Difficulty for DO to land competitive California residency?

[toothless rufus]

Anybody have an impression about this? Especially UCSF and Stanford? Thanks so much!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Tired]

Anybody have an impression about this? Especially UCSF and Stanford? Thanks so much!

Are you being serious?

 

[lotus]

yes, it is difficult

 

[toothless rufus]

Are you being serious?

Um..yeah! I really want to move to SF! Is there a DO bias or something?

 

[Tired]

Um..yeah! I really want to move to SF! Is there a DO bias or something?

Yes.

 

[gutonc]

Um..yeah! I really want to move to SF! Is there a DO bias or something?

There may be a bias, but it's probably more of a practical one than an explicit bias. The truth of the matter is that UCSF and Stanford can reject AOA/PhD folks from Hopkins (etc) w/ no worries about filling w/ a top-flight class. So as a DO you're fighting a remarkably uphill battle. No harm in applying but don't hang your hat on it. There are other programs in the Bay Area besides those two of course and it will depend on what you are interested in going into. FM would be one thing, Ortho quite another.

 

[toothless rufus]

There may be a bias, but it's probably more of a practical one than an explicit bias. The truth of the matter is that UCSF and Stanford can reject AOA/PhD folks from Hopkins (etc) w/ no worries about filling w/ a top-flight class. So as a DO you're fighting a remarkably uphill battle. No harm in applying but don't hang your hat on it. There are other programs in the Bay Area besides those two of course and it will depend on what you are interested in going into. FM would be one thing, Ortho quite another.

I just named those two off the top of my head, any SF Bay Area will do! What other ones are there?

 

[toothless rufus]

Yes.

Really?! Why?

 

[GoSprout24]

Dude, you need to tell us what specialty, or else this discussion is almost pointless. The different options and hospitals for pediatrics versus ophthy are, um, significant.

 

[swpm]

Are you being serious?

Um..yeah! I really want to move to SF! Is there a DO bias or something?

Yes.

Really?! Why?

This thread is destined for excellence. Just try to keep the shards of shattered dreams off my shoes, please.

 

[Tired]

Really?! Why?

You have over 600 posts on this site, and you've never run across a thread about bias against DO's in allopathic residencies?

 

[turkleton]

Dude you've gotta do some homework before asking this question. However you deserve a break because it seems like you're a first year, or will be a first year. There are a lot of good DO forums on here and you should check where those guys are applying for and matching. UCSF is one of the top MD training programs in the country and some of its divisions are reputed internationally. To a lesser extent, but not much, the same holds true for Stanford. Go to the websites of these programs and figure out where their residents come from. I think most would be surprised if there was one DO there- ever. That said someone posted the DO equivalent of FREIDA. Check that out and find DO friendly programs around the area. Good luck!

 

[xTinaBna]

I just named those two off the top of my head, any SF Bay Area will do! What other ones are there?

Check out TUCOM's match lists:

http://www.tucom.edu/admissions.htm

Click on General Match Information on the left side to view allopathic/osteopathic matches. There are a significant number of students that do their residencies in the bay area..UCSF included.

TUCOM'ers also have the opportunity to do rotations at the very least at stanford...the EM rotation their is one I have personally heard of that is supposed to be excellent. good luck!

 

[EctopicFetus]

As stated your specialty makes a huge difference. Say you wanted to go into NeuroSurg or Derm then your chances are tiny, if you are talking Primary care your chances are better. Of course this is true for DOs and MDs though Dos have a more uphill fight.

 

[Gfunk6]

Click on General Match Information on the left side to view allopathic/osteopathic matches. There are a significant number of students that do their residencies in the bay area..UCSF included.

Well both UCSF Fresno and East Bay are known for their primary care focus. I think many of the posters were referring to the main UCSF campus. But regardless, this brings up an important point -- UCSF has a strong primary care mission in addition to its well-known strength in research and subspecialty care.

Bottom line, if you want to do primary care as a DO then the Bay Area is certainly a possibility for you.

 

[NinerNiner999]

If you are a good student/doctor, you will get what you want. If not, then....

 

[toothless rufus]

Okay, I see I have some catching up to do!

