MD vs DO

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Question for the more experienced/informed people like @gyngyn , @Law2Doc , and @Goro that's related to the MD vs. DO merger issue. Do you think the AOA programs for competitive specialties like ortho or derm will start accepting MD applicants for the 2017-18 match (current class of 2018) or do you think it won't happen until 2020? I realize it's tough to predict the future, but I'm curious as ortho is one of my top choices right now.

These things inevitably take longer to implement than planned, so I personally doubt anything will change by 2017. But in my prediction of the future I also think we will be flying hoverboards and answering to our cyborg overlords by then.

That being said, it shouldn't really change what you are doing now -- keep gunning for ortho until somebody says no, but at least keep an open mind that maybe doing something like PM&R or a Sports medicine fellowship wouldn't be the end of the world...

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Of the things I most treasure, this is in the top 3.

For real? I get that at some places this represents an academic accomplishment, and certainly PDs put value on it in residency recruiting. But not every place gives these out purely based on academic merit, and as mentioned, apparently some people are still getting these even after med school, so there are a lot of people out there with AOA on their CV who maybe didn't do quite as much to earn it. Heck, I picked one up on eBay the other day. :)
 
For real? I get that at some places this represents an academic accomplishment, and certainly PDs put value on it in residency recruiting. But not every place gives these out purely based on academic merit, and as mentioned, apparently some people are still getting these even after med school, so there are a lot of people out there with AOA on their CV who maybe didn't do quite as much to earn it. Heck, I picked one up on eBay the other day. :)
I'm also aware of non-physicians who've been awarded AOA.
 
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So basically if I go to a DO medical school I have to be at the top of my class and cure cancer/world hunger to make it into a dermatology residency?
 
For real? I get that at some places this represents an academic accomplishment, and certainly PDs put value on it in residency recruiting. But not every place gives these out purely based on academic merit, and as mentioned, apparently some people are still getting these even after med school, so there are a lot of people out there with AOA on their CV who maybe didn't do quite as much to earn it. Heck, I picked one up on eBay the other day. :)
It's not just the academics, at my school it included commitment to service.
 
So basically if I go to a DO medical school I have to be at the top of my class and cure cancer/world hunger to make it into a dermatology residency?

Specifically, you have to cure melanoma.
 
These things inevitably take longer to implement than planned, so I personally doubt anything will change by 2017. But in my prediction of the future I also think we will be flying hoverboards and answering to our cyborg overlords by then.

That being said, it shouldn't really change what you are doing now -- keep gunning for ortho until somebody says no, but at least keep an open mind that maybe doing something like PM&R or a Sports medicine fellowship wouldn't be the end of the world...

Thank you to all. I am very open to almost every field and there's only 2 fields I've ruled out at this point. I was just hoping to get an idea about how realistic the competitive AOA specialties will be for DOs when I go through the match.

Specifically, you have to cure melanoma.

No, Doug.
 
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I'm curious as to how hard it is to get a residency in PATH or RAD when you go to a DO school. It seems like DO radiologists are very uncommon.
 
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