Choosing DO over MD

[angel_doc]

Hey all, weird question here. I am hoping for lots of opinions (especially from DO graduates or physicians) regarding how being a DO really truly is. I sincerely love the philosophy and my top school is a DO. I absolutely love the school. Would picking a DO over an MD school be stupid?

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[holdthemayo]

 

[watermelon master]

use the search tool, this has been discussed ad nauseum

 

[deleted103644]

Hey all, weird question here. I am hoping for lots of opinions (especially from DO graduates or physicians) regarding how being a DO really truly is. I sincerely love the philosophy and my top school is a DO. I absolutely love the school. Would picking a DO over an MD school be stupid?

In general, yes.

 

[Gilbert Syndrome]

Depends. If you want to do primary care, no. Otherwise, yes. It will just make things harder for you.

 

[Osminog]

Hey all, weird question here. I am hoping for lots of opinions (especially from DO graduates or physicians) regarding how being a DO really truly is. I sincerely love the philosophy and my top school is a DO. I absolutely love the school. Would picking a DO over an MD school be stupid?

Mainland US MD > DO, even if you're interested in primary care. It's never a good idea to close important doors for yourself.

 

[angel_doc]

Does this apply even though the residency matches are merging?

 

[angel_doc]

use the search tool, this has been discussed ad nauseum

I tried :-( I saw a lot of DO vs MD but not many people with an MD acceptance asking if they should choose DO. But maybe I just couldn't find it

 

[Osminog]

Does this apply even though the residency matches are merging?

It applies especially since the residency matches are merging. Residencies that used to be exclusively for DOs are now able (and quite often willing) to fill some of their slots with MDs.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Hey all, weird question here. I am hoping for lots of opinions (especially from DO graduates or physicians) regarding how being a DO really truly is. I sincerely love the philosophy and my top school is a DO. I absolutely love the school. Would picking a DO over an MD school be stupid?

Depends, if you want FM, go DO. However, there several specialties that will be an uphill to impossible journey as a DO.
Ortho, neurosurg, IR, to name a few. @Goro has a nice list of DO friendly and not friendly specialties. For me, the only people who were ever nasty to me were other DOs because I did acgme residency and fellowship.The MDs were fine. Whatever you do, you will be judged on your merits and abilities, not your degree,gender, IMG.
I have worked and taught in both worlds.
I have to agree with other posters that outside of primary care specialties, you will be at a disadvantage as a DO. Of course, just being an MD wont get you a neurosurg residency unless you have all of the other boxes checked, High Step 1 score, research, LORs, ECs. Just my experience. Hope this helps a little. Good luck and best wishes

 

[Osminog]

Depends, if you want FM, go DO.

You think pre-meds applying to med school can be certain about what specialty they want to choose? A majority of students switch their preferred specialties at least once during the course of medical school. Even if you're leaning toward FM as a pre-med, you should still choose MD over DO just to keep your options open. DO should always be a backup track.

 

[angel_doc]

Depends, if you want FM, go DO. However, there several specialties that will be an uphill to impossible journey as a DO.
Ortho, neurosurg, IR, to name a few. @Goro has a nice list of DO friendly and not friendly specialties. For me, the only people who were ever nasty to me were other DOs because I did acgme residency and fellowship.The MDs were fine. Whatever you do, you will be judged on your merits and abilities, not your degree,gender, IMG.
I have worked and taught in both worlds.
I have to agree with other posters that outside of primary care specialties, you will be at a disadvantage as a DO. Of course, just being an MD wont get you a neurosurg residency unless you have all of the other boxes checked, High Step 1 score, research, LORs, ECs. Just my experience. Hope this helps a little. Good luck and best wishes

Thank you. A stupid question probably, but why is it harder to get these residencies as a DO? DO vs MD with same board scores & everything, why is there still a preference

 

[angel_doc]

