Disadvantaged when applying to Residency?

[Sydney Pierce]

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I was wondering if anybody could help me out...I am seriously considering attending an osteopathic medical school but I have a question. I am a Canadian citizen and graduated from a Canadian undergraduate institution. To return to Canada I must do an allopathic residency. If I am Canadian and a D.O. will this make it difficult/impossible to land an allopathic residency in either primary care or surgery? Thanks so much!!

 

[dragonfly99]

I don't think it would be hard to get a primary care residency like fp or internal medicine, as long as you aren't super picky about where you do it.
Surgery might be tougher...I wouldn't bank on getting an allopathic surgical residency...you might be able to do it but there's no guarantee.
I'm interested in what others (? former DO students) have to say about this.

You can likely get match statistics from nrmp.org for IM and general surgery. I'm not sure but I think they probably have the match rate for 4th year DO students for IM and general surgery (into allopathic residency spots).

 

[Sydney Pierce]

Thanks! I'll look into their website for that information. I contacted nrmp and they said that they could not advise me on this information. I just want to be sure that I am making the right choice. I didn't know if me being Canadian might be an additional issue considering I need visa clearance.

I had always wanted to be a family doctor, but after a period of close interaction with a surgeon, I am intrigued and might wish to pursue a surgical specialty. I know that I am a lowly pre-med and will probably end up changing my mind hundreds of times during medical school, but I want to be sure I am not closing any doors so to speak.

Thanks for the input. Any more is greatly appreciated!

 

[dragonfly99]

Why osteopathic? Do you want to practice in Canada later? I'm not sure what the status of DO recognition in Canada is.

I don't think you'd have a problem getting a primary care residency (even one @an allopathic hospital) as a DO, but the easiest way to get allopathic residency is to be from an allopathic school. Lots of DO schools do emphasize primary care if that is what you are in to.

DO hospitals have their own surgical residencies, which you could potentially do. Not sure if Canada recognizes that training vs. not.

 

[Sydney Pierce]

Well, I really am interested in their philosophy and it gives me yet another chance to become a doctor. I want to maximize my chances of becoming a physician and thought that I should apply to both osteopathic and allopathic medical schools. I guess that I really, really want this and don't feel like I can wait around and keep putting my life on hold to gain admission into a Canadian medical school. I am willing to relocate to the US...it'll be for a good purpose.

I have looked into being able to return to Canada. I have contacted my provincial college of physicians and surgeons and they gave me direct information that says, provided that the osteopathic medical school is on the World Health Organization's list of accredited medical schools, and I complete an allopathic residency, I can return back to my home province. Infact, I believe (although I have no concrete evidence) that I can even enter my province's residency match for family medicine.

I have done my homework and it is recognized in Canada, but I didn't know if I would be disadvantaged being a Canadian AND an osteopathic medical graduate. I suppose that if things work out and I really want a competitive residency specialty (i.e. ortho), I could do an AOA one and remain in the US. That is another possibility.

Anyway, thanks for your input.

 

[dragonfly99]

http://www.nrmp.org/data/index.html

As far as terminology goes, DO 4th year students would be part of the group "independent applicants". So there may not be stats on exactly what the chances of matching would be (for a DO student specifically). However, for a primary care residency I would think they would be quite high. Not sure for general surgery (@ an allopathic residency).

 

[howelljolly]

NRMP Data Table 11

eyeballing the data... in each of the last 4 years, about 250 Osteopaths matched into each specialty... IM FP, or Peds

 

[Sydney Pierce]

Thanks SO much for posting that link of the 2008 Match Results. I really appreciate it! ....I JUST got an acceptance to an osteopathic school two days ago, so my head is spinning with possibilities. But thanks again!

 

[dragonfly99]

good post howell jolly.
The problem is that without knowing the number of osteopathic applicants it doesn't tell us a ton. How many applied? 250? 269? 500?
Maybe some that applied ended up wanting/choosing DO residencies over the MD ones also.

I don't think getting a primary care residency would be hard coming from a DO school though, particularly if he does well on 3rd year clinical rotations and OK on the USMLE test (like at least average or so). Pediatrics is harder to get than fp or IM just because there aren't as many spots.

 

[howelljolly]

good post howell jolly.
The problem is that without knowing the number of osteopathic applicants it doesn't tell us a ton. How many applied? 250? 269? 500?
Maybe some that applied ended up wanting/choosing DO residencies over the MD ones also.

I don't think getting a primary care residency would be hard coming from a DO school though, particularly if he does well on 3rd year clinical rotations and OK on the USMLE test (like at least average or so). Pediatrics is harder to get than fp or IM just because there aren't as many spots.

Yep, I couldnt tell by the data... but it could be a thousand applications for all I know...

Family Med went 10% unfilled in the Match this year.... but four years ago it was 20% Its steadily getting more competitive. Ive heard anecdotally that this is because of lifestyle, and less red tape in reimbursement, i.e more predictable... Still, there should be no problem landing a spot as a DO