Dude, you need to tell us what specialty, or else this discussion is almost pointless. The different options and hospitals for pediatrics versus ophthy are, um, significant.

Right at the moment, I'm considering EM, IM, Neuro, PM&R, Rads, Gas, and integrated plastics (just kidding!)

This thread is destined for excellence. Just try to keep the shards of shattered dreams off my shoes, please.

LOL! Will do!

You have over 600 posts on this site, and you've never run across a thread about bias against DO's in allopathic residencies?

Yeah, of course I have! But I want to see how deep it actually runs.

Dude you've gotta do some homework before asking this question. However you deserve a break because it seems like you're a first year, or will be a first year. There are a lot of good DO forums on here and you should check where those guys are applying for and matching. UCSF is one of the top MD training programs in the country and some of its divisions are reputed internationally. To a lesser extent, but not much, the same holds true for Stanford. Go to the websites of these programs and figure out where their residents come from. I think most would be surprised if there was one DO there- ever. That said someone posted the DO equivalent of FREIDA. Check that out and find DO friendly programs around the area. Good luck!

Thanks! And I don't know/care anything about program ranks, as long as they are not completely awful! Just want to go to the location I have friends in and would love to live in.

Check out TUCOM's match lists:

http://www.tucom.edu/admissions.htm

Click on General Match Information on the left side to view allopathic/osteopathic matches. There are a significant number of students that do their residencies in the bay area..UCSF included.

TUCOM'ers also have the opportunity to do rotations at the very least at stanford...the EM rotation their is one I have personally heard of that is supposed to be excellent. good luck!

Thanks, cbenedic!

Well both UCSF Fresno and East Bay are known for their primary care focus. I think many of the posters were referring to the main UCSF campus. But regardless, this brings up an important point -- UCSF has a strong primary care mission in addition to its well-known strength in research and subspecialty care.

Bottom line, if you want to do primary care as a DO then the Bay Area is certainly a possibility for you.

Great! Bottom line is I want to live in SF!!!

 

[Winged Scapula]

Thanks, cbenedic!
Originally Posted by cbenedic
Check out TUCOM's match lists:

http://www.tucom.edu/admissions.htm

Click on General Match Information on the left side to view allopathic/osteopathic matches. There are a significant number of students that do their residencies in the bay area..UCSF included.

TUCOM'ers also have the opportunity to do rotations at the very least at stanford...the EM rotation their is one I have personally heard of that is supposed to be excellent. good luck!


Great! Bottom line is I want to live in SF!!!

Excuse the buckled over laughter

I don't see any matches to the main campus in San Francisco, just East Bay and Fresno.

Fresno is most definitely NOT in or near San Francisco. It is 3.5 hrs southeast (I grew up near there, went to college there and my family still lives there), in the central San Joaquin Valley and decades behind San Francisco in terms of culture and sophistication, not to mention the weather is as different as it can be. Lots of property and gang related crime. Then again, not as many homeless as in SF.

East Bay is much nearer and technically is in the "bay area", but again it is a far sight different to live near Oakland than it is to live in "The City". Again, lots of property and gang related crime.

So while UCSF-Fresno and UCSF-East Bay may have an affiliation with the main campus, they are generally much less competitive, much less desirable and especially in the case of Fresno, much less like SF than you would care to know. But cheaper to live in (SF is one of the most expensive cities in the world - you might be better off trying to work there after residency).

Don't make the mistake of thinking because they are affiliated they have the same level of quality of teaching or that the environment is as cool as SF. You will be sorely disappointed - unless you go and visit beforehand and see what you are getting yourself into.

 

[wonderwall]

ehm..excuse me but..what is a "DO"??just curious, never heard that..

 

[toothless rufus]

Excuse the buckled over laughter

I don't see any matches to the main campus in San Francisco, just East Bay and Fresno.

Fresno is most definitely NOT in or near San Francisco. It is 3.5 hrs southeast (I grew up near there, went to college there and my family still lives there), in the central San Joaquin Valley and decades behind San Francisco in terms of culture and sophistication, not to mention the weather is as different as it can be. Lots of property and gang related crime. Then again, not as many homeless as in SF.

East Bay is much nearer and technically is in the "bay area", but again it is a far sight different to live near Oakland than it is to live in "The City". Again, lots of property and gang related crime.