Depends, if you want FM, go DO. However, there several specialties that will be an uphill to impossible journey as a DO.
Ortho, neurosurg, IR, to name a few. @Goro has a nice list of DO friendly and not friendly specialties. For me, the only people who were ever nasty to me were other DOs because I did acgme residency and fellowship.The MDs were fine. Whatever you do, you will be judged on your merits and abilities, not your degree,gender, IMG.
I have worked and taught in both worlds.
I have to agree with other posters that outside of primary care specialties, you will be at a disadvantage as a DO. Of course, just being an MD wont get you a neurosurg residency unless you have all of the other boxes checked, High Step 1 score, research, LORs, ECs. Just my experience. Hope this helps a little. Good luck and best wishes

Where can I find this list?? @Goro

 

[Goro]

Where can I find this list?? @Goro

Do a search for "DO friendly"

 

[angel_doc]

Do a search for "DO friendly"

Found it, thanks! This seems like a lot of options.

Radiology-Diagnostic
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Emergency Medicine
Child Neurology
Internal Medicine
Neurology
Internal Medicine/Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Anesthesiology
Pathology
Pediatrics
Family Medicine
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

 

[Angus Avagadro]

You think pre-meds applying to med school can be certain about what specialty they want to choose? A majority of students switch their preferred specialties at least once during the course of medical school. Even if you're leaning toward FM as a pre-med, you should still choose MD over DO just to keep your options open. DO should always be a backup track.

Yes, I do think many pre meds know what they want to do because i know some of them personally, MDs and DOs. I also know several DOs who could have been accepted at allopathic schools, but chose to be a DO. Sorry if that goes against your narrative of DO always being a back up plan. I do agree with your assessment that more options exist for MDs as I've stated above. That said, just because you have MD behind your name is no guarantee you will score 250 on Step 1 or match in ortho.
You still have to become a competetive applicant, MD or not. Every year, MDs dont match after SOAP. As far as going FM , in my opinion you are going to be better equipped as a FM doc as a DO. So why go the MD route for FM?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Would picking a DO over an MD school be stupid?

As a DO student... yes it would be very stupid.

This seems like a lot of options.

What you don't see is the drastic difference in the type of program matched. A DO and an MD with the exact same application will have very different profiles of programs that they can match at.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Thank you. A stupid question probably, but why is it harder to get these residencies as a DO? DO vs MD with same board scores & everything, why is there still a preference

Lots of reasons. Program directors ego, old biases, med school alums whose kids didn't match after paying 4 yrs tuition. I know several programs like that
The solution is to apply to DO friendly programs like the Cleveland clinic. It's not all doom and gloom if you want to be a DO specialist, as some on SDN would make you think. They have trouble dealing with the fact they couldn't get an MD behind their name, so they vent on this forum. Bottom line, med school is what you make it. If you are a competetive applicant, you should match, keyword being competetive, depending on the residency. Some of those requirements are incredibly high.Good luck and best wishes

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Hey all, weird question here. I am hoping for lots of opinions (especially from DO graduates or physicians) regarding how being a DO really truly is. I sincerely love the philosophy and my top school is a DO. I absolutely love the school. Would picking a DO over an MD school be stupid?

Yes, if we're talking about a US MD school.

Even though I'm proud of my degree, accomplishment and profession, there's really no reason why to close doors for yourself into the future. It's not only "what" you can match. It's also where and with what effort. Working twice as hard for half the gain is not smart.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Yes, I do think many pre meds know what they want to do because i know some of them personally, MDs and DOs. I also know several DOs who could have been accepted at allopathic schools, but chose to be a DO. Sorry if that goes against your narrative of DO always being a back up plan. I do agree with your assessment that more options exist for MDs as I've stated above. That said, just because you have MD behind your name is no guarantee you will score 250 on Step 1 or match in ortho.
You still have to become a competetive applicant, MD or not. Every year, MDs dont match after SOAP. As far as going FM , in my opinion you are going to be better equipped as a FM doc as a DO. So why go the MD route for FM?

I fully agree there are people that chose to go to DO school over MD, but you're warping facts here.

There's nothing to indicate you're better equipped as a DO to be a FM doc compared to any MD.

