Any advantage in Osteopathic training for PM&R?

[DrMattOglesby]

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Just wondering if there is any advantage in having completed a medical education in a DO program (instead of MD) if one was considering Physical Medicine.
Are there certain residency programs that are more difficult for DO grads to gain entry?
Are there actual benefits to having received the additional OMT training during med school?

 

[drusso]

Just wondering if there is any advantage in having completed a medical education in a DO program (instead of MD) if one was considering Physical Medicine.
Are there certain residency programs that are more difficult for DO grads to gain entry?
Are there actual benefits to having received the additional OMT training during med school?

I would say that there are few practical benefits except that you may be more familiar with some of the manual medicine techniques that are popular among PT's. One actual benefit to learning OMT in medical school is that you can bill for it when you're in practice. So can MD's. It's just more time-consuming and laborious to go back and take the CME's to learn it after you're in practice.

If you're a physiatrist in a busy MSK practice that sees a fair amount of acute or sub-acute MSK injuries, manual treatments can be a nice tool in your bag. I would not go to a DO school just because you think that you may become a physiatrist some day. I would go to the best school that fits your needs regardless of degree type awarded.

 

[TRAMD]

In terms of getting a residency PM&R is probably one of the most DO friendly specialties but you are still always more competitive for allopathic residencies with an MD, all other things being equal. Still, it is much closer in PM&R than in any other specialty.