Are there any 5 yr. DO programs?

[Deepa100]

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Please see the subject.

 

[RySerr21]

If you are just going to get your DO degree....then they all the normal 4 years of med school. The onyl reason you would stay an extra 5th year is if you were doing an OMM fellowship, or getting a dual degree like an MPH, MBA, etc. etc.

The only exception of the 4 year rule I can think of is at LECOM where you can actually do this primary care track thing where it only takes you 3 years. I dont konw too many details about it tho

 

[Chocolate Bear]

Please see the subject.

What would the extra year be for? I've heard of all of the following:

1. Taking a few years to pursue a PhD in the middle of med school, even though it wasn't a DO/PhD program upon matriculation.

2. Known learning difficulties, resulting in a slowed down first/second year to consume three years instead of two.

3. Taking a year to pursue research or medical mission work.

4. Time off due to extreme circumstances of illness or other personal issues.

5. Staying for a fifth year to do an OMM fellowship, resulting in pay, one year of loan forgiveness, teaching experience, and extra training in OMM.

 

[rddoms]

Failing a class, and being given the option to drop out or do the decelerated basic sciences route, known as "Fifth yearing".

 

[Deepa100]

Hi Chacolate Bear,
Oh, I don't know. May be to have one more kid. Just considering the possibilities.
Deepa

 

[Chocolate Bear]

Hi Chacolate Bear,
Oh, I don't know. May be to have one more kid. Just considering the possibilities.
Deepa

Gotcha. I really don't think you could take time out in the middle for that. I also don't think any 5 year programs exist that are 5 years from the get-go, which would result in a lighter load throughout the curriculum.

You could attempt to defer for a year, but that probably wouldn't work. I don't think that "having a kid" will fly as your reason. But maybe I'm wrong. I really haven't looked into deferrals. But that may not be the situation you're looking for anyway.

If you tell us what the expected schedule would look like for the 5 years, we could more accurately answer. As you can see, we're taking shots in the dark. 🙂

 

[forks4spoons]

I actually shadowed a DO that went to a school in Michigan (not sure what school) and when she was in school, she took a 5 year program. Of course, this was 14 years ago, so I'm not sure if that program is still in existence..

But, I thought I'd give ya my info on it! 🙂

Good luck!

 

[engineeredout]

YEah just do the three year program at LECOM and bam, suddenly you have an extra year to make babies.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

YEah just do the three year program at LECOM and bam, suddenly you have an extra year to make babies.

LOL 2 years, even!!

 

[Deepa100]

😀I don't even know if I will have one more. I just think through things some times. I know there are some 5 yr. MD programs in some schools.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

😀I don't even know if I will have one more. I just think through things some times. I know there are some 5 yr. MD programs in some schools.

I'm still unclear on what you actually want the curriculum to be. Just a slightly less demanding one, since they spread it out by 25%?

Do you have a link to a program you're thinking about as ideal?

 

[ShyRem]

You can choose to do five years at UNE, but you'll pay the same tuition every year as the other folks do. So you'll end up paying an extra wad of cash for the convenience. Also, you can only decelerate your first two years... rotations cannot be decelerated and you are expected to do the full schedule.

 

[Deepa100]

You can choose to do five years at UNE, but you'll pay the same tuition every year as the other folks do. So you'll end up paying an extra wad of cash for the convenience. Also, you can only decelerate your first two years... rotations cannot be decelerated and you are expected to do the full schedule.

Interesting, thanks!

 

[DrMidlife]

This is called a "decelerated" program, and every school has one, whether they admit it or not. Now, a school like UNE, which is completely up front and organized about their decel program, may or may not actually be more family friendly in general.

 

[ShyRem]

Medical school in general is not "family friendly." You'll constantly be balancing between family and school and not giving either your all. If you're good at this balancing act you'll be able to pull it off. There are plenty of folks who don't do it well and end up failing classes. There are a few that balance things... they pass all their classes but don't honor many, they spend time every day as mom/dad, and they are generally chronically sleep-deprived more than other students (that was me).

There will always be things scheduled during time you had planned for family things. This is med school, and there will be times med school comes first and family comes last. You'll have exams scheduled at times you'll have trouble getting a sitter and your spouse will have to take off work. It happens. At least you're getting the real "been-there-done-that" viewpoint and not a candy-coated version from people not in shoes you'd like to be in (yes, I'm a mom with children and the best husband in the entire world). Make your decisions wisely. An extra year of school can cost you an extra $70K or more.

 

[sexyman]

I cannot even imagine doing this with a family. Kudos to those that pull it off.

 

[Eudjinn]

I cannot even imagine doing this with a family. Kudos to those that pull it off.

QFT...

To be honest, I think it's better to just buckle down and do your sciences in 2 years as they want you to... decelerating down to 3 years may make each year slightly less intense, but you won't complain less I promise you that. You will end up paying an extra XX thousand dollars to PROLONG the "agony" that you can finish in 2 years (agony in quotes because it's not SOOO bad if you like what you're studying).

It's like sports. When you play someone who is good at the game, you push yourself harder and end up playing better than when you play someone who is worse at the game (you slack off). You will be surprised with what you can achieve and how efficiently you will learn to study even with the rigors of 2 years of science that should take 3 or 4 to learn.

Good luck

 

[NontradICUdoc]

As a 2nd year who has 3 kids, I can tell you that having children during medical school is very, very hard. You need to juggle between spending time with you children and studying. There are times, when I need to be studying and the library is closed but I cannot study at home because my kids are all over me. You cannot be mad at them, because they miss you.

If you are talking about having a baby then there are other issues that you need to deal with. Daycare, if you intend to nurse, checkup appointments, late nights, etc. The planning of your family should be very clear. If you intend to go to medical school, it may not be the optimal time to have a baby.