Your statements about residency in a subsequent post are nonsensical. Having an MD does make it easier to match certain specialties. Nobody is saying that it will be guaranteed or easy as an MD, but you bet an MD with similar stats or a bit lower will have greater chances than any DO into that specialty. Yes, there are DO friendly programs, but by definition all programs are MD friendly, so that means you will always be at a disadvantage.

 

[nimbus]

Peruse the residency forums and check the resident rosters of programs where you have an interest.


In the anesthesia forum we get many WAMC threads. They generally go like this...

MD with 250 steps—> competitive for every top program

DO with 250 steps—> good shot at solid mid tier program. Appy widely. Many/most top 20 programs will still not consider you.

MD with 220 steps—> good shot at solid mid tier program. Apply widely.

DO with 220 steps—> apply widely but have a backup specialty.

MD makes things much more accessible even though anesthesia is a DO friendly specialty.

 

[Osminog]

Found it, thanks! This seems like a lot of options.

Radiology-Diagnostic
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Emergency Medicine
Child Neurology
Internal Medicine
Neurology
Internal Medicine/Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Anesthesiology
Pathology
Pediatrics
Family Medicine
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

In all of these specialties, MDs have better match rates than DOs (anesthesiology: 96% vs. 91%; diagnostic radiology: 90% vs. 84%; EM: 92% vs. 84%; pediatrics: 99% vs. 90%; etc.). Some specialties may be "DO friendly," but they are still friendlier to MDs. And don't forget that slots at top programs in noncompetitive specialties (with the notable exception of PM&R) are still generally reserved for MDs, so DOs are usually vying for the low- and mid-tier spots that many MDs treat as backups.

 

[Johnny Appleseed]

Like I've said before...

You will understand what people mean by"fit" when you interview and apply. You should go to the school that is the best "fit" for you. It took about 5 seconds for my wife and I to realize our family would not enjoy the MD life living in Chicago or New Orleans (we are both from small towns). I don't love research and I didn't vibe with atmosphere at the MD schools where I interviewed. I chose DO because of where the schools are located, their focus on supplying community docs instead of academics, and the "vibe" of the school. Would I rather have the MD initials? Sure. Do I think OMM is awesome? Not really. But those were not on the top of my list of important factors in a school, they were near the bottom. I received MD acceptances, but chose DO because it was a much better fit for myself and my family. That said, MD will certainly open more doors and provide you with more resources. Many people do go DO as a back up, but that is not the case for everyone. I'm 100% happier living in a small town, going to a mid-tier residency, and working as a community doc for the rest of my life than living in a huge city gunning for a top 20 residency and working in academics.

 

[Ho0v-man]

MD every time. All the time. No matter what. Med school is hard AF no matter where you go. There’s absolutely no reason to take 2 sets board exams, an extra class that sucks away free time (OMM), and, with very rare exception, pay more for your medical degree, all to be given less career opportunities bc of the letters after your name unless that’s your only choice.

Either way you’re signing up to run a marathon. Why strap a weight to your back if you don’t have to?

— A DO student

 

[BluegrassBuckeye]

Also a DO student here. Unless you've spent a significant amount of time shadowing a DO who routinely uses OMT and your heart is set on doing that as well, there is no reason to pick DO over MD if accepted to both. That being said, I'm not a self loathing DO student with an inferiority complex. I don't have any shame or embarrassment over calling myself and Osteopathic medical student and I feel I'm receiving a great medical education at my school (especially now that I'm out on rotations at quality sites with MD students and I'm able to compare myself and my classmates to them). However, it would be silly to limit yourself for no reason and unfortunately, fair or not, you are limited as a DO applicant compared to an MD when it comes to residency acceptance. People with much, much more experience than me will almost all agree on that point.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

In all of these specialties, MDs have better match rates than DOs (anesthesiology: 96% vs. 91%; diagnostic radiology: 90% vs. 84%; EM: 92% vs. 84%; pediatrics: 99% vs. 90%; etc.). Some specialties may be "DO friendly," but they are still friendlier to MDs. And don't forget that slots at top programs in noncompetitive specialties (with the notable exception of PM&R) are still generally reserved for MDs, so DOs are usually vying for the low- and mid-tier spots that many MDs treat as backups.

