And then there was...The Gimpel...
As a pre-med, you have an idea that there is an AMA and the DOs seem to have their own, very enthusiastic, group of people advocating for them. This sounds very cool and progressive and you look forward to getting a member ID and number; kind of like a bid to join a very exclusive fraternity.
As a med student, you get an email with a journal link every so often and they now send you an e-card on your birthday as a personal touch. They help organize (not sponsor more than rent a few conference rooms at an overpriced hotel) for their national conference (OMED) which the majority of DOs don't go to, House of Delegates, which the majority of med students and DOs definitely don't go to and DO Day on the Hill, which a few students go to and are greeted by the 3rd line secretary from a Congressman's office for exactly 15 minutes, we beg for more residency slots and that's it. Students mainly go to any or all of these to drink and do other fun things between meetings. Sometimes there are long breaks between meetings, use your imagination...
Yay, I'm a resident! The first thing you get is that sort of ominous yellow paper that wants to know everything about you, the residency you're in, a 5 paragraph essay why it wasn't a DO one and all of the contact information of your program so that they can call them and convice them to be dually-accredited about once a month. I hope this part will be over in a few years.
By now, you've taken a COMLEX enough to see how bad of a test it is and that any score beyond passing should mean nothing more than a pass. If you ask anyone if this is a crapshoot of a test, I'm sure you'll get a lot of very creative answers. I was convinced for a short amount of time that the test was indeed offered in French and Yiddish and they sometimes get the appropriate language switched up! Dr. Gimpel has an odd sense of humor if you get to see it in person, regardless.
The AOA has done nothing but make the MD students wonder why you hate them so much when just the opposite is true. They and their programs have welcomed you in with open hearts and laugh about the crazy inner workings of the AOA. By the way, nobody actually votes on the leadership at the AOA. They're picked a few years in advance and paraded around in different committees until the time is right to "elect" them.
And there you go, that's the reality according to one person. I love the DO stuff and feel that I own Muscle Energy, Facilitated Positional Release and Counterstrain most of the time and this has nothing to do with the AOA or NBOME. Giving them surveys that they can bury in private isn't going to help. Getting more public about our concerns and getting more people involved is the only way this will happen. Oh yeah, nobody uses Mercury and Arsenic in the practice of medicine anymore; NOBODY.
OK, back to the Janitor vs. DO thread!