Are my interests better suited for a DO?

[omega8bit]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi all,

I'm sure you guys get these questions all the time, but I'm deciding on what program I will ultimately go for. Of course I will apply to both MD and DO programs, but every time I describe my interests to people, they seem to point me toward a DO path:

I am, and always have been, very interested and fascinated by depression and I would like to go into psychiatry to tackle and treat depression from a medical standpoint. Recently, I have also had a growing interest for nutrition as well, and I would love to do something where I can monitor eating habits and its effects on mental health.
But I don't know... is this too specific? Should I just go back to looking at plain-old psychiatry?

 

[deleted407021]

There's nothing wrong with having specific interests, but don't appear too narrow minded. DOs and MDs both make great psychiatrists. Nutrition is supposed to be something emphasized by the DO side of things, as a lifestyle consideration.

 

[kalat]

You don't seem to have a good understanding of your possible choices. I suggest you do more research on graduate school, DO, and MD. They will all approach your interest in the same way. For psychiatry, the difference between an MD or DO will be negligible because it is not a competitive match and if you want to do research you will probably match to an MD program.

I assume you're not particularly close to the application process? Focus on performing well and creating a good application for all your options. Even if you decide everything and choose medical school you'll have a lot to go through before you get to talk about psychiatry again. For now, this is too specific. Of course, if you go to graduate school you can start investigating right away, and graduate school will require undergraduate research.