Thanks for posting those interesting match stats. I would like my. chances for matching with84 to 90+% chance of matching. So it's not all doom and gloom, with MDs about only 5 to8 % advantage with respect to matching. With respect to top tier programs, there no guarantee you will be a top tier doc when you get out. I mentioned in another post one of my attendings was an MD, PhD from Columbia. A walking textbook, who couldn't apply it. He was terrible. I would only recommend him to take care of my Mother on Law! But those match stats were interesting, thanks again for posting them

 

[ciestar]

Ive got to ask.. what “DO philosophy” are you referring to? The “holistic” and treat the whole patient approach that DO schools tell you MD’s don’t do?

Not true. Philosophy is the same. DO students learn OMM, that is the difference.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

With respect to top tier programs, there no guarantee you will be a top tier doc when you get out. I mentioned in another post one of my attendings was an MD, PhD from Columbia. A walking textbook, who couldn't apply it. He was terrible. I would only recommend him to take care of my Mother on Law!

This literally has nothing to do with what we are talking about, it's a complete strawman.

Not true. Philosophy is the same. DO students learn OMM, that is the difference.

MDs are clearly pill and surgery pushing academics who don't care about patients. DO's on the other hand, now we are the true physician. We are so skilled we can feel your fused cranial bones move on palpation. We are the DOctors that DO, your CT doesn't know how patients feel, but we DO.

















/s

 

[angel_doc]

In all of these specialties, MDs have better match rates than DOs (anesthesiology: 96% vs. 91%; diagnostic radiology: 90% vs. 84%; EM: 92% vs. 84%; pediatrics: 99% vs. 90%; etc.). Some specialties may be "DO friendly," but they are still friendlier to MDs. And don't forget that slots at top programs in noncompetitive specialties (with the notable exception of PM&R) are still generally reserved for MDs, so DOs are usually vying for the low- and mid-tier spots that many MDs treat as backups.

Wow those percentages are higher than I thought

 

[zaitoun]

Hey all, weird question here. I am hoping for lots of opinions (especially from DO graduates or physicians) regarding how being a DO really truly is. I sincerely love the philosophy and my top school is a DO. I absolutely love the school. Would picking a DO over an MD school be stupid?

Just follow your heart and go with what "best fits" you and your overall personality. MDs are generally preferred over DOs only because osteopathic medicine is newer and the schools aren't as established as MD schools so you'll struggle more depending on the specialty you're wanting to get into. With that said, just because one is an MD doesn't mean everything will be flying colors for them.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

This literally has nothing to do with what we are talking about, it's a complete strawman.


MDs are clearly pill and surgery pushing academics who don't care about patients. DO's on the other hand, now we are the true physician. We are so skilled we can feel your fused cranial bones move on palpation. We are the DOctors that DO, your CT doesn't know how patients feel, but we DO.

















/s

 

[DrMcCoyDO]

Does this apply even though the residency matches are merging?

I went to a good DO school that’s on most people’s lists of top DO schools; my school had (and still has) research staff/faculty who helped place students with research opportunities during school; I’m at an AOA program about to be ACGME certified at exactly the kind of hospital I hoped to train at when I was a student. With all that being said, go to an MD school over DO; the opportunities are vastly better at almost any MD than those available at almost any DO school, and the philosophical difference between MD & DO, honestly, no longer exists; at this point, it is just the invention of the AOA, designed to fill seats.

 

[angel_doc]

I went to a good DO school that’s on most people’s lists of top DO schools; my school had (and still has) research staff/faculty who helped place students with research opportunities during school; I’m at an AOA program about to be ACGME certified at exactly the kind of hospital I hoped to train at when I was a student. With all that being said, go to an MD school over DO; the opportunities are vastly better at almost any MD than those available at almost any DO school, and the philosophical difference between MD & DO, honestly, no longer exists; at this point, it is just the invention of the AOA, designed to fill seats.

