Difference between DO and MD residencies

[light warrior]

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I've searched SDN for this question and the threads I found were 5 or 6 years old and were specific to certain residency programs. But in general, why are allopathic residencies considered better than Osteopathic residencies?

 

[DrCalculi]

"Better" in terms of geographic availability because there are more allo hospitals. There are hard-to-get-in residencies and crappy residencies on both sides.

 

[Mbeas]

I think a lot of DO residencies are in smaller community hospitals whereas MD residencies are typically in large teaching institutions/hospitals. I hear you get better training in MD residencies since you see more.

 

[willen101383]

Bigger centers, more interesting pathology.

If you were a patient with X rare condition...where do you think you are going to seek treatment? A small community center where the attendings have seen maybe 1 or 2 (or zero) cases of your disease entity...vs a large academic center where people will likely be more "in the know" regarding your condition?

But at the same time, at a smaller hospital you may have less ability to get consultations...and thus you may have more opportunity to be really involved in things that may have been handled by a consultant at a larger center.

 

[NurWollen]

As other posters have said, MD residencies are often found at large academic centers, whereas DO residencies are most often found at community hospitals. At least that is the theory. In reality, many, possibly even most, MD residencies are at community hospitals too.

We hear lots about Hopkins and Mayo, Mass Gen, and UCSF, but those really are only some of the MD residencies. Many are to be found at X Community Hospital in Normalville, USA. By the way, that's probably the kind of place where most docs, MD and DO, end up practicing.

A local Ob/Gyn around here made the point that part of what drives up the cost of healthcare is the obsession with prestige. Our first instinct, he noted, when diagnosed with cancer, is to seek out some big-name cancer center on the other side of the country, when in reality, a good, local oncologist can offer just about everything the big name center can.

Don't get me wrong, academia has a crucial role in medicine. Someone has to do the research that drives medical science. Most of us, however, can benefit from that research wherever we are.

 

[NurWollen]

One more thing... there is something to be said about the variety of pathology seen in residency. An ER doc, for example, needs to see a few gunshot wounds while training, and he may not get the opportunity to see any if he trains in a small town. Still, this is independent of academia vs. Community hospital. Any medium size town will get plenty of interesting pathology, IMH (inexperienced)O.

 

[munchymanRX]

"Better" in terms of geographic availability because there are more allo hospitals. There are hard-to-get-in residencies and crappy residencies on both sides.

Calculi hits the nail on the head. There are much, MUCH fewer osteopathic residency positions in a more narrow band of locations. If you're going to be somewhere from anywhere between 3-7 years, the physical location of where exactly you end up is going to be a large factor. Therefore, people tend to gravitate towards the route that gives the most options.

Both sides have bad residencies and good ones. It's also correct that most programs are in smaller community hospitals, as this comprises the majority of our healthcare system.