Accepted to MD and DO, chose DO?

[Jayrod14]

How many of you were accepted to both allopathic and osteopathic programs and chose osteopathic? What were your reasons?

I was accepted to both and will be attending OUCOM next fall. I was just curious as to who else out there has also made osteopathic medicine their choice.

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[noonday]

How many of you were accepted to both allopathic and osteopathic programs and chose osteopathic? What were your reasons?

I was accepted to both and will be attending OUCOM next fall. I was just curious as to who else out there has also made osteopathic medicine their choice.

me. i did. had an MD acceptance, declined it for one of the DO schools that took me.

it wasn't so much choosing DO over MD, as the fact that i saw each as equally interesting, useful, and valid paths, both of which would get me where i needed to be. i applied broadly (but stupidly in terms of which MD programs, long story) to both, and then just picked from acceptances based upon school fit. simple fact was, i liked the location of the DO school (near aging parents, a major city, and many friends), the program itself, the other students/interviewees/staff, etc. more at the DO school. and the outgoing students there had residencies in places i would prefer to be more often than at the MD school. the decision was simple for me.

yay!

 

[FutureNavyDOc]

me. i did. had an MD acceptance, declined it for one of the DO schools that took me.

it wasn't so much choosing DO over MD, as the fact that i saw each as equally interesting, useful, and valid paths, both of which would get me where i needed to be. i applied broadly (but stupidly in terms of which MD programs, long story) to both, and then just picked from acceptances based upon school fit. simple fact was, i liked the location of the DO school (near aging parents, a major city, and many friends), the program itself, the other students/interviewees/staff, etc. more at the DO school. and the outgoing students there had residencies in places i would prefer to be more often than at the MD school. the decision was simple for me.

yay!

I was accepted to 3 DO schools and 2 MD schools. My choice had nothing to do with DO vs MD and everything to do with location.

Des Moines was 5 hours from where my fiance (now wife) was going to school, Kirksville was 8 hours, Ohio University COM was 14 hours, and the two MD schools in Ohio were about the same.

I kind of wish I would have known how stubborn the old guard of the AOA is regarding joint match and things of that nature before I made my decision. I often find myself thinking only seeing her every 2-3 months for a year would have been worth being able to avoid the political grandstanding and stubbornness. 🙁

 

[Kubed]

Like many others, my choice had little to do with MD vs DO and was all about where I thought I was going to be happy. I'm a four hour drive from my parents, live in a city that I absolutely love, and I get to wear sandals to class everyday.

Just to echo what was said already, if I would have known some about the chest beating that goes on with regard to OMM and the demands for separate but equal, I might have made a different choice. But really, these are just small things that are more annoying than anything. The one thing that I do have some regret about is not taking more time to learn about the future of medical education and where the current trends are leading us. My perception of osteopathic medical education is very different from where it was a year ago. I would encourage anyone looking to go DO to spend some time talking to practicing DO's and med students before they make their choice. Overall I'm very glad I went osteopathic and I do think it was the right choice for me, but I wish I would have been better informed when making my decision.

 

[MoxieDO]

Well, I participated in the Texas match only, so I did not get accepted to multiple schools. However we did have to rank them. After interviewing both DO and MD, I chose to rank the DO school high simply because I felt it was better than the other Texas schools by national rank in primary care, curriculum, technology, and style. Given the choice, I rather go to a high ranking DO school than a low-tier MD school. Honestly, I really never saw such animosity toward DOs than on SDN. The DOs I have met have been high ranking, well respected doctors whose practices came highly recommended by people I met. I know chosing the DO route might not be the popular and I know my future might be an upward battle, but it is a battle I am willing to fight and know I can win simply by the fact that I will be a good doctor, mostly stemming from the excellent training I will recieve from my DO school. Furthermore, I know not all DO schools are at the same level as mine, but neither are all the MD schools. We all have made the DO choice for one reason or another, but in the end we are DOs and must support our title as physicians with all the vigour we can afford.

