Career Option

[CruzingIce]

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I was at my high school reunion a couple of days ago and met my old classmate. This guy, although very smart, chose the business route. He was thinking about doing medical but thought investment banking was a more lucrative career option with a larger scope. Now, we are both in our mid 30s and I was just finishing up a master's program in biomedical sciences before I applied to med school next summer. Apparently, he is in the same boat as me. He now realized although money can satisfy his materialistic desires, his passion is to become a doctor. He applies this cycle. He had a 3.92 cGPA and a 37 mcat score. My scores are no where close to his so I'm leaning more towards DO schools. He told me its better not to become a DO because they are always second class citizens in the medical field. He invited me over to dinner next week to discuss more about this. After giving some thought, I am beginning to question that if MD and DO are really the same, why don't they just combine them into one. I never heard of a DO who practices his osteopathic techniques. I am double minded as to applying to the Caribbean and attaining a MD title.

 

[sudo]

Second class in what way? I personally know DOs who own private jets and run their own private practices.

It all depends on what you do with your medical degree that matters.

Sent from my SPH-L720

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

Man this post could not have hit more hot button SDN topics. I'll deduct points for not mentioning Obamacare though.

 

[CruzingIce]

Second class in what way? I personally know DOs who own private jets and run their own private practices.

It all depends on what you do with your medical degree that matters.

Sent from my SPH-L720

What did these DOs do with their degrees? Practicing solely in a medical field won't allow anyone to live with these luxuries. Most doctors who tend to make 7 digits have either earned an MBA or have valuable investments that are contributing heavily to their annual net income.

 

[ClotBuster]

What does he know, hes technically just a pre med like you. All the docs I spoke to said they view DOs as their equals. Now unless you're thinking about soing something super competitive like rad onc, I would suggest going the DO route. And oh yeah, avoid the Caribbean schools like the plague. A quick search through these forums will reveal tons of horror stories from student s who went rhe caribbean route.

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[272727]

Its much more difficult to be an IMG than a graduate of a DO school. Working in a hospital as well as shadowing and volunteering I have never once seen anyone even give a second thought to a DO vs. MD. In fact the head of the ER dept. where I interned, shadowed, and volunteered was a DO. Do what you want to DO and let the haters hate. Research osteopathic medicine for YOURSELF and if you like it still don't look back. Good Luck!

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

He told me its better not to become a DO because they are always second class citizens in the medical field.

96.3% of D.O. graduates are unemployed alcoholics. Obama is making it worse.

 

[talinnlove]

96.3% of D.O. graduates are unemployed alcoholics. Obama is making it worse.

🤣

But seriously though OP. Your classmate may be a nontrad but he's still really just a pre-med. Lack of professional courtesy is usually a red flag for more extensive underlying douchebaggery and lack of understanding (like a lovely lab partner of mine who said that nurses were just people who were too stupid to get in to med school; this same lab partner was getting Ds on every gen chem test we had). Someone who subscribes to and perpetuates that kind of stuff is probably not a good source of career advice for you.

 

[Goro]

Sigh...NOT true, except in the minds of pre-meds.



. He told me its better not to become a DO because they are always second class citizens in the medical field. He invited me over to dinner next week to discuss more about this.

Because the DOs like having a unique take on the practice of Medicine. It's a doctrine, that's all.

After giving some thought, I am beginning to question that if MD and DO are really the same, why don't they just combine them into one. I never heard of a DO who practices his osteopathic techniques.

 

[Mavs88]

Your classmate couldn't be more wrong. Look, there's certainly a difference in philosophy of MD and DO but later on, you can specialize into anything you want! My heart surgeon was a DO and a fine doctor at that.

Don't even consider the Caribbean...you'll be wasting money and time.

Do the research on DO schools and their residencies, go to the pre-osteopathic forum and ask questions.

 

[SN12357]

Man this post could not have hit more hot button SDN topics. I'll deduct points for not mentioning Obamacare though.

Needs a mention of race as well.

 

[circulus vitios]

You will have a hard time matching into highly competitive specialties like ophthalmology, dermatology, or radiation oncology as DO, but you're much more likely to be limited by your own intelligence and work ethic than by the two letters after your name.

(That's just a nice way of saying that, statistically speaking, you're probably not smart enough to match into those fields, even with an MD. Don't be mad -- it's true for the vast majority of us, including me.)