Do you mind me asking what DO school that is? I'll PM you

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Complete strawman? Not hardly, unless the /s at the end was for this also. If not, everyone gets caught up in the pedigree game. If you want to be an academic, do research, and want to talk about taking care of people, by all means, gun for those upper tier programs. If you want to actually take care of patients, that is where mid tier programs excel. Nobody wants to watch a Harvard trained gastroenterologist take an hour to remove a polyp. In the real world, clinical skills are as important as the ivy league residency, maybe more. You dont need to go to Harvard to be board certified. My point is you dont need a TopTier residency to be excellent. The pedigree game is only important to the people who trained there

 

[Ho0v-man]

Wow those percentages are higher than I thought

While it’s true that you can match these fields with an MD or DO, this doesn’t account for the tier of the program. The exact same app that an MD has to match a mid tier program in a moderately competitive field would land a DO in a community program. Granted, the tier whoring on SDN is stupidly overblown but it’s kind of a kick in the teeth to not have much say over where you train/live for several years bc of those letters.

 

[zaitoun]

bottom line: how you rise to the top or fall to the bottom of your training is on YOU, not your degree initials.

 

[nimbus]

bottom line: how you rise to the top or fall to the bottom of your training is on YOU, not your degree initials.

This is absolutely true. But if my child came to me with acceptances to both and asking my advice, there is no doubt what my answer would be. I’ve been out in real world private practice for over 20 years, not academia. I work with a few very highly regarded DO’s, all of whom came through the military. They are excellent. Still they had a tougher road and fewer training options than their MD counterparts.

 

[nimbus]

Complete strawman? Not hardly, unless the /s at the end was for this also. If not, everyone gets caught up in the pedigree game. If you want to be an academic, do research, and want to talk about taking care of people, by all means, gun for those upper tier programs. If you want to actually take care of patients, that is where mid tier programs excel. Nobody wants to watch a Harvard trained gastroenterologist take an hour to remove a polyp. In the real world, clinical skills are as important as the ivy league residency, maybe more. You dont need to go to Harvard to be board certified. My point is you dont need a TopTier residency to be excellent. The pedigree game is only important to the people who trained there

I don’t know about GI, but in cardiac anesthesia, the big name ivory tower programs (e.g. Duke, Columbia, Brigham) have some of the best clinical training as well. They are not always mutually exclusive. And the graduating fellows are highly regarded by private practices.

 

[workaholic181]

While there are a ton of specialties that are "DO friendly" @AnatomyGrey12 is absolutely right that the quality of the residency match between a DO school and any MD is a lot different. Compare Pcom (great do) to any MD school in psych, FM, peds and you'll see what I mean. Too often in the DO threads on here, people say MD only matters if you want to do derm or family medicine at mass general. That's far from the case. There are fields it matters less in (FM) but DO bias exists. Have you been to this dream DO school? I suggest touring it and a nearby MD school just to get a breadth of how different the opportunities and facilities at each can be.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Complete strawman? Not hardly, unless the /s at the end was for this also. If not, everyone gets caught up in the pedigree game. If you want to be an academic, do research, and want to talk about taking care of people, by all means, gun for those upper tier programs. If you want to actually take care of patients, that is where mid tier programs excel. Nobody wants to watch a Harvard trained gastroenterologist take an hour to remove a polyp. In the real world, clinical skills are as important as the ivy league residency, maybe more. You dont need to go to Harvard to be board certified. My point is you dont need a TopTier residency to be excellent. The pedigree game is only important to the people who trained there

The notion that top tier/ivory tower/whatever you want to call them residencies = worse clinical training and patient care is inaccurate. You can get extremely solid clinical training at a wide range of residencies, but automatically equating pedigree and poor training is flawed. Again, that's not to say that pedigree and excellent clinical training correlate necessarily either. It often varies program to program and changes with specialty.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Complete strawman? Not hardly, unless the /s at the end was for this also. If not, everyone gets caught up in the pedigree game.

