At the risk of starting something I don't want, how can people always try to say DO training is the same as MD training when the average pass rates for US of Step 1 ~92 and for US DO's it's ~70?
It seems the MDs are better prepared and do much better......
I'm assuming that when you say 'training', you mean the basic science years, because you refer to Step I passage rates.
The osteopathic equivalent to the USMLE is the COMLEX. The passage rate for DO students on the COMLEX is comparable to the passage rates for MD students on USMLE Step I - mid-90%.
I've taken both Steps I and II for COMLEX and USMLE, and here's my take on it:
The material each test covers does overlap somewhat, but not completely. There was more biochemistry, histology, and statistics on the USMLE. Conversely, there was more neuro, and of course, OMM, on the COMLEX.
Pharmacology is another good example of the differences between the tests. The USMLE pharm questions concerned experimental data and the interpretation of same, while the COMLEX pharm questions dealt with 'which drug for which bug' and 'which drug caused this reaction' from a clinically-oriented vignette.
The sophistication of the questions varied quite a bit, in my opinion. The USMLE utilized many second- and third-order questions that required integration of different disciplines in the basic sciences, which was challenging but I came away from the exam impressed with the quality of those questions.
The COMLEX question - again, in my opinion, where more vague, had a lot more first- and second-order questions, and required more 'gut recall' than integrative thinking. For example, if you had a photographic memory and could recall which disease caused patients to smell like a 'wet mouse' (diphtheria), then you could have done quite well on the COMLEX. If not, you could easily leave the exam thinking 'WTF' was that question about?
So both exams are hard, but in different ways. One requires more integrative thinking, while another requires good recall of minute details.
This brings me to my point - they are really two different exams, so DO students who take both of them have to study for - two different exams. That's a large(r) time commitment than having to stodu for just one exam, and I'd say that a large percentage of DO USMLE test takers try to coast on their COMLEX prep for the USMLE, which would be a huge error.
Anyway, that's just my take on it.
Many students recommend Goljan's RR Path and audio in prep for Step I - perhaps you do, too. I assume you know that the author of the book, Edward Goljan, teaches at Oklahoma State University - an osteopathic school. I'd say that that training, at least, is on par.
