Any DOs interested in global health?

[starfar]

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As an applicant this year, I have no clue what my speciality may wind up being.. If I even get in, but I do know that global/international health is in my future.

That said, this seems to be a moot point for DOs because most of the best global health residencies and affiliate hospitals (NYU, Mt. Sinai, Yeshiva, Duke) don't accept DOs. If I know that I want international health.. Should I forgo my DO aspirations?

 

[Mosonik]

As an applicant this year, I have no clue what my speciality may wind up being.. If I even get in, but I do know that global/international health is in my future.

That said, this seems to be a moot point for DOs because most of the best global health residencies and affiliate hospitals (NYU, Mt. Sinai, Yeshiva, Duke) don't accept DOs. If I know that I want international health.. Should I forgo my DO aspirations?

Absolutely not. I'm not sure exactly what about global health interests you but there are DOs in all capacities of what I believe you are referring to... from the public health aspects, NGOs, governmental agencies, etc any option you want to pursue will not be closed to you for the sole aspects of being a DO.

It happens to be that some of the most "recognized" international health programs are also the most competitive due to their prestige but that doesn't mean you will be restricted to pursue your interests. Some of the programs you mention may be out of reach but that isn't due solely to the letters you will earn. And for the record, don't confuse the lack of DOs at places like Duke (specifically) to being DO hostile, it just happens the most competitive applicants haven't been DOs. Major difference.
Work hard and get where you want 🙂

 

[chiddler]

I'm curious about this. Is global health its own discrete residency or is it additional training within a residency? What additional training do they offer physicians?

I'm actively considering the possibility of practicing outside the US after graduating 🙂

 

[hallowmann]

I will also say, that at least at my school the Global medicine club is one of the most active, and there are national DO organizations affiliated with global medicine, so its definitely not something DOs are simply not involved in.

OP, if you think you want a competitive residency, and know you can get into a US MD school, then I'd do that. If not though, you'd have a better chance getting a better residency and doing global medicine as a DO that as an American citizen that goes to a foreign (e.g. Carib) school. This is of course unless you know you want to move, live and practice privately in a country that doesn't recognize DOs, in which case you'd have to verify that they'd recognize your Carib MD. Just because the degree is an "MD" doesn't mean that it will be recognized by the country's medical board as being the same as a US MD degree.

 

[pattr]

I'm curious about this. Is global health its own discrete residency or is it additional training within a residency? What additional training do they offer physicians?

I'm actively considering the possibility of practicing outside the US after graduating 🙂

From my understanding there is no true Global/International Health residency, just residency programs with a global health 'track' or opportunities to go abroad. Though there might be some Preventive Medicine residencies specific to global health but I don't know of any specifically.

 

[Fennec]

As an applicant this year, I have no clue what my speciality may wind up being.. If I even get in, but I do know that global/international health is in my future.

That said, this seems to be a moot point for DOs because most of the best global health residencies and affiliate hospitals (NYU, Mt. Sinai, Yeshiva, Duke) don't accept DOs. If I know that I want international health.. Should I forgo my DO aspirations?

I'm not sure exactly what you are using for criteria as "best global health residencies" for a couple of reasons - first, there is no such thing as a residency in "global health". Family Medicine is a particularly good specialty choice for global health, but people from every field can work internationally and focus their careers on this field. Some residencies have global health *tracks* that can be interesting. Other programs may encourage international rotations. Other programs include didactics to help residents learn global health theories and concepts from a more academic perspective. Others tend to focus on training residents in broad spectrum care to have a skill set useful in underserved areas domestically or internationally. It's also relevant to consider what percentage of a residency's graduates actually practice internationally, full or part time. Because talking the talk is not the same as walking the walk.

All that said, I went to a DO school (Ohio University) and we had a robust international program with regular lectures and trips to Ecuador, El Salvador, Kenya, Honduras (used to have programs in China as well.) There's a chapter there of the AFMSA-IFMSA (International Federation of Medical Student Associations) through which students can do clinical exchanges in something like 100 different countries. A few years ago an OU student did an exchange to Palestine, which I noticed in your profile picture.

At the residency level, again, there are lots of ways to do international work. I'm at one of the "full spectrum" Family Medicine programs where tons of our graduates work all over the world, and I think this is some of the best training I could get to do that. This program happens to be ACGME accredited and it, like many other similar programs, is happy to welcome DO students.

I think one benefit of going DO if you plan to work in international settings is that you have an extra skill set to help care for people with musculoskeletal issues - I actually got interested in osteopathic medicine after working with a DO in Central America who had something more to offer than just celebrex to patients doing heavy physical labor daily.

Good luck to you, wherever you wind up!

 

[costales]

TCOM has an Israel/Palestine Health Elective option:
http://web.unthsc.edu/info/200167/clinical_education/854/international_rotations

 

[chiddler]

thanks for the insight, fennec.