you are going to be MD or DO, it's one tough road but it's doable if you want it that bad. Good luck!!!
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daact said:
Ask the Chair of Orthopedic Surgery at Dartmouth: http://cobweb.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/~dms/facultydb/profile_read.pl?uid=220#
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DO Orthopedic Residency Programs:
http://www.aoao.org/aoao/residency_programs_04.pdf
29 programs, 266 slots
http://www.aoao.org/aoao/residency_programs_04.pdf
29 programs, 266 slots
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FYI for those who are interested: those 266 slots are total, not per year. I believe that ortho is a 5 year program (maybe 6, I'm not interested in ortho so I'm not sure), so you need to divide the # to figure out about how many/year.
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Last year a guy from my school matched into Mayo (MN) for Ortho. And there was a guy on here named Bulls eye who claims to have been offered a contract outside the match for allo Ortho.
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The "DO applying for MD" and "ortho chances" threads should be helpful.
It is competitive; both for MDs looking for MD ortho spots and DOs looking for DO ortho spots. Hard work and a good attitude always impress.
It is competitive; both for MDs looking for MD ortho spots and DOs looking for DO ortho spots. Hard work and a good attitude always impress.
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I am a psu alumnus who currently resides in san diego. Could you recommend any orthopedic surgeons near by?
As a side question, how would you rate the psu post bacc pre med to sdsu, sjsu, usc, chapman (so cal in general) because psu offers a specific certification as opposed to the others I mentioned merely calling for re enrollment as an undergrad to fulfil pre med reqs?
thank you
As a side question, how would you rate the psu post bacc pre med to sdsu, sjsu, usc, chapman (so cal in general) because psu offers a specific certification as opposed to the others I mentioned merely calling for re enrollment as an undergrad to fulfil pre med reqs?
thank you
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the truth is that there is a double standard; if you are a DO and want to match to a MD ortho spot, you'd better be spectacular, ie 250 step I, good research, etc. the other issue is that you are better off showing what kind of a candidate you are in person rather than on paper. i am aware of several programs where ERAS files of DO candidates are simply deleted.
bottom line is that there is probably a stigma with ortho programs that have DO residents and that residency directors/chairmans may not want those perceptions.
so...my advice would be kick ass on step I, get involved in some ortho research, do sub I's at a couple of very well calculated places, and disspell those perceptions.
as for the dartmouth ortho attending/chair who is a DO, he is probably an "older" guy who got into ortho years ago when it was a "little less competitive". or he may simply be a spectacular orthopod who happens to be a DO.
what if MD's started to apply for those 200 something DO spots???
bottom line is that there is probably a stigma with ortho programs that have DO residents and that residency directors/chairmans may not want those perceptions.
so...my advice would be kick ass on step I, get involved in some ortho research, do sub I's at a couple of very well calculated places, and disspell those perceptions.
as for the dartmouth ortho attending/chair who is a DO, he is probably an "older" guy who got into ortho years ago when it was a "little less competitive". or he may simply be a spectacular orthopod who happens to be a DO.
what if MD's started to apply for those 200 something DO spots???
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volkl7 said:
they cant. for DOs only.
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that is a double standard if i have ever heard of one. DO's can apply for MD spots, but MD's cannot apply for DO spots? i'm sure that this hasn't been made into a big deal b/c most md's don't care for a DO spot, but still it is the principle of the matter. things like this make me think less and less of the DO field.
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daact said:
I know the penninsula general DO ortho program preety well. Its affiliated with one of the hospitals my father works in and where i used to work in the ER. The ortho and gen. surg. resedents rotated through this hospital all the time .....they loved the program and they were preety down to earth people , i have gotten to know many of them over the years. Most of them come out of NYCOM but from what they told me none with the exception of a few aced their boards..........
just my 2 cents hope it helps
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woowoo said:
??? Yeah tell that to the 16% (or whatever) that didn't match MD ortho. PLEASE! if you turn your nose up anymore I might be able to see your cribriform plate. (Is this the ENT forum? Oh oops)
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woowoo said:
Any ortho spot is a good spot.
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woowoo said:
i think you will find this sort of thing in most all areas there are... "oh he is one of them, we wont even give him the chance of getting in here" could apply to too many different fields, area, thoughts, cultures... etc.
but as we all the know, the problem starts with the MDs
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DOctorJay said:
Yes, it is a problem.. but a problem for the AOA to deal with. Maybe they should start focusing more on creating enough postgraduate training programs and internal infrastructure instead of continuing to open more and more DO schools and graduating people they can't afford to train in the first place.
It is not the AMA or allopathic communities problem and burden to support and train osteopathic gradutes.. and it is unfair and wrong for the AOA to do this!
