How difficult is it to match into psych as a D.O. student?

[plsss]

Hey everyone,

I'm a little concerned about this. I have good enough scores to go M.D., but I'm not getting much attention from them it seems this year. I would be good with going with D.O., but I would prefer M.D. because realistically it would be easier to match into a specialty I would want to go into, namely psych. Even though I'm trying to keep an open mind, I don't really see myself going into any other specialty except psych. I know that's what I want to do. I know most D.O students tend to do FM/IM/Peds, but I don't see many D.O.s do psych.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Not difficult

Unless you’re aiming for programs like Yale, MGH/Mclean, UCSF, Columbia then the letters don’t matter for psych. DOs match into university hospital psych residencies all the time

 

[Sidus1011]

The psych match rate waxes and wanes depending on interest from students. Psych overall is pretty DO friendly with an 85% ish match rate last year. The field places a greater emphasis on commitment to the field via research, longitudinal volunteering, etc. than other fields do. If you are not picky about where you end up, the field is similar to IM where there is a range of competitiveness, with community programs being fairly easy matches while mid tier university programs still regularly take DOs (as long as you take Step).

Edit: This may change as the years go on and it's important to keep an open mind. Solely wanting psych (or any specialty in general) is not a good thing and you really should question if you'd be happy if you end up in Family Med or Psych adjacent fields like Neuro. If so, DO schools will get you were you need to be and will give you a great shot at matching what you want.

 

[TransformerInWestVirginia]

As @Sidus1011 said, you have to always be open to the fact that you may change your mind when it comes to specialties. It happens all the bloody time.

Go to the best school you can possibly go to is my advice. The only reason I would choose DO is if you did not get into an MD school. Its better than taking a year off

 

[RadDOdoc]

It is not difficult to match into anything as a DO. I was the first in my schools history to match into a particular competitive specialty not because they do not like DO's but because I worked hard for it. With the right advise, effort, and good grades you can match anywhere and into anything!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Apply one cycle MD, then a second combined MD/DO. You never know if you'll change your mind. That said, you can match psychiatry as a DO. It happens a lot

 

[swamzi]

I'm a DO, did adult training at Hahnemann, child training at Hopkins - the sky is the limit... I do some AMG's who didn't match psych last cycle. The Sky is the limit, PM me if you'd like to discuss further - I mentor residents/med students #payitForward

 

[Just D.O. it]

It is not difficult to match into anything as a DO. I was the first in my schools history to match into a particular competitive specialty not because they do not like DO's but because I worked hard for it. With the right advise, effort, and good grades you can match anywhere and into anything!

Firstly,

> I was the first in my schools history to match into a particular competitive specialty not because they do not like DO's but because I worked hard for it

Not because they dislike DOs but because you worked hard? If there is no dislike of DOs why, pray tell, did you have to work particularly hard and why is matching from a DO school an accomplishment then? Could it be that there is in fact, some stigma against DOs that applicants do need to overcome via harder work, higher scores, more research, etc. than their MD counterparts?

Secondly,

You realize that x person matching y thing is not a justification to say it is not difficult, right? Something can be both achievable and difficult. I have no idea why you started your post off by saying "it is not difficult" then made a case for the entirely different point of "it is not impossible". It's not even a matter of subjective debate that competitive specialties are relatively "difficult" for DOs. The match statistics make it clear year after year. There are several specialties where it is objectively more difficult for a DO to match.

Look, you got into IR from a DO school like you wanted. I'm happy for you and wish you the best, but this does not give you the right to come onto here and peddle BS like it isn't easier to match specialties like IR from an MD school than a DO school. In many specialties DOs are, in fact, facing more of an uphill battle. DO faculty that post here have said as much.


As for OPs question, DO match rate for psych is great, something like high 80s. Its a very achievable path and there is no need to spend extra years gunning for MD if psych is your goal.

 

[samosamosa]

https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-Main-Match-Results-and-Data-Final-Revised.pdf

This is the official NRMP match rates from the 2022 cycle! Table 1B on Page 4 shows the match rate for DOs sorted by specialty. As the table shows, there were 494 total DO seniors who applied Psych this year, of which 387 matched - a 78% match rate, not bad! I think if you're really set on Psych, I think going DO won't hurt you.

 

[drthedude]

https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-Main-Match-Results-and-Data-Final-Revised.pdf

This is the official NRMP match rates from the 2022 cycle! Table 1B on Page 4 shows the match rate for DOs sorted by specialty. As the table shows, there were 494 total DO seniors who applied Psych this year, of which 387 matched - a 78% match rate, not bad! I think if you're really set on Psych, I think going DO won't hurt you.

Does that mean neurology only had a 70% match rate for DO's? Isn't that low for what was considered a DO friendly speciality?

 

[Sidus1011]

Does that mean neurology only had a 70% match rate for DO's? Isn't that low for what was considered a DO friendly speciality?

This is from the charting outcomes that came out 2022, this is the most clear representation of match rates.

 

[dingleberrypie]

matching psych is super doable as a DO. shouldn't be an issue at all