Any DOs in allopathic programs?

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k-money

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Looking for some thoughts on internship. I am a 3rd year DO student planning on Neuro. I am interested in several of the allopathic programs but was wondering what other people did in regards to internship year.
Since we are required to do a ACGME IM PGY1 and AOA IM internships are not accepted, what are you doing about that? Did you do a transitional 1st then repeat the internship year? Did you skip AOA internship and just do allopathic? If we skip AOA, is our only limit in eventual state licensure in MI,FL,WV,FL?
Any advise would be appreciated, my school is less than helpful for students who even think about AMA. :confused:

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I matched at VCU,richmond...though i am an IMG but this program has alot of DO residents..infact 1/3 are DO's.there internship is both ACGME and AOA approved.

k-money said:
Looking for some thoughts on internship. I am a 3rd year DO student planning on Neuro. I am interested in several of the allopathic programs but was wondering what other people did in regards to internship year.
Since we are required to do a ACGME IM PGY1 and AOA IM internships are not accepted, what are you doing about that? Did you do a transitional 1st then repeat the internship year? Did you skip AOA internship and just do allopathic? If we skip AOA, is our only limit in eventual state licensure in MI,FL,WV,FL?
Any advise would be appreciated, my school is less than helpful for students who even think about AMA. :confused:
 
I graduated from COMP last year.

Doing an ACGME prelim medicine year and then Neuro @USC. Chose to do ACGME PGY1 rather than DO traditional year.

The other problem is fellowship - it may be problematic to sit for MD/allopathic fellowship certification tests- and the DO subspecialty boards are limited.
 
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cliff said:
I graduated from COMP last year.

Doing an ACGME prelim medicine year and then Neuro @USC. Chose to do ACGME PGY1 rather than DO traditional year.

The other problem is fellowship - it may be problematic to sit for MD/allopathic fellowship certification tests- and the DO subspecialty boards are limited.

thank you so much for the reply!
Since you are doing ACGME internship and AMA program, you shouldn't have problems getting into a fellowship (allopathic)...is that right? I was under the impression that the problem was switching from AOA residency to AMA for fellowship. Its too bad that there are so few solid opportunities with AOA....
 
Yeah, this talk has confused me also...If someone (a DO) does both an ACGME internship and residency, there should be no problems with board certification or fellowship placement correct? Also, there is no reason to take USMLE steps 2-3 as a DO following this route, right?

Of course I realize I wouldn't be eligble to practice in the magical 5 states.
 
I am a fourth year D.O. student who recently matched in allo Neuro. Its not that hard because Neuro isn't yet competitive, but it still is competitive at top programs, esp. for D.O.'s. I matched at Hahnemann Hospital/Drexel in philadelphia and interviewed at places like Mayo, CC, Cornell and such. If you have good board scores and great letters you will get a chance to interview at top places. I think the most important aspect is rotating at a program. I was told by one of the top neuro programs that I didn't get a spot there because it went to an applicant who had rotated there. I am doing a dually accredited internship, which will satisy my osteopathic needs as well as let me sit for the allo specialty boards. You can only take the allo boards if you do an acgme internship and can only take the osteo boards if you do a D.O. year. So, you can take both boards if you do a dually accredited internship. As far as step 2 and 3 are concerned, you obviously have to take all the comlex steps if you are a D.O., and I think you have to just take usmle step 3 to be allo boarded. Please someone correct me if I am wrong about this point.
 
marchiafava said:
As far as step 2 and 3 are concerned, you obviously have to take all the comlex steps if you are a D.O., and I think you have to just take usmle step 3 to be allo boarded. Please someone correct me if I am wrong about this point.

