Choosing an MD vs DO Path..

[futurepatho]

Can really use some input! I am a senior premed student extremely interested in pursuing forensic pathology. I have high GPA, research + paper, shadowing, and awesome extracurriculars. The only thing is my MCAT score is sub-average. I did not have enough time to study for it, and my score reflects this. I applied MD and DO anyways, and got accepted into a DO school. I feel lucky to have gotten into med school in the first place, but I’m worried DO isn’t the right choice for me. Because I want to pursue pathology, I’m worried about competing with MD’s for residency and essentially doing OMM training and having to be re-certified every few years for something I’ll never use. It seems MD is better for specializing, and DO is mainly primary care, internal med, and surgery. Is it worth doing a masters for 2 years, re-studying for the MCAT, and applying MD, or just taking the DO acceptance and facing the hurdles? I am extremely conflicted here - any input would mean so much. Thank you for taking the time to read this!!

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[deleted480308]

Would you pay $400k to trade in a sure thing for the chance to never be a doctor?

 

[Stellaartwa]

Isn’t pathology like the least competitive residency? You should be fine. Not to mention, you could very likely change your mind in med school. Take the acceptance and run. There is no guarantee you’d do better on the MCAT even if you did retake!

 

[futurepatho]

Isn’t pathology like the least competitive residency? You should be fine. Not to mention, you could very likely change your mind in med school. Take the acceptance and run. There is no guarantee you’d do better on the MCAT even if you did retake!

Pathology is certainly not as competitive as others yes, but it’s mainly an MD residency. I’m rather confident I could place a residency site in itself, but not of high quality unless I really get good scores in my classes, exams (COMLEX and USMLE), and likely do research while in med school. I know it’s a risk not taking the acceptance and re-studying for the test, but I know I can certainly do better by at least 5 points than the score I have now. My biggest fear is that I’m settling. I especially worry about OMM and post-graduate DO re-certifications. Is it worth taking the acceptance now just to get in, but face all these hurdles after?

 

[deleted480308]

Pathology is certainly not as competitive as others yes, but it’s mainly an MD residency. I’m rather confident I could place a residency site in itself, but not of high quality unless I really get good scores in my classes, exams (COMLEX and USMLE), and likely do research while in med school. I know it’s a risk not taking the acceptance and re-studying for the test, but I know I can certainly do better by at least 5 points than the score I have now. My biggest fear is that I’m settling. I especially worry about OMM and post-graduate DO re-certifications. Is it worth taking the acceptance now just to get in, but face all these hurdles after?

You don’t know you will do better by 5 points.

 

[Cawolf]

Based on my 5 seconds of research, Stanford is a top program and they have a current DO resident. Mayo has multiple DO residents.

 

[Lucca]

Take the acceptance and run. You’ll be fine for path as DO as long as you do decently in med school

 

[givesumacceptpls]

Guys, sorry to hijack but: Surgery is a DO field????? I thought it was super difficult for a DO to match surgery. As in the case of this thread, I would say matching pathology was way easier than matching gen surg.

 

[freelancePsychic]

Guys, sorry to hijack but: Surgery is a DO field????? I thought it was super difficult for a DO to match surgery. As in the case of this thread, I would say matching pathology was way easier than matching gen surg.

It’s harder but every DO school produces surgeons. Matching pathology is easier for everyone, not just DO.

 

[Isoval]

Pathology is by and large one of the easiest residencies to obtain a position in. Some friends of mine recently joked that all you needed was a pulse and a Step score that isn’t failing. Just to be clear: I’m not trying to bash Pathology, but it’s certainly one of the - if not the - easiest residencies to obtain.

Forgot your notion that it’s an “MD specialty”. That notion is total BS for every speciality. Some specialties - pathology is not one - actively bias against DOs, but no specialty is declared to be “for MDs”.

 

[futurepatho]

Wow, thanks for everyone’s replies!!!! This gave me much peace of mind. Your thoughts and time are much appreciated!

 

[ClinPathDO]

Wow, thanks for everyone’s replies!!!! This gave me much peace of mind. Your thoughts and time are much appreciated!

If you want pathology you can get a good residency from a DO school.