So while UCSF-Fresno and UCSF-East Bay may have an affiliation with the main campus, they are generally much less competitive, much less desirable and especially in the case of Fresno, much less like SF than you would care to know. But cheaper to live in (SF is one of the most expensive cities in the world - you might be better off trying to work there after residency).

Don't make the mistake of thinking because they are affiliated they have the same level of quality of teaching or that the environment is as cool as SF. You will be sorely disappointed - unless you go and visit beforehand and see what you are getting yourself into.

Then SF proper it is!

 

[ElZorro]

I can only speak from my personal experience.....I applied to only 3 Ca programs; UCLA, USC, and Loma Linda. Obviously this is only So Cal, but I would bet that Northern Cal is similar. I got 2 SD above the mean on both USMLE I/II, and I got zero interviews in EM to those Ca programs (and pretty much all my ERAS application is great to very strong). There is no doubt in my mind that being a DO is very prohibitive to getting in to the Cali programs. If you really want to get in out there ace your boards and rotate at as many of the places as you can, and you will have a chance.

 

[toothless rufus]

I can only speak from my personal experience.....I applied to only 3 Ca programs; UCLA, USC, and Loma Linda. Obviously this is only So Cal, but I would bet that Northern Cal is similar. I got 2 SD above the mean on both USMLE I/II, and I got zero interviews in EM to those Ca programs (and pretty much all my ERAS application is great to very strong). There is no doubt in my mind that being a DO is very prohibitive to getting in to the Cali programs. If you really want to get in out there ace your boards and rotate at as many of the places as you can, and you will have a chance.

Thanks, for posting your experience; sorry it was negative. I will work my tucks into tuckus-dust to do well! I know there are DO's at Stanford programs, and that's enough for me!

This bias thing is lame-O!

Maybe by the time I get around to applying, the DO bias will have turned into a DO preference, lol!

 

[Winged Scapula]

Then SF proper it is!

Sounds like a good plan!

As I've mentioned before, years ago I had a friend who scrambled into a psychiatry position, over the phone, at UCSF-Fresno.

Being from the east coast, he had little idea about California geography and apparently wasn't interested enough to get out a map. Long story short, being a gay male, he thought he was going to an environment, in San Francisco, which would meet his social and cultural needs.

Needless to say, when he stepped off the plane onto the 105F Fresno tarmac, he was in for a shock...in more ways than one!

 

[toothless rufus]

Sounds like a good plan!

As I've mentioned before, years ago I had a friend who scrambled into a psychiatry position, over the phone, at UCSF-Fresno.

Being from the east coast, he had little idea about California geography and apparently wasn't interested enough to get out a map. Long story short, being a gay male, he thought he was going to an environment, in San Francisco, which would meet his social and cultural needs.

Needless to say, when he stepped off the plane onto the 105F Fresno tarmac, he was in for a shock...in more ways than one!

Its fun to stay at the Y-M-C-....Heyyyy! Where's them Castro boys!

 

[igcgnerd]

I don't see any matches to the main campus in San Francisco, just East Bay and Fresno.

If you look at the 'o5 match list you will see a ucsf surgery pre liminary match.
There are a great many DO school including TUCOM that have great match lists. CCOM or PCOM have matched to schools like nyu, Johns Hopkins. Ohio U Osteo has matched at the Cleveland Clinic and Stanford. UCSF is hard reguardless of the last two letters behind your name.
Best way to help yourself get into any residency is to do a rotation there if you can and get a great letter of rec during your rotaion or at least great ones from someone in the specialty you are applying to.
No matter where you go work your but of and get great board scores and you'll do fine.

 

[DarksideAllstar]

Maybe by the time I get around to applying, the DO bias will have turned into a DO preference, lol!

Right at the moment, I'm considering EM, IM, Neuro, PM&R, Rads, Gas, and integrated plastics (just kidding!)

LOL! Will do!

I know there are DO's at Stanford programs, and that's enough for me!

Its fun to stay at the Y-M-C-....Heyyyy! Where's them Castro boys!

Road flares? Did you live under power lines as a kid, or something?

 

[toothless rufus]

Road flares? Did you live under power lines as a kid, or something?

Huh?