Comlex ?

[OnMyWayThere]

Does a DO have to take the Comlex in place of the USMLE? Or take both? I believe the MDs don't take Comlex...

Can you guys clarify?

Thanks...

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[MDmiracle]

I think the way it goes is that all DO's take the comlex and if you want to do an MD residency then you take the USMLE as well.

 

[Claymore]

All DO's must take the COMLEX to receive their license.

DO's can choose to take the USMLE if they wish, but they don't have to. It is technically not required to take the USMLE for an allopathic residency, although some program directors may prefer it. However, many accept the COMLEX.

MS-2
Midwestern University-CCOM

 

[Buster Douglas]

Just to add to what Claymore has said, those DO students that do take the USMLE tend not to take all 3 steps of the USMLE. From what I understand, a lot of these people take only one or two of the USMLE steps for residency programs to better gauge the kind of applicant they're looking at, even if USMLE scores are not required.

 

[Amy B]

Correct me if I'm wrong but VCOM is requiring you take both.

 

[DOtobe]

Originally posted by Amy B
Correct me if I'm wrong but VCOM is requiring you take both.

Why?

 

[Buster Douglas]

Originally posted by Amy B
Correct me if I'm wrong but VCOM is requiring you take both.

"USMLE and COMLEX fees are covered by tuition and fees."

"To become eligible for promotion to the third year, the Student must take Part I of COMLEX and USMLE 1 boards. To become eligible for the fourth year, each third-year student must pass Parts I of the COMLEX National Boards and USMLE. To become eligible for graduation, each fourth-year student must have passed Part II of the National Boards. "

(as taken from http://www.evvcom.org/courses/graduation.php)

If they're gonna pay for it, why the hell not? I would think that osteopathic schools would discourage their students from taking the USMLE to help strengthen the existing DO programs and encourage DOs to work in the "underserved" areas where these hospitals usually exist.

I guess the main objective of any school is to have their graduates succeed and if 100% of your graduates aren't matching then demands aren't being met. Forcing all of your students to take the USMLE would definitely open up more doors for them... but hey, who really knows why they're doing that?

 

[Amy B]

Originally posted by DOtobe
Why?

I think they want to make sure all their students prove they are able to do a DO or and MD residency. Since they are a new school they do have to prove themselves. they are my number #1 choice and I am really hoping for an interview soon

 

[bobo]

Well I for one think this policy is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. It is a DO school for chrissakes! Take DO boards, not MD boards. It is also a step back in getting the COMLEX recognized as equivalent to the USMLE. In effect, VCOM is saying that the COMLEX is not good enough, that our students have take and pass the USMLE in order to prove themselves. garbage!

 

[Buster Douglas]

I, personally, think everyone should just take the USMLE to be licensed physicians, and all DOs should have to take an OMM standardized certification exam or an additional "step" to distinguish themselves rather than possibly taking 6 separate exams/steps.

If it has been established that DOs and MDs are equivalently trained, then why not subject them to the same standards?

 

[Plinko]

Buster,

I see that you are just beginning medical school. While I am only a year ahead of you, I think I might be able to elucidate some reasons why the COMLEX is not the exact equivalent of the USMLE beyond the fact that the COMLEX includes OMM. The national boards do test, for the most part, only factually based medicine. Inherent in many questions, however, such as those that concern treatment options for a specific case/patient, is the intent to test the student's understanding of the osteopathic philosophies of treatment. On this issue the allopaths and the osteopaths can differ significantly at times. This is especially the case when it comes to managing patients pharmacologically versus holistically. When you take pharmacology your second year you will undoubtedly see the difference in the application of theurapeutic tools used by DOs and MDs. At TCOM, we have MDs and DOs teaching us, however, many MDs will say in their lecture, after putting up a powerpoint of a board reveiw series question, something like "I would manage a patient in this manner, but for the COMLEX the appropriate answer would be this."Of course,when one enters the real world these philosophies are subject to change based on an individual's experience. While in medical school, however, if a student wants to do well, they are going to have to adopt the professors' way of thinking, at least until they graduate. I believe that is why the AOA, and the DO schools, firmly support a need for their own test.

 

[DrQuinn]

Originally posted by bobo
Well I for one think this policy is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. It is a DO school for chrissakes! Take DO boards, not MD boards. It is also a step back in getting the COMLEX recognized as equivalent to the USMLE. In effect, VCOM is saying that the COMLEX is not good enough, that our students have take and pass the USMLE in order to prove themselves. garbage!

Part of the reasoning may be behind the Virginia State Legislature. Some states (this may or may not be a possibility) might require the USMLE for all newly licensed physicians. Who knows.

Q, DO

 

[Rev. Horace]

Originally posted by Buster Douglas
I would think that osteopathic schools would discourage their students from taking the USMLE to help strengthen the existing DO programs and encourage DOs to work in the "underserved" areas where these hospitals usually exist.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the amount of DO students graduating greater than the amount of DO residency spots available?? I think I remember reading this in this month's JAMA. So wouldn't it make sense to, instead of strengthening the exisiting residencies, make more of them?? Just a thought.

 

[Buster Douglas]

SDN + Procrastination = Self-rationalization

It would make sense to, instead of strengthening the exisiting residencies, make more of them. I was thinking about that when I previously posted. It's my theory that the biggest problem in osteopathic medicine is that the current DOs with enough experience and clout to set up residency programs are few since it was only in the late 60s and 80s that the acceptance of the osteopathic profession took hold in this country. If the number of eager students far outnumbers the number of DOs qualified to train them, then I think that training these students in allopathic programs and having them then available to start up new residencies in the future is the best way of efficiently expanding opportunities for osteopathic physicians now and in the future.