TCOM vs. NYCOM

[msgbueno]

I've been accepted into both TCOM and NYCOM and I wanted to get into an ortho residency. Which school to you think will enable me to get into an ortho residency? This is my deciding factor. I've often thought that going to a New York school can offer more in terms of post graduate options via reputation. Is this true? Also the NY school possesses far more affiliated hospitals than the TX school. Will this make a difference when applying to a residency program? I'll take any advice...

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[maxheadroom]

Are those both DO schools? If they are, and you're really certain that ortho is what you want, you might want to think about reapplying to MD programs. While there isn't a huge difference in education, the DO degree will probably be a hinderance in ortho applications.

 

[drusso]

Both are great schools. NYCOM might be a little more well-rounded in clinical rotations, but TCOM is solid in it's third and fourth years (I graduated from there). As far as ortho goes...it's a tough match for MDs and DOs. If you're a DO you'll likely have to do a DO ortho program which is not a bad thing---there are some great osteopathic ortho programs, but they are geographically limited. For more info about DO ortho programs check out this link:

http://www.aoao.org/

TCOM has an orthopedic surgery program. They take two residents per year and the competition is intense. Usually, they favor TCOM graduates, but this no guarantee. Also, if you're a Texas resident you should seriously consider TCOM because of the tuition break. TCOM has a good reputation in Texas and you can do some ortho rotations at leading Texas programs. Landing an ortho spot in Texas will be extremely challenging. Even if you're top of the class, have great USMLE board scores, good letter of rec from leaders in the orthopedic field, and orthopedically relevant research you'll still be in the middle of the pack and will have to convince program directors that taking a DO applicant is not a liability.

In order to understand what this means, I had an interesting conversation with an ortho program director in Texas and he summed the situation well: It's considered prestigious for a residency program to say, "We got everyone in our top 5 on our rank list." Community-based MD ortho programs will likely not match a DO applicant because they are smaller and more concerned about having keep up a reputation in comparison to university-based MD ortho programs. Thus, they tend to choose candidates in such a way so they can maximize how competitive they look on paper. Paradoxically, university-based ortho programs can afford to "take a chance" on certain candidates and can match a DO applicant because the reputation of the program speaks for itself. If people see a DO at a well-known university program (and there are handfuls of DO's at these places) then they just naturally assume that the resident was exceptional instead of assuming that the program is weakening and couldn't match it's top 5.

And, there you have it...

 

[msgbueno]

hey drusso,

from that website that you sent me, there appears to be a bunch of residency programs out there. would i be able to apply as many as i want? that link has definitely boosted my confidence because i initially thought there wasn't many ortho residencies for DO's, and that we'd have to apply to allopathic ones. what do you mean between university and community based residency programs? I thought all programs had some connection with a medical school...

 

[nanato]

three of my classmates last year got MD ortho spots...
one part of the military match, one i forget where and the other was being ranked 2nd out of 3 spots in orlando's program and was told he would be in but he chickened out and didn't withdraw from the DO match and got a DO spot in ohio, after the fact he talked to the program in orlando and they were pretty pissed that he didn't wait and basically told him the spot was his. so yes it is possible to get MD ortho spots but you have to be really good.

 

[drusso]

Originally posted by msgbueno
hey drusso,

from that website that you sent me, there appears to be a bunch of residency programs out there. would i be able to apply as many as i want? that link has definitely boosted my confidence because i initially thought there wasn't many ortho residencies for DO's, and that we'd have to apply to allopathic ones. what do you mean between university and community based residency programs? I thought all programs had some connection with a medical school...

You can apply to as many as you want. DO's serious about doing an osteopathic ortho residency usually start greasing the wheels during their first two years of medical school---going to conferences, reading ortho texts, trying to get involved in orthopedically relevant research, and meeting people "in the know."

Most residency programs have a university affiliation of some sort, but community-based programs are more focused on patient care than research and academia and are located away from major medical teaching centers. University-based programs are, naturally, located at universities and more research/academia oriented. Most residencies in the osteopathic profession are community-based. Generally, community programs are more "hands-on" and residents operate sooner than in university programs, but they might not see as wide a spectrum of disease.

If I were you, I'd start researching osteopathic ortho programs in a serious way. Start looking them up on the web and start calling to just get some general info...For example, there is a new osteopathic orthopedic program in Florida

Parkway Regional Orthopedic Program

PCOM's Orthopedic Residency Program

American Board of Osteopathic Orthopedic Surgery

Arrowhead (Western U) Orthopedic Residency Program