4th year DO student answering questions

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It's basically a 4th year rotation so the program can get to know you, figure out where you are at in terms of knowledge/skills, and see how you work. Another name is "audition rotation" because it's basically a month long interview for residency.

If they have a lot of DOs in the program/take comlex they are usually DO friendly.
 
I did 5....which totally sucked. But I am almost positive one of those places is going to be the place I find out I matched to on Friday. Just work hard, don't be annoying...most people say "come early, stay late" but I didnt find that to be effective...if you are in the middle of something don't up and leave, but hanging around when there is nothing to do seems to bug people. I just made sure I knew everything about my patients, always stayed happy and positive, and tried to help out in any way I could. Seemed to work for me. Also knowing the basic stuff for whichever specialty is a must, as well as showing enthusiasm for the program and the specialty while you are there. The biggest thing though is just getting along with the residents and that is kind've an intangible.
 
Hi! Thank you for doing this!
I was wondering is it possible to apply to different kinds of specialties based om location?! For example FM, Nouro, Rads but all in california? Does it influence your app negatively?! Also how many programs do u usually apply to on average?! Thanks🙂
 
You can apply to different specialties but I wouldn't apply to more than 2. Things get reaaaaally confusing and crazy during application and interview season and I'm not sure I would really be able to keep everything organized. I also wouldn't apply to the same hospital in more than 1 specialty on the off chance that those programs talk to each other. I applied to 75 acgme and all 30 DO Ob programs. I got 8 interviews on the acgme side and 10 on the AOA side....I knew I was less competitive without having a usmle so I was really nervous about not matching, but it worked out in the end. It's hard to say what the average amount of programs is...it will really depend on the specialty and how you perceive your competitiveness. Having had 7 interviews (one of my invites was on the same day as another so I had to cancel it) with only 2-4 spots each for Ob is much different than having 7 interviews in internal medicine where the class sizes are much larger (10-15 people per class).
 
MiaMia14 said:
You can apply to different specialties but I wouldn't apply to more than 2. Things get reaaaaally confusing and crazy during application and interview season and I'm not sure I would really be able to keep everything organized. I also wouldn't apply to the same hospital in more than 1 specialty on the off chance that those programs talk to each other. I applied to 75 acgme and all 30 DO Ob programs. I got 8 interviews on the acgme side and 10 on the AOA side....I knew I was less competitive without having a usmle so I was really nervous about not matching, but it worked out in the end. It's hard to say what the average amount of programs is...it will really depend on the specialty and how you perceive your competitiveness. Having had 7 interviews (one of my invites was on the same day as another so I had to cancel it) with only 2-4 spots each for Ob is much different than having 7 interviews in internal medicine where the class sizes are much larger (10-15 people per class).
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So wait, why did you do DO interviews if you didnt do the AOA match?
 
I wasn't sure until even the day the DO rank lists were due if I was going to skip it. I took a big gamble not doing it and it worked out for me but it could have turned out very different.
 
MiaMia14 said:
I wasn't sure until even the day the DO rank lists were due if I was going to skip it. I took a big gamble not doing it and it worked out for me but it could have turned out very different.
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From the looks of it in these Q&A threads this cycle, a lot of people have chosen to forego the AOA match. From my understanding of it, the AOA has decent primary care residencies. Was there a specific reason why you ended up wanting to go into the ACGME match more, especially in light of you not wanting to do academic work, why did the ACGME match seem better for you?
 
A lot of it was location...but more important to me in a partially surgical specialty was that I was really concerned with the lack of oversight/organization from the AOA regarding the quality of a lot of their programs. Most places will have more than enough deliveries but at these small hospitals getting the surgical experience seemed to be an issue. There were quite a few AOA residencies that I wholeheartedly believe will be shut down when the ACGME sees the quality. It wouldn't necessarily be for my class, but for the upcoming classes that should be a real concern...it definitely is possible that certain programs could be shut down before you graduate from it, and I honestly don't know what would happen in that situation. Obviously no one really knows what is going to happen, but I wanted to be at the best program possible, and the ones I interviewed at in the ACGME match seemed better quality in general. I think there are also some really great AOA residencies but I had to pick a match in which I would be happy with any program on my list (for both quality and location) and I chose the ACGME.
 
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MiaMia14 said:
A lot of it was location...but more important to me in a partially surgical specialty was that I was really concerned with the lack of oversight/organization from the AOA regarding the quality of a lot of their programs. Most places will have more than enough deliveries but at these small hospitals getting the surgical experience seemed to be an issue. There were quite a few AOA residencies that I wholeheartedly believe will be shut down when the ACGME sees the quality. It wouldn't necessarily be for my class, but for the upcoming classes that should be a real concern...it definitely is possible that certain programs could be shut down before you graduate from it, and I honestly don't know what would happen in that situation. Obviously no one really knows what is going to happen, but I wanted to be at the best program possible, and the ones I interviewed at in the ACGME match seemed better quality in general. I think there are also some really great AOA residencies but I had to pick a match in which I would be happy with any program on my list (for both quality and location) and I chose the ACGME.
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Were the AOA residencies up front with you about this stuff? Did these poor programs try and hide it? Or did you find out just by seeing it with your own eyes? Or were residents there remarking on their desire to experience more surgeries?
 
It's more of an unspoken thing. Of course a program is going to try and show their best side during interviews, and all of them that I interviewed at had some really great strengths. It was just that overall I felt more comfortable with the stability that comes with already being ACGME accredited.
 
cliquesh said:
Take the USMLE everyone.
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I absolutely agree. I got lucky, but what I did was scary and risky. I would have probably gotten many more interviews and possibly had a choice of doing a non-community hospital residency had I taken it.
 
I'd say less than half my class took it, but I don't know for sure.
 
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MiaMia14 said:
I did 5....which totally sucked. But I am almost positive one of those places is going to be the place I find out I matched to on Friday. Just work hard, don't be annoying...most people say "come early, stay late" but I didnt find that to be effective...if you are in the middle of something don't up and leave, but hanging around when there is nothing to do seems to bug people. I just made sure I knew everything about my patients, always stayed happy and positive, and tried to help out in any way I could. Seemed to work for me. Also knowing the basic stuff for whichever specialty is a must, as well as showing enthusiasm for the program and the specialty while you are there. The biggest thing though is just getting along with the residents and that is kind've an intangible.
Click to expand...

I think it is great that your school allows you the flexibility to do 5 away rotations. The average seems to be around 4 elective rotations for most DO schools (during 4th year). However, there are a few schools that only allow 3 or less (I interviewed at one of those schools). I understand that depending on the speciality, you may not need to do that many away rotations. However, I believe the more the better.
 
IslandStyle808 said:
I think it is great that your school allows you the flexibility to do 5 away rotations. The average seems to be around 4 elective rotations for most DO schools (during 4th year). However, there are a few schools that only allow 3 or less (I interviewed at one of those schools). I understand that depending on the speciality, you may not need to do that many away rotations. However, I believe the more the better.
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I definitely think that's a strength of our 4th year, and definitely something I didn't think about asking at med school interviews, so I just got lucky. I definitely recommend it being a factor in school choice...I know a lot of people from other schools had a really hard time finding time to rotate 4th year.
 
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