allopathic or osteopathic residency

[pakijiga]

im a first year NYCOM student and i was looking at our residency match from last year and i was confused about the process.. whats the difference between an osteopathic and allopathic residency?
second whats the difference between a combined and traditional internship
and what is a transitional year??

im clueless.. still trying to learn cranial nerves.. dont know much about what happens in medical school after anatomy!!

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[cooldreams]

wow you just made my day... im not a ms1 yet but i do know that md's cant get into do res, but do's can get into md res...

the biggest complaint here that i have seen is that the do res are not affiliated with schools much, or that they dont see much action so they may not be as well versed as they may have been at some of the other md res... but it is all relative... do is jus newer... if u look at it all in terms of growth acceleration though... do is shooting up way past mds....

gl man

 

[Shinken]

I'm surprised not too many people have replied to your questions. Perhaps because the answers can be found relatively easily (or by asking your clinical instructors at your school). Anyway, here's my take on the situation from my research, and current students please correct me if I'm wrong:

- Osteopathic residencies take place either in osteopathic hospitals or in allopathic ones that have allowed osteopathic programs. Osteo hospitals are not very numerous, and they're usually smaller than allo hospitals, so generally the residency programs there are of relatively lesser "prestige" and sometimes you see a smaller number of cases compared to allo hospitals. Many allo hospitals, however, have "dually-accredited" programs (AOA and ACGME). An example for you would be Maimonides, which is an allopathic hospital, but NYCOM students can rotate there and also do their osteo internship too.

- DO students can apply to both osteo and allo residency programs, but MD students can only apply to allo programs. However, if you apply to both, the DO match occurs before the MD match, and if you match into a DO program you will be automatically dropped from the MD match (yes, the NBOME will notify the NRMP of your match and the NRMP will drop you). So, if you're thinking of applying to DO programs as a back-up in the event you don't get into your MD residency choice, it won't work.

- A combined internship...Hmmm...not absolutely certain of that one, but it sounds to me like a "linked" internship. An internship that will lead you automatically to the PGY2 year. Sometimes you apply just to the internship and before you complete it you then apply again to a residency program, or sometimes you can apply to an internship that is "linked" to the residency program (sometimes called "fast-track" programs). For example, if you know you want to do internal medicine, you can apply to an internship that emphasizes IM and that will automatically lead you to your first residency year in IM. Not all residency programs have a fast-track option. Current DO residents can probably give you more (and better) info on this.

- A traditional internship is an internship that isn't linked to a program. You rotate through all the hospital's departments, pretty much like in your clinical years, and gain experience in different aspects of medicine (ob/gyn, surgery, etc.). After your trad internship, you then apply to a residency program. A DO residency program will not take you without a trad internship, and the vast majority of MD programs will not grant you credit for the year you spent rotating as a DO trad intern. Many DO students complete a DO trad internship then apply to an allo residency program. The reason is that many DO students want to do allo residency programs instead of DO ones, and there are some states that will not grant you a license to practice as a DO unless you've completed the internship year (Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia).

- A transitional year, as I understand it, is an allopathic internship either for people that still don't know what they want to go into, or for people that need a broad base of knowledge before going into their specialty. MD students can probably explain a transitional year better. Haven't looked into it much myself.

Sooo....are you confused enough? The AOA has a nice FAQ web page that explains the whole messy post-graduate situation for DO's. Check it out at:

http://www.aoa.net/PostDoc/ogmefaq.htm

 

[Jim Picotte]

I can answer the transitional year question as I did one (even got a certificate). Basically people going into radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, rad-onc, and dermatology need to do a preliminary year of medicine (just like first year of medicine, but usually a couple of elective), a preliminary year of surgery (just like the first year of surgery) or a transitional year program.

The transitional year requirements are pretty basic. You need a month of ER, a month of outpatient medicine (I did a month in an FP clinic) and 4 months of inpatient medicine, surgery, OB/GYN or peds (I did 3 inpatient medicine months and a month of surgery). The additional 6 months (my program allowed 6 elective months in just about anything you wanted to do) can either be electives or depending on the program you go to more of the above (medicine, surgery, OB/GYN), etc. It's probably the closest thing we have to the traditional osteopathic internship. It's usually a bit easier than a typical preliminary medicine slot in that there is less call and you can do some cool electives like pathology, anesthesiology, away rotations, oversea rotations, just about anything you can think of.

