Did anyone choose a DO acceptance over an MD acceptance? Why?

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ahaydt said:
Its so difficult to find work that I found approximately 290 doctors of osteopathic medicine (being PC) listed on www.aoao.org. Sheesh. They're even handling ortho trauma and spine cases. No employment, my ass. 24 are in PA alone.
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Hmm, there are definitely more than 290 who've graduated from AOA programs.....maybe it is hard to get employment? I have no idea.
 
Lokhtar said:
Hmm, there are definitely more than 290 who've graduated from AOA programs.....maybe it is hard to get employment? I have no idea.
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I don't know that there are over 290 currently practicing D.O ortho docs...I dunno.

To get back on topic:

I am likely choosing a DO school over an MD school. I've been accepted at LECOM-Bradenton and have interviewed at a couple of my state schools, but have not heard yet. I have talked to the President and Dean of one, and both told me I'm in. I am still likely attending LECOM for the following reasons:

1. Area - It's a great city. Not just the weather, but overall. My wife and my 6 year old daughter loved it. We would be happy LIVING there. Same cannot be said for the other cities.

2. PBL curriculum - Say what you like about PBL, but for me, it's great. I think the "real world" application of material really gives it a great context in which to learn. Also, the flexibility of the schedule is great for family life.

3. Rotations - Many people count this as a DO school negative, but there are upsides. Most of the rotations are at smaller hospitals, sure...but the advantage of this is that you get to do more stuff. To me, that seems superior to being at the bottom of a long list of other people trying to learn. Although there is slightly more travel involved.

4. Initials - I don't really care. The data shows that if you work hard you can have any specialty you want. Period.

5. OMM - Not #1, but I feel it can be helpful. Even if I go the MD route, I might take some CE classes...depends what specialty I decide on.

6. Cost - LECOM-B is actually cheaper than one of my state schools and comparable with the other. And, the rent is a good bit cheaper. Here, I can get a 2 bed room townhouse in a blah neighborhood. There, a 3BR house with a pool in a screened in lanai.

That's just a few of my reasons for why I might pick DO over MD. I have not decided 100%. I'm waiting for my official offers to roll in before making my final decisions. That being said, I've paid my deposit so...

Point is, there are ALOT of reasons to choose a DO school over an MD one.
 
They need our wisdom over in the 40-year-old-virgin (allo) forum, stat!

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=488045

"...crippling your career as a DO... You'll spend the rest of your life bitter about not getting an arguably superior education and degree."???

What a bunch of horse****. Where the **** do these idiot pre-meds come from?
 
VictorsLilSecrt said:
As irritating as it may seem to those here, I will go to 3 Carib schools over any DO school. Don't hate me for it.
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Laugh ... enjoy your life. I'd explain to you how 100% wrong you are, had you not already been put on probation (I think that speaks for itself - As do numbers of Carib fail out rates, average stats, board failures, and failures to place).
 
On another note, I had a friend that went to vet school in the Carrib, and HATED it. She said it was great for the first month or so, then the crappiness of island life sets in and it SUCKS...Having vacationed there, I could imagine. It's not much fun leaving your posh resort. They are some really, really poor countries...
 
digitlnoize said:
On another note, I had a friend that went to vet school in the Carrib, and HATED it. She said it was great for the first month or so, then the crappiness of island life sets in and it SUCKS...Having vacationed there, I could imagine. It's not much fun leaving your posh resort. They are some really, really poor countries...
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I just always think of the Carib as ... you are training to be a US medical doctor, outside of the US. Just thinking about it for 2 seconds sounds sketch. (Note: I'm not trying to be anti-Carib, I know some good docs come from there.)
 
