AOA, a pain in the back side

[acurarte]

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Is it just me or do others feel as though the AOA is biting themselves in the rear by making it so difficult to get AOA approval for ACGME programs? I almost feel allienated though I have a strong desire to be part of the AOA.

 

[pags]

I look at the AOA like this... If they don't want me back after my AOA internship and allopathic training, fug em'. They don't deserve me.

 

[JJ4]

Just outta curiosity -- how does go about getting into AOA?? Also what about the schools that don't have AOA?? I don't get it.

 

[Pilot Doc]

JJ4,

I think you're (very understandably) confusing the two medical AOA's.

#1 Alpha Omega Alpha - the allopathic (M.D.) med school honor society. Fairly analagous to Phi Beta Kappa. You get in by high grades/scores

#2 American Osteopathic Association - the AMA for DO's. (Correct me if I'm wrong here DO's) This is the sense used in the current post.

 

[Mr. happy clown guy]

pilot doc you are exactly right...except the AOA (osteopathic) is like the AMA and the ACGME wrapped into one. The AOA is not only political, but also regulatory for the osteopathic profession. It is the "all seeing, all knowing eye in the sky" for D.O.'s. It is like the overprotective mother, that won't let her kid play in the snow, rain, heat, mud, dark, or on the swingset...for fear of injury. The American Osteopathic Association is so restrictive that it has hurt those it attempts to protect.

Thank you.

 

[Ice Man]

Amen Brother Clown Guy....Amen

 

[doughboy]

I'm with you on that!

 

[realruby2000]

wtf is all this aoa crap i always hear about from DO's? What the hell is it exactly and why do people bitch about it so much? All i know is that they dont let you practice in 5 states if u dont do a rotating internship....is this all that the complaining is about? what else sucks ass about the AOA?

 

[Careofme]

So has anyone in a ACGME/AMA residency applied to get AOL approval of an intership year and was successful? Do some specialties have better luck than other ones?

Careofme

 

[Careofme]

Whoops...I mean "AOA" not 'AOL' - (although some might argue they sometimes act like an ISP!! :wink: )

Careofme

 

[rtk]

Amen brother, the AOA is a serious pain in the @$$

When I started my PGY-1 IM year (ACGME) I petitioned the AOA for credit towards the Intership requirment. Took several months to just get a response from the AOA, then they said they had to send a review committee to my program to see if it met w/ AOA standards... (This coming from the the governing body that approves residency positions at hospitals where the house staff population is greater than the patient census.) Long story short, the review committee never arrived and my persuit of AOA approval for my 1st year of training has never been reviewed after over a year of contacting the AOA.

It's remarkable that the AOA launches the Unity campaign, while at the same time alienating over 1/2 of the graduating DO's every year with their archaic regulations. If the AOA truly wants Unity among DO's they need to change the policies that devide us in the first place. This is an arguable point for sure, but some of the best and brightest DO's match into ACGME programs and are thusly removed from the AOA ranks.

If the AOA wants national recognition for DO's, they should encourage DO graduates to pursue the best post-graduate training they can get. I saw some of the top students in my class go to little DO hospitals because they were worried about those AOA policies (when they could have matched in top-flight programs anywhere in the country).

We need young and motivated DO's in AOA politics and oust the old-school DO's that are in top positions currently...