 

[pakijiga]

i knew about the whole DO's can apply to MD residency but not the other way around.. i was just curious if when doing a DO residency.. is the program more geared toward wholistic approach or not.. and also if osteo residents see less action.. are they paid less also??

thanks for all the info..

 

[oceandocDO]

i knew about the whole DO's can apply to MD residency but not the other way around.. i was just curious if when doing a DO residency.. is the program more geared toward wholistic approach or not.. and also if osteo residents see less action.. are they paid less also??

As far as being more geared towards the "holistic" approach, D.O. residencies, on paper at least, teach OMM, which probably falls into the "holistic" category. Also, by doing the osteopathic internship, you're exposed to most disciplines of medicine, hence this would definitely add to the "holistic" flavor.

I'd be careful about saying D.O. residents see less action. D.O. ER residents at St. Barnabus in the bronx are confronted with seeing the 3rd most trauma patients in all of NYC. Other D.O. residencies may be located at smaller hospitals, but often this means less residents in your program, which means you'll get just as little sleep, if not less, as a resident in a larger program.

Salaries as a resident are largely dependent on geography, but most are all in the same ballpark. However, some D.O. rotating interns are paid very well. Some of the NYCOM programs pay interns about $50K+ a year. I've never heard of a D.O. making less just because they were a D.O., if that's your question.

 

[Pooh Chong]

Osteopathic Internship and Residency FAQ

http://www.studentdoctor.net/do/internfaq.asp

THIS LINK HELPED ME UNDERSTAND A LOT. It was written up a number of years ago, but I think it is still current.

 

[dobonedoc]

Just 2 cents on applying to both MD and DO residency programs: I was able to apply to both programs, but had to make a serious decision WEEKS prior to the MD Match. The problem is that once a match occurs in the DO Match, MD applications are withdrawn. DO match day occurs a month prior to the MD match. So, if someone thinks they have a good shot at a MD residency match, they can withdraw their application to the DO match. The risk is that if they do not match, they have already burned vital bridges in the AOA. Competitive fields in the DO programs are, of course, already filled by those who did not try for the MD spots. Also, consider having to spend all of the cash needed to do the National Match (DO) and to go through ERAS. Look forward to filling out twice the forms, meeting deadlines, writing essays, etc., just to be able to apply to both programs. Next, if you decide to apply to both matches, look forward to traveling to twice the interviews. It is not the same thing to interview at 5 programs in both matches as it is to interview at 10 in one-or-the-other. If you want to maximize your opportunities, you have to go 100% - in both. In the end, a month prior to the MD match day, you must decide which way you want to go.

 

[azcomdiddy]

I personally want to do an allopathic residency for several reason.

1. Most osteopathic residencies are in rural or suburban locations.

2. They aren't in huge academic centers

3. The training is often subpar

4. Reputation is weak

There is a reason why nearly 70% of all AZCOM grads do allopathic residencies.

 

[futuresurgeon00]

I have researched about both, but I'm still unclear about what exactly is osteopathic and allopathic....What is the difference between the two....and which should I go into?

 

[DrMaximus]

And it doesn't matter that much anymore...

 

[Dissected]

Strong 8 year thread revival. From the grave indeed!

 

[DocEspana]

 

[AFMD]

I have researched about both, but I'm still unclear about what exactly is osteopathic and allopathic....What is the difference between the two....and which should I go into?

You should look at individual programs. You can see AOA residences here: http://opportunities.osteopathic.org/ and I'm sure ACGME residencies are shown somewhere. (It's all changing soon anyways).

Personally I think the bigger question is: academic or community based? In a big academic center you get to see a lot of cool things, but in a rural or intercity community ("underserved") you get to do more. This is general and depends a lot on the program.

I had an attending plastic surgeon tell me that when he was a 5th year resident in an intercity hospital he had done many many more surgeries than many of his attending colleagues who had been out of residency for years.