As a punishment from the gods for his trickery, Sisyphus was compelled to roll a huge rock up a steep hill, but before he reached the top of the hill, the rock always escaped him and he had to begin again (Odyssey, xi. 593). The maddening nature of the punishment was reserved for Sisyphus due to the mortal's hubristic belief that his cleverness surpassed that of Zeus. Sisyphus took the bold step of reporting one of Zeus's sexual conquests, telling the river god Asopus of the whereabouts of his daughter Aegina. Zeus had taken her away, and regardless of the impropriety of Zeus's frequent conquests, Sisyphus unmistakably overstepped his bounds by considering himself a peer of the gods who could rightfully report their indiscretions (Edith Hamilton's Mythology, 312-313). As a result, Zeus displayed his own cleverness by binding Sisyphus to an eternity of frustration. Accordingly, pointless or interminable activities are often described as Sisyphean. Sisyphus was a common subject for ancient writers and was depicted by the painter Polygnotus on the walls of the Lesche at Delphi (Pausanias x. 31).
 
Lkhtar

On that other thread at the pre-md forum, it got closed before I pointed out that, approved positions does not equal funded positions. A program could have a given number of "approved positions" that it could turn into funded, however the number that matters is the funded positions number - which is not provided on that PDF link you posted. So the numbers of unfilled positions is smaller due to that difference only.
 
...
 
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Here's my two cents and then I'm going to leave this thread alone...


MD vs DO is your decision. I applied to all allopathic schools except for MSUCOM and withdrew my applications almost as soon as I learned I was accepted. I personally felt more welcome at MSUCOM and though my stats would have probably gotten me into an MD school if I had waited, I'm personally not a Type A person. I don't care what the initials after my name are as long as I'm a doctor.

I've said this in a few threads, but Michigan State has a unique opportunity in having both a DO and an MD school. For the first two years, all core classes are joint between COM and CHM and the only classes that COM doesn't take with CHM the first semester are OMM and Physician-Patient Relations... Also, the last two years are incredibly similar, and from what I can tell, COM is actually a bit more flexible in your rotations (and have more base hospitals).

Also, at Michigan State, the DO/PhD program has been around a lot longer than the MD/PhD and in this case there might actually be better research opportunities by going DO.

So in the end, research the schools you're going to. If it's between a good osteopathic school and an okay allopathic school, I would go DO. Of course, almost everything comes down to money, so tuition is probably the final factor.
 
I chose not to go Carib MD (accepted SGU last year) and applied to DO this year. Basically, I'm hoping to get accepted at Nova (this week PLEASE) and go there. I've yet to hear back from FSU, the only MD school to which I submitted a secondary. If I get into FSU and Nova I'll really have to think about which one I'll go to. There was a time when I thought it'd be an easy decision to go MD, but now I'm not convinced the 4 years of medical school education you'd receive at a large state institution are any better than what you'd get at a good DO school. Patient care is the primary focus of pretty much every DO school. I hate to say it, but that can't be said for every MD school. At many large institutions research is king... and that's ok. If it weren't for research medicine would never advance. I personally am not interested in research so that doesn't mean a whole lot to me. What matters to me is getting an education that best allows me to care for patients. If you look at it that way, it's really hard to see DO as 2nd best.


Oh, and my science GPA is 3.41 and my MCAT is 32. My dad is a physician(MD) and I've worked in a hospital, shadowed physicians, etc. So while I wasn't super competitive at a lot of MD schools, being accepted at one certainly wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Just felt like I'd fit in at Nova, so I kinda decided that's where I want to go. (And I really wish they'd hurry up with the decision already.)
 
VictorsLilSecrt said:
The good ol' boy got this one dead wrong. AOA grads are not eligible to sit for many of the ACGME boards. That's why they're largely marginalized, and have employment problems. I'm truly amazed that someone so far into an osteopathic education does not know (or does not want to admit to knowing) this.
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Would you be able to show the proof of this? That DO's have "employment problems"?
 
Kaustikos said:
Would you be able to show the proof of this? That DO's have "employment problems"?
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Of course not. 'Cause its blatantly untrue.

Don't even pander to Victor's level of nonsense by engaging him.

bth
 
This conversations sucks...it smells like week old cr*p

Who cares if people chose DO over MD or MD over DO!

