Post osteopathic education what cocomes after?

[PlaqueBuster]

So I am trying to understand the general sequence of things to come. After going to 4 years of school do all osteopathic students do a year of internship before starting residency unlike those in allopathic programs? (forget those that take year off for other reasons)

Or can students go from year 4 to resisdency?
and how are the residencies different compared to those DO students that match allopathic vs osteopathic?
This is all in terms of timeline and years.

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[PlaqueBuster]

anyone?

 

[SnowDoggy44]

Most graduates, allopathic or osteopathic, go right on to residency. However, it depends on the specialty. For some specialities, like dermatology, OMM/NMM, PM&R, radiology, and ophthamology, graduates do an traditional rotating internship before starting their residency education (which would then start their post-graduate year 2 year). This is true for the allopathic side as well. Whether the intern year is built into the residency is program dependent.

Some students fail to obtain a residency spot in the match and instead obtain a one-year intern position then have to reapply for the match during their intern year to obtain a residency position for their PGY-2.

 

[GUH]

So I am trying to understand the general sequence of things to come. After going to 4 years of school do all osteopathic students do a year of internship before starting residency unlike those in allopathic programs? (forget those that take year off for other reasons)

Or can students go from year 4 to resisdency?
and how are the residencies different compared to those DO students that match allopathic vs osteopathic?
This is all in terms of timeline and years.

Most DO graduates today go to allopathic (MD) residencies or internships, certified by the ACGME. Others currently go to osteopathic (DO) residencies certified by the AOA. If you are a premed who will attend an osteopathic school, it is likely that all DOs will attend allopathic-certified (ACGME) residencies or internships by the time you graduate.
As the poster above me said, depending on your specialty you may be required to complete an internship or transitional year before becoming a resident in your PGY-2 year. But that is true of both MDs and DOs.

 

[DopaDO]

In case the above answers weren't clear enough, there is NO difference in GME opportunities for MD or DO. A long time ago, all DOs were required to do an internship before residency (probably what you are thinking of), that was done away with a long time ago.

In terms of the difference between allopathic and osteopathic residencies, they are the same in terms of length of training. They will also all be accredited by the one body soon, as their is a merger of GME forthcoming. The major differences in DO vs MD residency are location (many are located in Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, etc) and quality of training. In most cases (not all), MD residencies at academic centers are better in terms of case load, didactics, and overall training.

Source - 4th year DO student who will be starting an MD residency this Summer

 

[hallowmann]

...A long time ago, all DOs were required to do an internship before residency (probably what you are thinking of), that was done away with a long time ago...

A bit longer ago, this was also true of all MD graduates. There was a point of time where all medical graduates gas to complete an intern year. Now it is program specific.

In terms of lengths of residencies, they are pretty much all the same length for MDs and DOs, and range from 3-7 years depending on the specialty. One minor exception is EM, where about 3/4 of the ACGME EM residencies are 3 yrs, 1/4 are 4 yrs, whereas all AOA EM residencies are 4 yrs.

Also, the osteopathic boards in 4 states (PA, MI, OK, & FL - a few years ago this included WV, but they've since dropped it) require all DOs to complete an "AOA equivalent" intern year in order to get licensure. In other words, if they do an AOA residency, they'll automatically get that, but if they do an ACGME one they have to apply for something called Resolution 42 from the AOA and fulfill some minor requirements to get their intern year recognized as "AOA equivalent".

With the merger (transitioning from 2015-2020), it's likely these requirements will disappear as all residencies will become ACGME accredited, but is really up to the states to decide that.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

ok thanks. because my physician (DO) that I shadowed mentioned how he was able to get out of doing the internship and recommended I do the same. I wanted to make sure that wasn't the case anymore.

 

[hallowmann]

ok thanks. because my physician (DO) that I shadowed mentioned how he was able to get out of doing the internship and recommended I do the same. I wanted to make sure that wasn't the case anymore.

Is he in one of the states that require an AOA intern year? If so, he probably used resolution 42 to get his first year of ACGME residency counted as an "AOA equivalent" intern year. If not, it might just be an outdated thing.

The only current downside with those states' requirement (beyond the whole applying for Res42) is that some ACGME programs in those states ignore Res42 and require all DOs to have completed an AOA internship before interviewing them. That said, you could just do your residency outside of those states, do Res42, and then return after residency.

Also for clarification, the requirement is only if you want to apply for permanent licensure in those states (i.e. practice there after residency). The boards of those states, as far as I know, provide DO residents with their temporary training license even without an AOA intern year.