However, you are an adult and know your situation and your abilities better than anyone else and I am sure that you will come up with a plan that is right for you.

 

[Deepa100]

As a 2nd year who has 3 kids, I can tell you that having children during medical school is very, very hard. You need to juggle between spending time with you children and studying. There are times, when I need to be studying and the library is closed but I cannot study at home because my kids are all over me. You cannot be mad at them, because they miss you.

If you are talking about having a baby then there are other issues that you need to deal with. Daycare, if you intend to nurse, checkup appointments, late nights, etc. The planning of your family should be very clear. If you intend to go to medical school, it may not be the optimal time to have a baby.

However, you are an adult and know your situation and your abilities better than anyone else and I am sure that you will come up with a plan that is right for you.

Thanks for your input. I already have a one-year old so, I know what you are talking about. At this point, we are not even sure if we will ever have a second one. Like I said before, I was thinking out loud.

 

[scpod]

....You could attempt to defer for a year, but that probably wouldn't work. I don't think that "having a kid" will fly as your reason. But maybe I'm wrong. I really haven't looked into deferrals. But that may not be the situation you're looking for anyway....

I know several people who have taken a year off for health reasons and come back. Another girl in my class took a year off to take care of her parents. I don't know of any who took off a year to have a baby, but I had several classmates give birth while in school. I don't think that it would be all that much trouble to do....but taking a year off could be detrimental to you because you really need repetition to keep all the material fresh. You could easily forget most of what you learned over a years time.

That said, while some can handle it well, I also know at least one classmate whose grades suffered so much after a new baby that they had to repeat a year. It's a dangerous choice to get pregnant in med school, IMO.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

**** me. Who the hell wants to go to med school for five years?

 

[Bleurberry]

Re: five year program.

PCOM-Philly, for example, offers an OMM undergraduate fellowship that
I'm keen on, that extends your medical schooling out to 5 years. This is a distinct option from the MBA or MPH dual programs, since the extra OMM year isn't something you PAY for.

 

[ShyRem]

UNE has the OMT fellowship too, but it doesn't allow you to take extra time to do your studies, in fact that extra year is a LOT LOT of extra work.

 

[BORNagainSTDENT]

sorry but what is OMT and Im still a little confused about what a fellowship is.

 

[Bleurberry]

sorry but what is OMT and Im still a little confused about what a fellowship is.

OMT is Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy, its a groovy aspect of Osteopathic Medicine you should look into before going on interviews!

 

[JE1986]

OMT is Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy, its a groovy aspect of Osteopathic Medicine you should look into before going on interviews!

No joke...I had an interviewer ask me if I had ever seen OMT and I had NO idea what it was. I looked at her blankly and she said "you don't know what that is do you." I sheepishly said no. So she explained it to me. Then I went into a tangent about how I used to have arthritis and yoga really helped me so I am really into exploring other forms of medicine. I ended up getting in but I was pretty sure that ruined it for me!

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I'd like to know if there are any ten-year DO programs. We had our last anatomy lecture today, and I was just thinking that I could really use a few more years of this ****.

 

[Bleurberry]

That's a riot! I used this story in the past week btw. Where do I send the check?

 

[ShyRem]

I'd like to know if there are any ten-year DO programs. We had our last anatomy lecture today, and I was just thinking that I could really use a few more years of this ****.

get used to that feeling, TT. Thus starts the "eternal study" mode.

 

[sookie]

There is a Bridge program as OSU-COM that is 5 years. The first year is cut into two. You actually don't pay tuition your first year. The catch is that you have to get a grade of 85% or above in your classes the first year or you have to take them again the next year. The program is for non-traditional students and those who are economically disadvantaged, an under-represented minority, or educationally disadvantaged (small town).

 

[Deepa100]

There is a Bridge program as OSU-COM that is 5 years. The first year is cut into two. You actually don't pay tuition your first year. The catch is that you have to get a grade of 85% or above in your classes the first year or you have to take them again the next year. The program is for non-traditional students and those who are economically disadvantaged, an under-represented minority, or educationally disadvantaged (small town).

Great, thanks! I know u of Minn offers a flexible 5 yr. MD at no extra tuition. I don't understand why some people think it is a joke. But they will understand it better once they have a kid or two😀

 

[ShyRem]

Not every parent needs more time to complete undergraduate or med school (says the mother of two). But I do understand how it could make it a bunch easier and a bit more sane.

 

[Deepa100]

Not every parent needs more time to complete undergraduate or med school (says the mother of two). But I do understand how it could make it a bunch easier and a bit more sane.

True, not all parents parent alike either.

 

[ShyRem]

Ouch. I hope that wasn't the insult it seemed to be. (and if it was, you should read some of my posts in non-trad about how to survive med school as a parent.)

 

[Jamers]

Please see the subject.

I think some people have already mentioned it but I am too lazy to read all of the posts. Five year programs do exist for dual degrees (masters or PHD) and also or individuals who have failed a class or two during one of their 4 years and decided to take an extra year to complete these courses.

 

[Jamers]

I'd like to know if there are any ten-year DO programs. We had our last anatomy lecture today, and I was just thinking that I could really use a few more years of this ****.

No matter how many years you spend studying it you will still forget it. I spoke to anatomy professors who said they would read over their own notes a week before giving the lecture because they had forgotten the information already. You too will experience the joy of this while being pimped in the OR on the various blood and nerve supplies. In short: don't stress too much about it.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

No matter how many years you spend studying it you will still forget it. I spoke to anatomy professors who said they would read over their own notes a week before giving the lecture because they had forgotten the information already. You too will experience the joy of this while being pimped in the OR on the various blood and nerve supplies. In short: don't stress too much about it.

Don't worry, he's not.