Go whichever route you want. If you really want answers about which is "better," go talk to some real physicians, not a bunch of pre-meds who don't know up from down (excluding actual med students).

I for one chose DO over MD. And yes, I am a super-competitive applicant...
 
bluemonkey said:
This conversations sucks...it smells like week old cr*p

Who cares if people chose DO over MD or MD over DO!

Go whichever route you want. If you really want answers about which is "better," go talk to some real physicians, not a bunch of pre-meds who don't know up from down (excluding actual med students).

I for one chose DO over MD. And yes, I am a super-competitive applicant...
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I respectively disagree. This conversation smells more like year old cr*p.
 
Nuch said:
Here's my two cents and then I'm going to leave this thread alone...


MD vs DO is your decision. I applied to all allopathic schools except for MSUCOM and withdrew my applications almost as soon as I learned I was accepted. I personally felt more welcome at MSUCOM and though my stats would have probably gotten me into an MD school if I had waited, I'm personally not a Type A person. I don't care what the initials after my name are as long as I'm a doctor.

I've said this in a few threads, but Michigan State has a unique opportunity in having both a DO and an MD school. For the first two years, all core classes are joint between COM and CHM and the only classes that COM doesn't take with CHM the first semester are OMM and Physician-Patient Relations... Also, the last two years are incredibly similar, and from what I can tell, COM is actually a bit more flexible in your rotations (and have more base hospitals).

Also, at Michigan State, the DO/PhD program has been around a lot longer than the MD/PhD and in this case there might actually be better research opportunities by going DO.

So in the end, research the schools you're going to. If it's between a good osteopathic school and an okay allopathic school, I would go DO. Of course, almost everything comes down to money, so tuition is probably the final factor.
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My husband has had experiences with both the allo and osteo students as MSU and said that the DO students were much more laid back and enjoyed their time in school and hanging out than the allo students. At this point in my life (well never really) I'm not all about cutthroat competition, not that all MD schools are like that. Plus as a nontrad I just feel I will fit in better at a DO school.
 
I chose GA-PCOM over Stanford, Harvard, and Baylor, because of hotter chicks.
 
I chose DO school over MD because of location and people🙂
 
Darktide said:
Victor= tool that's trying to comfort himself because he's going to have to go to a Carib. school~~~ (high BR, Low GPA/MCAT perhaps?)

Best leave him to his arguement and not give him fuel for his troll-fire... The simple fact that he implied that DO orthopods are going to have trouble finding work.... pfft...
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Totally agree with you 👍
 
I think when you have family who are physicians from overseas it's hard because they're like wtf is a DO, but if you don't have other doctors in your family, your family will respect that you are a doctor, no matter what letters you use behind your name... the former is the case for me, I'd rather get an MD because my family makes fun of me for being a fake doctor or something but i think it's because they're not born in america............
 
FLpk1girl86 said:
I think when you have family who are physicians from overseas it's hard because they're like wtf is a DO, but if you don't have other doctors in your family, your family will respect that you are a doctor, no matter what letters you use behind your name... the former is the case for me, I'd rather get an MD because my family makes fun of me for being a fake doctor or something but i think it's because they're not born in america............
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Then you make fun of them back at their stupid comment of calling DO's fake doctors. :laugh: No, but seriously you should.
 
DocInProgress said:
Then you make fun of them back at their stupid comment of calling DO's fake doctors. :laugh: No, but seriously you should.
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Yeah, I try to, but it's hard when you're the only one laughing..... 😳
 
I chose DO over 1MD acceptance and my friend chose DO over 2MD acceptances. We just liked the overall package that our school offered as compared to the other schools. Just go with what feels best for your own personal situation. Everybody is different, so do your research and go with your gut feeling.👍
 
haha truee... it'll still be another 7 years or so of ridicule
 
Darktide said:
Victor= tool that's trying to comfort himself because he's going to have to go to a Carib. school~~~ (high BR, Low GPA/MCAT perhaps?)