Most DO programs require you to pass COMLEX 1 and 2 in order to graduate. However, if you had passed USMLE step 1 and 2 you have the option of taking USMLE step 3 instead of COMLEX 3 to be fully licensed. So as a DO you don't "have" to complete all 3 steps of COMLEX if you chose to complete the USMLE pathway.
 
classic13 said:
Most DO programs require you to pass COMLEX 1 and 2 in order to graduate. However, if you had passed USMLE step 1 and 2 you have the option of taking USMLE step 3 instead of COMLEX 3 to be fully licensed. So as a DO you don't "have" to complete all 3 steps of COMLEX if you chose to complete the USMLE pathway.


This is correct. I have taken both COMLEX I-II and USMLE I-II. I only plan on taking USMLE III. I would be interested in seeing a list of states that this is ok for. My guess is that it is ok in most states, since many states don't have an osteopathic medical board.
 
California has two licensing boards- DO & MD- and I am pretty sure if you graduate from an osteopathic medical school you have to pass COMLEX I-III to get licensed (I just passed III).

New York has a single licensing board- I would be cautious to mix and match COMLEX/USMLE.

I am planning on getting licensed in NY & CA using COMLEX I-III.

I can't see any further use to my USMLE I score. It doesn't make sense to take COMLEX I-II to graduate and then weasel USMLE III on to your transcript. I just requested a transcript from NBOME- stating i have completed COMLEX I-III, I can't figure how you could get USMLE and COMLEX folks to get along and produce a peice of paper stating you have completed their series. COMLEX people are not going to say you have completed their series and USMLE people are not going to state you have completed their series.

Which states do you KNOW FOR A FACT that you can mix and match? Let's figure it out...


Re: fellowships - I think if you complete and allopathic residency and you have in-service exam scores , which are used for fellowships, and then you have board scores...

At super-competitive places- no matter what- being a DO is going to hurt. This can be overcome with super-high USMLE #s. Everywhere else it ain't go to matter.
 
cliff said:
Which states do you KNOW FOR A FACT that you can mix and match? Let's figure it out...

I don't believe there is any state that would allow you to mix and match. You apply using either of the COMPLETED USMLE or COMLEX series. For people who have passed USMLE 1 and 2 in addition to COMLEX 1 & 2, it can be a matter of convenience to complete USMLE series because you have more flexibility in scheduling the computerized exam whereas COMLEX is only given twice a year at certain times and at certain cities.

It is true that CA has osteopathic board that requires DOs to take COMLEX; however, I have heard people getting around that rule using reciprocity law that CA has with other states. Most states will grant licensure based on completion of all 3 steps of either board exams.
 
classic13 said:
I don't believe there is any state that would allow you to mix and match. You apply using either of the COMPLETED USMLE or COMLEX series. For people who have passed USMLE 1 and 2 in addition to COMLEX 1 & 2, it can be a matter of convenience to complete USMLE series because you have more flexibility in scheduling the computerized exam whereas COMLEX is only given twice a year at certain times and at certain cities.

It is true that CA has osteopathic board that requires DOs to take COMLEX; however, I have heard people getting around that rule using reciprocity law that CA has with other states. Most states will grant licensure based on completion of all 3 steps of either board exams.

What classic said. For me, COMLEX 3 is very inconvenient time wise and for location/travel considerations. It is also a great passive aggressive way to snub the AOA.
 
k-money said:
Looking for some thoughts on internship. I am a 3rd year DO student planning on Neuro. I am interested in several of the allopathic programs but was wondering what other people did in regards to internship year.
Since we are required to do a ACGME IM PGY1 and AOA IM internships are not accepted, what are you doing about that? Did you do a transitional 1st then repeat the internship year? Did you skip AOA internship and just do allopathic? If we skip AOA, is our only limit in eventual state licensure in MI,FL,WV,FL?
Any advise would be appreciated, my school is less than helpful for students who even think about AMA. :confused:


I'm not a med student or anything yet, but I noticed you mentioned Florida........So I'll say that if you go to http://hsc.usf.edu/medicine and go to the neurology link on the left hand side and look up the residents

You'll find that there are some DO's indeed in the program at USF in Tampa, Florida. You could probably get some information to from them if you are interested in USF.
 
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