Yes a complete straw man because never in this entire conversations has anyone been talking about how good of a doctor you will be at the end.

If you want to be an academic, do research, and want to talk about taking care of people, by all means, gun for those upper tier programs. If you want to actually take care of patients, that is where mid tier programs excel. Nobody wants to watch a Harvard trained gastroenterologist take an hour to remove a polyp. In the real world, clinical skills are as important as the ivy league residency, maybe more. You dont need to go to Harvard to be board certified. My point is you dont need a TopTier residency to be excellent. The pedigree game is only important to the people who trained there

Wow dude that’s a broader brush than the one Bob Ross used to paint his happy trees. If that’s what you want to tell yourself to feel better about it then ok.... but it still literally has nothing to do with what we are talking about.

bottom line: how you rise to the top or fall to the bottom of your training is on YOU, not your degree initials.

FFS people no one is saying you’ll be a crappy doc if you go DO. Becoming a good doc is on you.

BUT, and this is the big but, the simple fact is that your average USMD will have greater residency options than your average DO. More options in terms of specialty, more options in terms of location, more option in terms of academic vs community, and yes, perhaps even greater options in terms of quality of training.

For these reasons it is dumb to attend a DO school when you have an MD acceptance in hand.

I’ve never understood why people act like this is so controversial...

 

[workaholic181]

Going to an allopathic school isn't just about research and getting into upper tier residencies in FM or peds. It's givi g yourself the best chance to match into what you want at the program you want in the location you want. The people in this thread intimating that going MD means youre gunning for research or a cushy academic job in a huge city are totally off base. People considering DO read these threads and those overgeneralizations can lead people to having unrealistic expectations. It is a fact that having an MD maximizes your chances of getting whatever it is you want in medicine. It matter less in some fields (like FM). For what it's worth I don't think it's fair. My DO friends work just as hard as I do. Med school is really difficult, why slog through the same amount of work (arguably more) to get a degree that is not as valued as a comparable training regimen?

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Peruse the residency forums and check the resident rosters of programs where you have an interest.


In the anesthesia forum we get many WAMC threads. They generally go like this...

MD with 250 steps—> competitive for every top program

DO with 250 steps—> good shot at solid mid tier program. Appy widely. Many/most top 20 programs will still not consider you.

MD with 220 steps—> good shot at solid mid tier program. Apply widely.

DO with 220 steps—> apply widely but have a backup specialty.

MD makes things much more accessible even though anesthesia is a DO friendly specialty.

Do they think they are living 20 years ago? I've seen people match anesthesia in CA with a 200 on their USMLE. It's not a competitive field at all anymore.

 

[nimbus]

Do they think they are living 20 years ago? I've seen people match anesthesia in CA with a 200 on their USMLE. It's not a competitive field at all anymore.

I agree anesthesia is not a competitive specialty and it actually never has been. At one point in the late 1990s it was wide open and unfilled. But I find it hard to believe you’ve actually seen “people” do this. Which California program? And were they MD or DO? I’ve been at this a long time and have not encountered a single DO that came out of any California anesthesia program except Naval Med Center San Diego. I would guess at most 1% of anesthesia residents in California are DOs.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I agree anesthesia is not a competitive specialty and it actually never has been. At one point in the late 1990s it was wide open and unfilled. But I find it hard to believe you’ve actually seen “people” do this. Which California program? And were they MD or DO? I’ve been at this a long time and have not encountered a single DO that came out of any California anesthesia program except Naval Med Center San Diego. I would guess at most 1% of anesthesia residents in California are DOs.

I don't want to announce this person's program because then it's easy for someone to google the residents and then make assumptions based on knowing what school I attended. I don't know what to tell you, but it has been done. It's clearly not UCSF or whatever the top program is, but they are decent programs. Not kidding about the 200 either.