Best leave him to his arguement and not give him fuel for his troll-fire... The simple fact that he implied that DO orthopods are going to have trouble finding work.... pfft...
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Ditto:hardy:
 
FLpk1girl86 said:
I think when you have family who are physicians from overseas it's hard because they're like wtf is a DO, but if you don't have other doctors in your family, your family will respect that you are a doctor, no matter what letters you use behind your name... the former is the case for me, I'd rather get an MD because my family makes fun of me for being a fake doctor or something but i think it's because they're not born in america............
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Same was here...but i care less what my family thinks of me its my life...

I dont live with my parents anymore and nobody makes fun of me now🙂
 
Iquitos said:
I chose DO over 1MD acceptance and my friend chose DO over 2MD acceptances. We just liked the overall package that our school offered as compared to the other schools. Just go with what feels best for your own personal situation. Everybody is different, so do your research and go with your gut feeling.👍
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👍
 
some mid-level ortho residencies do not interview D.Os.
 
fbf said:
some mid-level ortho residencies do not interview D.Os.
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Your point is? Is this news to anybody, that allopathic residencies don't universally crave students not educated in the allopathic system? I hope not. There aren't a lot of allo program directors left who have the cajones to specifically disbar DOs, when (for example) Stanford just opened up.

Fact: About 60% of DOs do allopathic residencies.
Fact: Some allopathic residencies have never accepted a DO.
Speculation: 10 years from now, there will still be allo residencies that have never had a DO.
Fact: Some allopathic residency program directors got their MD before the 1962 California fiasco and still think DOs are chiropractors.
Fact: Once the first DO gets into an allopathic residency, assuming this DO isn't a screw-up, the next DO who tries to get into that residency has an easier time.
Fact: One bad DO screws it up for everybody for a while.
Fact: The US has never had a DO for a surgeon general. Let's go, kids.
 
scowdeva said:
I think it will come down to money and where I would ideally like to live for the next couple years...
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Unless you have a couple hundred grand in your bank account and plan on paying for school yourself.... Tuition should be the last thing on your list (if at all) that would be a deciding factor whether or not to attend a program. Go where you will be happy, and if it ends up being the cheaper tuition it's just an added bonus.
 
DrMidlife said:
Your point is? Is this news to anybody, that allopathic residencies don't universally crave students not educated in the allopathic system? I hope not. There aren't a lot of allo program directors left who have the cajones to specifically disbar DOs, when (for example) Stanford just opened up.

Fact: About 60% of DOs do allopathic residencies.
Fact: Some allopathic residencies have never accepted a DO.
Speculation: 10 years from now, there will still be allo residencies that have never had a DO.
Fact: Some allopathic residency program directors got their MD before the 1962 California fiasco and still think DOs are chiropractors.
Fact: Once the first DO gets into an allopathic residency, assuming this DO isn't a screw-up, the next DO who tries to get into that residency has an easier time.
Fact: One bad DO screws it up for everybody for a while.
Fact: The US has never had a DO for a surgeon general. Let's go, kids.
Click to expand...

👍

We should all be so boldly espousing these truths.
In doing so, we will only make the osteopathic profession stronger. We need to cut out the groupthink within the culture of our profession. All D.O.s, our patients, our schools and our osteopathic community will benefit.

It's our profession to change.

bth
 
GoBuckeyes913 said:
Unless you have a couple hundred grand in your bank account and plan on paying for school yourself.... Tuition should be the last thing on your list (if at all) that would be a deciding factor whether or not to attend a program. Go where you will be happy, and if it ends up being the cheaper tuition it's just an added bonus.
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I've always heard the opposite regarding tuition. Conventional wisdom seems to suggest to go to the cheapest possible school.

With that said, I do agree that being happy where you go trumps tuition, but that's just me.
 
DrMidlife said:
Fact: The US has never had a DO for a surgeon general. Let's go, kids.
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OK. But a DO has been surgeon general of the Army.

