Any DO students at Spaulding/Kessler/Mayo et al?

[PM&RHopeful]

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DO student - n00b to SDN... Very interested in PM&R with a quick question...

So many of my classmates are all trying to plot their way into their dream residency (EM/Orthopods/etc), and that's kind of inspired me to dream a little bigger than I used to.

So i was kind of wondering if anyone knew if Spaulding/Kessler/Mayo/Insert What You Might Consider as a Good Program took Osteopathic medical students.

And if so, what hoop is required? Do i have to have be published in JAMA, have research up the waazo and a USMLE score of 270....yeah ok i'm kidding, but really - do I need research chops to go to say Spaulding and substantially higher Board score than my MD counterpart?

I've also heard things like that PM&R departments tend to look at a candidate "holistically" - Is there something they are specifically looking for?

 

[ED50]

Hey! There is quite a bit of good information recently posted on this forum including
PM&R advice to applicants by j4pac (who happens to be a DO who matched to one of those universities you just mentioned). I recommend you do some searching but to answer your question briefly. DO students are not at a huge disadvantage compared to their MD counterparts, but you will need a high score, research, interesting CV etc to match at the top places regardless of the letters after your name. Some schools, I believe Harvard is one of them, that really values research. Also, I believe recent residents and applicants can attest to the fact that PM&R is getting quite competitive. Each year is getting tougher. I hope I answered some of your questions, if there are more feel free to shoot.

 

[oreosandsake]

there are a lot of DOs in PMR

the letters behind your name will not hold you back. make a case for OMM and they might even help as an extra skill

 

[j4pac]

Almost all of the questions are covered in link provided by ED50.
The programs widely regarded as "elite" programs are RIC (Northwestern/Chicago), Mayo, Spaulding (Harvard), TIRR (Baylor Houston/UTH), University of Washington, and Kessler. The reason is primarily due to reputation/tradition and affiliation with powerhouse inpatient rehabilitation facility. It does not always mean that they are the best training programs, especially if you are looking for outpatient exposure. There are tons of programs who may lack the name recognition but can hang with the elite programs. I personally had TIRR ranked below Wisconsin, Louisville, and Indianapolis, because I felt that those programs were a better fit for what I was looking for in an education.

I'm a DO, but I am also military, so I am a little untraditional. I only took the COMLEX...no USMLE. I had above average but not great scores. I am actively involved in research (primarily self-directed), but I don't have tons of publications and none to the major journals.

Of the major programs...
-I was invited by TIRR
-I was rejected by Univ of Washington, RIC, and Kessler.
-I was in application LIMBO for Spaulding and Mayo. I requested a Mayo interview, they granted it, and I got in

Why was I rejected by Washington, RIC, and Kessler? Was it because of my scores, lack of USMLE, publications, the fact that I am a DO? Who knows. Be involved in research, rock the boards, get a strong specialty LOR and you will likely get more invitations at the "elite" programs than I received.

 

[hashtag]

Incoming PGY2 at Kessler. For the past two years 2 DO's have matched to the program. I am an MD so I cannot speak to the DO experience but I actually rotated with both DO's who matched with me. I think one came from an engineering background and had some research. The other was a hard worker and it was his third away rotation in PM&R. I think the two letters don't really make a difference, though I'm sure there are programs and internal politics sometimes that may weigh that (which would make them programs you wouldn't want to be at anyway). Away rotations do matter, for better or worse. I saw some people who I rotated with who clearly did not fit in- and this is not the high school, "geeks and jocks" kind of fitting in, but rather the kind where they would try to pimp me in front of the attending, ask questions only they knew the answer to, or even, on one occasion, pimp the program director during their student presentation. This particular person attended a top med school to boot. Whether you are an MD or DO, I would personally recommend doing away rotations, and having your personality shine through. Ultimately that's what people remember. My attending's comments after the rotation did not mention that I had forgotten my dermatomes: he spoke about how my patients continued to ask about me after I left the rotation. Research also helps. I presented a poster at AAPM&R, and was co-author on a couple of case reports. Many people feel that research is a necessary evil to boost your application; though I cannot disagree, I think research is important in continuing to establish our field- which has a reputation of having less EBM than others. And yes, your extra curriculars matter! Programs want to know if you will get along or hang out with coworkers! Feel free to PM with addition questions.

 

[hashtag]

Addendum: 2 DO's per year for past two years

 

[bedrock]

First DO Chair of a clinical department at Harvard Medical School is Ross Zafonte, who became chair of the PM&R Department in 2008, while I was an MD resident there.
We averaged 1-2 DO in each residency class while I was a resident. There are several DO PM&R faculty members at Spaulding/Harvard PM&R clinical sites.

Being a DO won't hurt you applying to Spaulding/Harvard if the rest of your application is up to par.