Academic Medicine as a DO?

[EpiCam]

I hope that some practicing DO's can answer this question:

I'm very excited to be starting WU this fall as an incoming osteopathic medical student. But I'm wondering what kind of opportunities there are for DO's to get involved in academic medicine, especially in an institution that trains MD's?? Are we limited to an academic career path within the DO system??

Thank you in advance for your input.

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[dr.z]

I'm not a practicing DO, but I will provide my input. I was at an allopathic medical institution, and there were faculty members who were DOs. Some were in the department of family practice, preventitive medicine, neurosciences (research only), and so on.

 

[Gfunk6]

I am also not a practicing DO, but if you want to do academic medicine then you are in luck b/c it's wide open right now. In allopathic schools it is common to see DO faculty in Internal Medicine, Neurology, Family Medicine, Psychiatry, etc.

You can do as much or as little you want in terms of teaching, research, and clinical medicine.

 

[AmyO]

I hope that some practicing DO's can answer this question:

I'm very excited to be starting WU this fall as an incoming osteopathic medical student. But I'm wondering what kind of opportunities there are for DO's to get involved in academic medicine, especially in an institution that trains MD's?? Are we limited to an academic career path within the DO system??

Thank you in advance for your input.

Just a quick note. This is a PRE-osteopathic forum, so if you're hoping to talk to practicing DOs, the chances are slim. You can talk to osteopathic students in the osteopathic forum or hit the individual speciality forum if you want.

 

[DrMom]

Please do not post this same question anywhere else as it is a violation of the TOS. There are plenty of med students and residents who peruse the pre-osteo forum, so no need.

As people have already noted, there are definitely DOs in the both the osteopathic and allopathic academic settings.

 

[HunterGatherer]

I am also not a practicing DO, but if you want to do academic medicine then you are in luck b/c it's wide open right now. In allopathic schools it is common to see DO faculty in Internal Medicine, Neurology, Family Medicine, Psychiatry, etc.

You can do as much or as little you want in terms of teaching, research, and clinical medicine.

Very true. In specialties where there is not much DO penetration you will see fewer DOs relative to other specialties.

 

[DOnut]

Keep in mind Osteopathic Medical institutions need excellent professors as well. Some of the best teachers at NYCOM graduated from the school, obtained the best residency and fellowships that they could (MD or DO) and then came back to teach the future osteopathic medical students. This is how we keep our schools top notch. If you are interested in research, even better.

Though my wife and I are training at an allopathic institution, we are seriously considering teaching at an osteopathic medical school when we finish. Perhaps PCOM-GA (we want to go south 🙂 ).

Also don't worry about the rule that you must complete an AOA internship, or residency to teach at an osteopathic medical school, I know MANY MANY examples where this was not done.