Ski2Doc said:
I am NOT putting down DO's, i have interviewd at 2 schools and REALLY like the schools, and i KNOW that they are the SAME regarding knowledge and ability of practice. However, the stats ARE lower for DO, somtimes significantly, so to say that any DO student could have gotten into MD is not right.
Do you REALLY know tons of folks who got accepted into MD and went DO?
Also, sports medicine is DEFINATELY more advantageous as a DO. However, i dont know what i want to specialize in. I just think that SMed IS a possibility but i am also interested in many other specialites.
I know that DOs can get into fine residencies, but do they need higher usmle score (and then i HAVE to take a second set of boards, that another issue)?
ANyways like the other dude said i really should wait and weigh particular schools, not just DO vs MD, but school A vs school B.
ANOTHER Q, can MD's learn OMM, even if not to be certified, can they learn it and then practive it?
To respond to your inquiry, I'm a D.O., doing an MD residency. I was first accepted to my state medical school but preferred my local osteopathic school and wanted to learn OMT. There are plenty of people that chose D.O. over their M.D. acceptance, however, cost is a large factor. In general, you're going to pay a lot more to be a D.O. Overall, I'm still glad I did it, but here are what I think are the important points to consider...
The holistic philosophy depends on the individual. There is however a noticable difference in the approach to primary care at some schools that I've observed. Osteopathic strongly encourages the development of good well rounded PCPs whereas, many state schools consider primary care a lesser career goal and encourages you to be a specialist. (It's a generalization of course, but based on discussions with my MD friends)
OMT can be a great tool if you develop it and work hard during your first two years. My skills are average, I'm less likely to use OMT than I would have thought going into medical school. I do use it frequently on family members and friends who are always greatful. My reoccuring back problems have been successfully resolved for the past 4 years after 2 manipulations by an instructor when I first started. (that's been worth a lot). In my new residency, I've had 2 senior residents with neck and back complaints that I've offered manipulation to, had great results, and they are astounded by it. That's a very satisfying feeling. The truth is, unless you're doing primary care, it's hard in today's medicine to find the extra time to do it for your patients. You do develop your understanding of the musculoskeletal system and hone your palpation skills as a nice secondary benefit to this training.
I feel like my training in medical research, analyzing studies, etc. and all that is less than I would have received in an allopathic school. Though many school are offering more evidenced based medicine now, mine didn't and I feel I'm playing catch up compared to my allopathic counterparts.
If you want to do research, some narrow and specialized field of medicine, it's better to go MD.
If you're in it for the recognitions, definitely do MD. Otherwise, as a DO, you'll always be educating people on what is a DO and reiterating that you're fully licensed too. Most of the time, I don't mind and I see this decreasing in the coming years. On the flip side, you're sometimes run into the patient who is familiar with the philosophy or manipulation, that is actually seeking a D.O.
As another generalization, as a student DO I did rotations in multiple, smaller hospitals, frequently getting to see and do more than my allopathic counterparts at a single big hospital. The downside to that was, there was often a lot less formal teaching/lectures than they had. You need a good balance of both hands on and didactics, no matter if you do DO or MD. Ask questions about this cause it is half of medical school afterall.
In sum, as long as you recognize the above points and can live with that, go for the school you're most comfortable with. You're going to learn best where you are most comfortable. Make sure to inquire as to how the students get a long, is it cut throat, competative, or 'we're-in-this-together' philosophy? How the grading system is set up can influence the atmosphere of the student body, keep that in mind. I figured medical school was hard enough, why add the extra burden of competative classmates to the mix when it's not necessary.
Good luck! If you work hard, you'll be a good doctor either way!