 

[zaitoun]

Going to an allopathic school isn't just about research and getting into upper tier residencies in FM or peds. It's givi g yourself the best chance to match into what you want at the program you want in the location you want. The people in this thread intimating that going MD means youre gunning for research or a cushy academic job in a huge city are totally off base. People considering DO read these threads and those overgeneralizations can lead people to having unrealistic expectations. It is a fact that having an MD maximizes your chances of getting whatever it is you want in medicine. It matter less in some fields (like FM). For what it's worth I don't think it's fair. My DO friends work just as hard as I do. Med school is really difficult, why slog through the same amount of work (arguably more) to get a degree that is not as valued as a comparable training regimen?

it's not less valued once you start practicing. one of the best orthopedic surgeons in my state is a DO and he's very well respected. he also went to LECOM which has a bad reputation among med students. so again, yes, as a DO it's a greater struggle but ultimately it depends on you.

 

[workaholic181]

it's not less valued once you start practicing. one of the best orthopedic surgeons in my state is a DO and he's very well respected. he also went to LECOM which has a bad reputation among med students. so again, yes, as a DO it's a greater struggle but ultimately it depends on you.

Where did I say it was less valued once you get into residency? I was clearly referring to matching. I've worked with tons of DOs who were great physicians. They would also (especially the few in surgery) tell you straight up its better for your career to be an MD due to the reality of matching as a DO. The anecdotal "hey I know a DO derm" is also misleading. Yes they exist. Yes it's possible to get into a ultra competitive residency as a DO. But even the DOs in those spots will tell you it's much more straight forward as an MD.
So cycling back to the whole point of this thread, choosing DO over MD is almost always a poor decision. There is the above poster who chose DO for family reasons and I totally support that. But barring huge considerations such as those the discrepancy in matching and the extra stuff you have to put up with being a DO student means it's not worth it picking over MD.

 

[zaitoun]

i wonder how the experience is like for foreign MD students such as those from caribbean schools

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

it's not less valued once you start practicing. one of the best orthopedic surgeons in my state is a DO and he's very well respected. he also went to LECOM which has a bad reputation among med students. so again, yes, as a DO it's a greater struggle but ultimately it depends on you.

Yeah... once again a complete straw man that has nothing to do with this discussion.

i wonder how the experience is like for foreign MD students such as those from caribbean schools

It’s terrible. What does that have to do with absolutely anything discussed in this thread?

 

[Johnny Appleseed]

Going to an allopathic school isn't just about research and getting into upper tier residencies in FM or peds. It's givi g yourself the best chance to match into what you want at the program you want in the location you want. The people in this thread intimating that going MD means youre gunning for research or a cushy academic job in a huge city are totally off base. People considering DO read these threads and those overgeneralizations can lead people to having unrealistic expectations. It is a fact that having an MD maximizes your chances of getting whatever it is you want in medicine. It matter less in some fields (like FM). For what it's worth I don't think it's fair. My DO friends work just as hard as I do. Med school is really difficult, why slog through the same amount of work (arguably more) to get a degree that is not as valued as a comparable training regimen?

There is much more to picking a school than what everyone generalizes and says on these forums. I chose DO over MD and would do it again in a heartbeat simply because my school is far and away a better fit for me and situation. I totally agree that MD schools are superior, offer more resources, and provide more opportunities, but things like location, family, and "fit" can trump the other factors as it did in my situation. In some cases DO can give you a better chance at what you want in medicine. In my case going DO gives me a better chance at the programs I want and the locations I want for residency because those residencies take majority DOs and many students from my school every year.

In general MD>>DO. When we get to discussing people specific situations that generalization does not apply. I really don't think going to Tulane or Penn State just for the MD would help me match at current AOA residency programs in in the West near my family. In fact I think it would make it more difficult because I would be further away and unable to make the same connections I am making know through my school's alumni at those residencies and faculty that are well connected to program directors at those residencies.

I think we are mostly in agreement, but I think these forums are generalized and telling people MD>DO in every case just isn't right. I went DO over MD, but that doesn't mean I have unrealistic expectations or that I am lowering my chances for what I want. If your dream school is DO and offers more pros than cons than another MD school go for it as long as you know what your getting.