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just want to know how diffucult it is for D.O.'s obtaining anesthesiology residencies
Originally posted by drusso:
•Not at all. Just go to the google search engine and type "anesthesiology" and "osteopathic" and see what comes up. Plenty of D.O.'s match in anesthesia every year.•••
I don't mean to stoke the fire of uncertainty, but past performance is no idicator of future success. This year is an especially hot year for anesthesia. The difference in number of applications from previous years is phenomenal. People are finally waking up to a great lifestyle well paid profession. It is very difficult to compare previous years, even the last two to the present, as dramatic shifts in popularity have occured.
This is a frequent occurence in medicine. A couple years back radiology only matched 30% of their slots to us seniors. Now it is one of the hottest. Anesthesia was up 40% last year, and will likely be up several times that number this year. It's very hot.
Having said that, there are still 1000+ slots, but so matching should not be a big problem. Difficulty arises in matching to a first or second tier program.
bababuey said:Anesthesiology several years ago was VERY VERY easy to get into. Even sub-average applicants had their pick of where to go. For the last few years it has been getting more and more competitive. Because of the competition, as a DO, you will have a harder time matching into better programs. I think it would be silly to lie to you and say that many of the better programs would not prefer MD's.
OldManDave said:As Test Boy succintly points out - this has been discussed ad nauseum & no, as a DO, you will not be at a disadvantage. Personally, I think this urban legend continues in DO schools as a convenient excuse not to try for students intimidated by the process. Much easier to believe in the nay-sayers & not even try than to forge ahead...
If you want it badly enough, give it a try. To do otherwise, you will never know.
Oh...and by the way...I am a DO in a top-notch anesthesiology program & have another DO for a classmate: 2 of 8 in my anesth class are DOs. And, I believe there is one in the class behind me doing their intenrship somewhere else. Furthermore, I interviewed at several programs that the nay-sayers told me "they don't allow/take DOs." or "I was told they have a policy against accepting DOs". My counter - if they are so opposed, officially or unofficially, why in the hell would they waste a precious interview slot on me?
My reaction to all of these tales of misery? Prior to application season opening up, I sent letters of introduction to all of the programs I was interested in & followed them up with a phone call a couple of weeks later. I rec'd an impressive degrees of responses to my letters - all positive & all seemed impressed at my gumption at having done so. I followed most all letters with phone calls 2~3 weeks later. And, I even took a week of vacation to visit 3 programs prior to applications going out. I was warmly welcomed & subsequently invited to interview at all of them.
toughlife said:and I am glad they do. Having many DOs in top programs lowers the reputation of the program since they are seen as inherently inferior.
Idiopathic said:I dont think you are good people. You havent had a nice thing to say to anyone ever. What would your mother say?
toughlife said:She says that the truth although painful is necessary.
Idiopathic said:Hmm...thats not what she told me was 'painful yet necessary'.
I am so laughing my @$$ off at this reply!!! I no longer get frustrated by folks who truly cannot see the forest for the trees. This argument of DO vs MD is so very very lame. It generally only thrives w/i pre-med circles...but obviously survives in some form, fortunately a small circles, into medical school.toughlife said:and I am glad they do. Having many DOs in top programs lowers the reputation of the program since they are seen as inherently inferior.
bababuey said:Its true that you will have to gain respect of others by the work that you do, however it is silly to say that people will not look at you differently based on the MD or the DO after your name. If no one thought that way, we would not be having his discussion.
This is really not an attack on DO's, but lets face reality. THis is the way the world is... why cant we just admit it?
bababuey said:This argument is really sillly to argue. On one side people say that having an MD vs DO doesnt matter, but on the other side people will say that it does matter. No one will convince the other, correct?
However to make my LAST point on this subject. Just the fact that there people on this very forum who are arguing this point proves the fact that people in reality do look at the MD or DO degree after a person's name. If this MD vs DO was such a non-issue, why do people bring it up? Because the perpetual myths passed on from med student to another? I dont think so. People bring it up because people believe that DO students in general (please dont quote me specific situations where someone had awesome MCAT and GPA and could go to any MD school but chose to go to DO school....i am saying generally) were the weaker applicants to medical school and also think they are generally weaker applicants for residency programs. If looking at MCAT, GPA and Step scores, you cant really argue against this.... and im sure as many out there are going thru the applicatoin process or have gone thru it, DO applicants have a HARDER (note i said harder, not impossible) time matching into the more competitive residencies.
This is not specific to the MD vs DO argument. THis argument holds true among different MD schools as well. Someone with a Hopkins or Harvard MD degree will be regarded much more highly than someone with a degree from one of the caribbean schools or one of the lower tier MD schools. No one out there can tell me that many patients nor other doctors arent atleast curious as to where people went to medical school.
Just to specifiy, this discussion isnt really about can DOs do this or that...its more of how much more difficult is it for DOs (i am assuming for getting residencies), how differently do ppl look at DO's vs MD's, etc, etc. The only reason why i responded to this is because people are giving the false impression that DOs are looked at as completely equal to MD's in EVERY way. We all know that is not true.... especially when every MD is not equal to every MD!
No more replies on this subject from me... peace out!
bababuey said:No more replies on this subject from me... peace out!
frank51 said:BTW, Ive heard that M.Ds who graduate from Caribbean medical schools are much more susceptible to scrutiny by the general public and the medical comunity than D.Os.
CameronFrye said:Well, I'm sure it's probably difficult for a DO to match in some fields, but this question was posted in an anesthesia forum and as I understand it, anesthesia is NOT particularly competitive just b/c of the huge number of spots. As for your comments about who is more regarded, it really doesn't matter (especially if you're going into private practice like most people). If you graduate from the crappiest foreign med school and match in the crappiest community program, guess what? You're still a doctor when you finish and you will get a job. And I can guarantee you that a huge portion of this country doesn't even know that DO's and caribbean med schools exist. To them, doctor means doctor, so they won't care. (and by the way, I am a MD student at a top 25 med school, so I have no vested interest in this discussion.)
rhinosp_33 said:but wait until the market tightens up
LOL! Vent, I am inclined to agree with you...regret I was sucked into it!VentdependenT said:This thread blows but I'm drawn to it as gazers are to a horrible catastrophic road wreck.
Idiopathic said:Hmm...thats not what she told me was 'painful yet necessary'.
toughlife said:At least I won't be wondering what people are thinking when they see the initials on my coat.
Idiopathic said:Yeah, you are right: "Toughlife - Head Dishwasher" is hard to mistake for anything else.
toughlife said:The embroidering on your coat should read
"John Idiopathic DO, (I tried)"
Capsaicin said:Sounds to me like guys like "toughlife" feel threatened and want to coast by on the work they did in high school and undergrad, unable to stand the thought of having to compete with the inferior life forms that are D.O.'s when it comes to residency.
CameronFrye said:A lot of the threads on this board that degrade into MD vs DO and AMG vs FMG, definitely feel like they are fueled by the insecurities of mediocre MD students.
VentdependenT said:I'm closing this pile of junk. The OP's question was answered early on but this thread has clearly spiraled into something hideous and unrelated to its original intent.