 

[Ryan]

Blah Blah ... (what I say and my reasons Really Don't Matter). Just go where you feel right and realize that here will still be things that you love and hate about your school. My friends at TOP (The Big H, S and UCs) schools both love and hate their school depending on their mood.

Find a good fit for you and study hard no matter where you go. If you work hard you will shine on Boards as well as rotations.

 

[UserNameNeeded]

Well, I participated in the Texas match only, so I did not get accepted to multiple schools. However we did have to rank them. After interviewing both DO and MD, I chose to rank the DO school high simply because I felt it was better than the other Texas schools by national rank in primary care, curriculum, technology, and style. Given the choice, I rather go to a high ranking DO school than a low-tier MD school. Honestly, I really never saw such animosity toward DOs than on SDN. The DOs I have met have been high ranking, well respected doctors whose practices came highly recommended by people I met. I know chosing the DO route might not be the popular and I know my future might be an upward battle, but it is a battle I am willing to fight and know I can win simply by the fact that I will be a good doctor, mostly stemming from the excellent training I will recieve from my DO school. Furthermore, I know not all DO schools are at the same level as mine, but neither are all the MD schools. We all have made the DO choice for one reason or another, but in the end we are DOs and must support our title as physicians with all the vigour we can afford.

Ditto. I actually did get a couple of out-of-state acceptances at MD schools, but I choose TCOM (which I ranked #1 on the TMDSAS match). Besides those reasons, who wouldn't want to go to a school whose pass rate on the boards is 99.6% or something insanely high like that with the highest average board score in the country?

 

[Smackey]

I got accepted to both and chose the D.O. school. However my choice was based on which school I thought I would get a better education at and enjoy being at for the next 4 years. Don't even regret it a bit. Plus we got Goljan to teach us every day 2nd year!

For those of you that had the choice and regret choosing a D.O. school because of things like the stubborn AOA I would encourage you to change what you don't like. Not distance yourself that has the potential to be amazing with some work and like minded people.

whose pass rate on the boards is 99.6% or something insanely high like that with the highest average board score in the country?

I don't know exactly but OSU-Coms pass rate is right up there on both the Comlex and the USMLE

 

[Kubed]

who wouldn't want to go to a school whose pass rate on the boards is 99.6% or something insanely high like that with the highest average board score in the country?

This is one of the things I wish I would have researched better. Every school I interviewed at mentioned their board pass rate and it was always impressive. What I know now that I didn't know before is that the schools control who takes the boards. If you are having trouble with your classes, they can prevent you from even sitting for the boards. This is how they ensure that they have pass rates that are in the high 90's. Not that this is a bad practice really, keeping people who aren't ready for the boards from taking them. However, it is a little deceiving to advertise that 100% of your students passed the board when some are not allowed to even try.

 

[psychbender]

I was accepted to both, and chose a DO school because of location. I did undergrad here, my friends were all here, and I didn't feel like leaving just yet (never lived anywhere for more than four years until I came to Blacksburg). Had VCOM not opened, I probably would be at Penn State or EVMS right now.

Of course, I figured I was going into the military, so allopathic/osteopathic match didn't matter to me all that much. Sometimes I regret attending a new/unproven program, and having to constantly explain what a DO is; but I'm going to be a physician, and that's the important thing here, not what two letters come after my name.

 

[Future DOctor]

Accepted both, went DO because of a scholarship.

 

[Doc Oc]

3 DO, 2MD, liked the curriculum, student teaching opportunities, rigourous anatomy program, OMM lab, and location of UNECOM. I wanted to learn OMM, but didn't like the location of most of the DO schools and only applied to 4 schools. To increase the options of acceptance to any med school, I applied to a few MD also.

 

[Richie Truxillo]

It's personal preference. You need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages for yourself personally. I had the option of going to U.S. MD schools and 1 U.S. DO School. I came to WVSOM because they had Problem Based Learning and they treated me much much better than the other schools. I felt like (and still feel like) family here.

But like I said, go with your gut feeling. Find the school that best fits you all around.

Nuff said,
Richie

 

[Mixmaster]

Offered interviews after D.O. acceptance but did not go since they were not close to home. Also I did some research and asked some doc's and they all said the program was stronger than the M.D. ones I had a chance at. I regret it at times....