From the AOA web site: [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lt. Gen. Ronald R. Blanck, DO, MC, USA (Ret.), began his military career in 1968 as a medical officer and battalion surgeon in Vietnam and rose to the ranks of surgeon general of the U.S. Army and commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command. A three-star general, he is the first osteopathic physician to serve as surgeon general in any of the U.S. commissioned services. Dr. Blanck also served as the Army’s chief of professional services during the first Gulf war..
 
Tamburlaine said:
OK. But a DO has been surgeon general of the Army.
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Sure, and an Army DO was considered for US surgeon general.

My point was that there's arguably a "top job" and a DO has never had it. And then my next point was that somebody on these boards could get it done. I think TexasTri should be the one.
 
Answer to original question: Yes.

Why? Was the best school out of the acceptances I had.
 
Darktide said:
Victor= tool that's trying to comfort himself because he's going to have to go to a Carib. school~~~ (high BR, Low GPA/MCAT perhaps?)

Best leave him to his arguement and not give him fuel for his troll-fire... The simple fact that he implied that DO orthopods are going to have trouble finding work.... pfft...
Click to expand...
btw.. what's a high BR?
 
Sk8er07 said:
No, but the 39th surgeon general of the US Army was a DO. Ronald R. Blanck, DO went to PCOM.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_R._Blanck
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgeon_General_of_the_United_States_Army

And there was an MD that was Surgeon General of the US that held several honorary degrees from D.O. schools (UNECOM, TCOM, and CCOM), Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D.
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Hey, that a really interesting bit of history about KPM, MD. Do you happen to know an article where this is reported? I'm really curious about this kind of history.

Thanks for the info,

Bryan
 
bth7 said:
Hey, that a really interesting bit of history about KPM, MD. Do you happen to know an article where this is reported? I'm really curious about this kind of history.

Thanks for the info,

Bryan
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Sure, there are a few different places that I found it (wanted to make sure it was true before posting 😉), but here is one that sums it all up nicely:

http://www.hokubeinews.com/articles/article/4256177/68900.htm

and a more official one (but it messes up the names of the schools 🙄)

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/moritsugu.htm

he also received the William B. Miller Award from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

While he isn't a D.O., it is obvious that he is pretty D.O. friendly.
 
VictorsLilSecrt said:
The good ol' boy got this one dead wrong. AOA grads are not eligible to sit for many of the ACGME boards. That's why they're largely marginalized, and have employment problems. I'm truly amazed that someone so far into an osteopathic education does not know (or does not want to admit to knowing) this.
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I don't usually respond to people like you about the comparison of DO and MD. But damn, you are so damn CLUELESS it's amazing. I'm in my 3rd year and have many friends in allopathic and osteopathic schools (many of which matched ORTHO) and you have ABSOLUTELY NO FREAKIN' idea what you're talking about...
 
I may chose a DO school over an MD if the financial aid package is better.
 
Member 870 said:
I got in at UNECOM. Wanted to go there for years. so beautiful....the people are awesome.....but it will cost me 100,000 dollars more -before adding in interest- than my state m.d. school, which I am sure I got into. Cost is an important factor when choosing one over the other--after all, it is only four years of your life... Right now, I dunno what I will do. OMM is a joke, by the way. A graduate of UNECOM told me so--however the d.o. philosophy is golden.
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I'm guessing you are a premed and haven't had any experience with OMM. OMM can be amazing. I did an elective just for fun and you can't even begin to imagine the number of situations it has helped people who have for years been struggling with ineffective drug intervention. We had many situations in which patients wasted countless dollars on various testing and pain meds. After a few weeks-months of OMM they improved dramatically. On the flipside OMM is not intended for every situation and does not improve every patient. Overall it is a great added tool to have in you practice.

Many people at osteo schools aren't into OMM and they reject it based on their negative attitude towards learning extra material. I know because I was one of those students--until I started using it on friends and family(who btw demand it all the frickin time now)
 
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