 

[the1doc]

Offered interviews after D.O. acceptance but did not go since they were not close to home. Also I did some research and asked some doc's and they all said the program was stronger than the M.D. ones I had a chance at. I regret it at times....

I was also accepted to both MD and DO and ended up choosing DO for the location and the training in OMM. I still like the location, but could have done without the OMM.

 

[Old_Mil]

How many of you were accepted to both allopathic and osteopathic programs and chose osteopathic? What were your reasons?

I was accepted to both and will be attending OUCOM next fall. I was just curious as to who else out there has also made osteopathic medicine their choice.

I chose Osteopathic school because of the people, facilities, and location that made DMU the right medical school for me. It wasn't necessarily out of a desire to learn or practice OMT. Given the very low percentage of DOs in practice who use OMT, I suspect that it is a small fraction of students who chose this route to learn Still techniques.

 

[PhDtoDO]

When I applied to schools, my old 28 MCAT had expired and I needed to retake it while in my PhD. Needless to say I didn't do as well.

I was waitlisted for two years for MD schools before I decided to go ahead and do a PhD (I had wanted to do an MD/PhD). Before, I had never gone to a DO, didn't know any DOs and really didn't know much about it...just that people who didn't get into MD schools applied to them. I learned a lot over the years and learned to appreciate the field. But still, I honestly didn't really want to go to a DO school.

I like the DO whole person philosophy but as a future research academic, I didn't want to take the 'non-traditional' route.

Then I interviewed at Touro.

They have 3 criteria for selecting students...1) staditional grades and numbers 2) experience in medicine 3) SELFLESSNESS

I was totally blown away. All my fears about getting a DO seemed to melt away. The atmosphere at Touro (and Western) was totally different than any med school I'd interviewed at before. It reminded me of my public health days...lots of super-cool people who want to save the world. And I've been working in med schools for years.

I knew I fit and held my breath until the response came....which Dr. Haight (Dean of admissions) emailed to me personally because the mail in New Orleans was still pretty bad then.

That Selflessness criteria and the totally cool atmosphere clinched it for me.

Honestly, I still have a lot to learn about DO, but I'm jumping right in in August.

PS....I am leaving my beautiful house with a big yard, my beloved New Orleans, and my friends to move to California and pay more than twice what I would pay at LSU...where I could continue my research and work with faculty I've known for years.

I must be crazy, but I have no doubts.

PhDtoDO
Tucom2010

 

[noonday]

When I applied to schools, my old 28 MCAT had expired and I needed to retake it while in my PhD. Needless to say I didn't do as well.

I was waitlisted for two years for MD schools before I decided to go ahead and do a PhD (I had wanted to do an MD/PhD). Before, I had never gone to a DO, didn't know any DOs and really didn't know much about it...just that people who didn't get into MD schools applied to them. I learned a lot over the years and learned to appreciate the field. But still, I honestly didn't really want to go to a DO school.

I like the DO whole person philosophy but as a future research academic, I didn't want to take the 'non-traditional' route.

Then I interviewed at Touro.

They have 3 criteria for selecting students...1) staditional grades and numbers 2) experience in medicine 3) SELFLESSNESS

I was totally blown away. All my fears about getting a DO seemed to melt away. The atmosphere at Touro (and Western) was totally different than any med school I'd interviewed at before. It reminded me of my public health days...lots of super-cool people who want to save the world. And I've been working in med schools for years.

I knew I fit and held my breath until the response came....which Dr. Haight (Dean of admissions) emailed to me personally because the mail in New Orleans was still pretty bad then.

That Selflessness criteria and the totally cool atmosphere clinched it for me.

Honestly, I still have a lot to learn about DO, but I'm jumping right in in August.

PS....I am leaving my beautiful house with a big yard, my beloved New Orleans, and my friends to move to California and pay more than twice what I would pay at LSU...where I could continue my research and work with faculty I've known for years.

I must be crazy, but I have no doubts.

PhDtoDO
Tucom2010

this just goes to show that there's a place for everyone, and even people who, on paper, are looking for the same thing find it in different places. i was looking for altruism, too, in a program, and i really wanted to like touro-mi, since i wouldn't have to move (hell of a commute from SF, but i would have gotten to keep my established "life" of the past 6 years). unlike PhDtoDO, i really disliked touro and am moving to NY to go to NYCOM instead, because that's where i "clicked." the whole interview process really turned me off -- i felt like i was on "the apprentice" or something, i didn't like how it felt like they were pitting interviewees against each other, and i felt like most of my day was a waste in the "preparation" for the interview. yuck. was lucky to get an MD and another DO acceptance the same week as the touro acceptance so i could not waste the 1K holding fee just to have a place to go.

anyway, point is, DO, MD, and each school therein is really different in feel, etc. and i think it's really, at base, about what feels right for you, the individual. and no poll of people can decide that for you. only you can.

 

[Sundarban1]

EDIT: Caribbean schools do not count. It should read, how many people were accepted to both US MD and DO schools, and chose DO.

 

[fuzziefoo]

Hello. I applied twice and learned the hard way about the importance of location and residency placement. I had 2 M.D. acceptances on the East Coast right before school started in 2005 and was basically transplanted when I decided to attend. Unfortunately, I had an absolutely horrific experience and decided that as a Californian, I prefer my homeland. Since it was already too late for me to apply to the Cali M.D. schools again, I went for the D.O schools instead due to their deadlines. Personally, I think they're great because they'll give me the opportunity to stay in California for residency if i work hard enough. Besides that, Cali residencies don't seem to shabby either. Either way, D.O or M.D, unless you're a name dropper or status conscience, it's not a big deal. I could care less because either way I'll be able to spread all the love and joy I want to my patients here in Cali! (I should say that other states are really awesome, but I like diversity, sunshine and clear skies all year round.) 😛

 

[PhDtoDO]

Hey again,

I think SD is a great place to promote the option of osteopathic medicine. I didn't apply to DO schools before starting my PhD because I WAS TOLD BY OTHER PREMEDS that YOU ONLY GO THERE IF YOU DON"T GET INTO AN MD PROGRAM.

I believed it. I went to the University of Chicago, graduated with honors and wasn't about to go to a second rate school and get a second rate degree...which is what they told me.

Based on what they told me, I thought everyone who went to DO schools didn't get into MD schools.

I also don't think it helps for proported 'True DOs' that complain and go on and on about how they resent what they call 'last option DOs' who are only going to DO schools because they didn't get into one MD program.

This reaction, in my opinion, only perpetuates the misunderstanding that DOs are totally (and not just partially) different than MDs.

In trying to defind DOs from fake DOs they are pushing the notion that DO is different...

And not just another route up the same hill...not just another way to be a

True Doctor.

I accepted at Touro before I knew whether I'd gotten into two of the MD programs I was waiting to hear from...and I got into the school that pre-interviews...I was totally convinced was my first choice.

If I hadn't gotten into that MD program (LSU), than the same True DOs would be complaining about me...even though I did choose DO in the end.

I'm over this argument.

Until the next thread!

CHao for now,

PhDtoDO

 

[littlealex]

Besides location, what are other compelling reasons to go DO instead of MD?

I hear DO doctors have a better lifestyle, but do most of them match into MD residencies?

 

[cyclohexanol]

Besides location, what are other compelling reasons to go DO instead of MD?

I hear DO doctors have a better lifestyle, but do most of them match into MD residencies?

Well lets see, there is also location, and uhh, oh ya.. location. Oh, and also, DO has a vowel in it. 😉

There is no reason why DOs would have a better lifestyle. Physicians are Physicians. Education is the same, post-graduate training is the same, working is the same.

Many (I want to say a majority, but I can't find the stats at the moment) DOs match into MD residencies (again largely based on location, variety, and quality of the particular residency programs). There are good DO residency programs, they just aren't as numerous as the MD residencies, and many are in less desirable locations and tend to be focused in certain parts of the country.