DO and surgery

[Mikey421]

Anyone have an opinion/idea on if it is difficult to go into surgery as a DO? I really want to be a surgeon

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Dr.Inviz]

Anyone have an opinion/idea on if it is difficult to go into surgery as a DO? I really want to be a surgeon

its DOable, just study at it.

 

[madscientist50]

I know that my uncle is an MD but he has a DO and a DPM in his Orthopedic surgical group in Des Moines, and he has told me that getting into surgery as a DO would not be hard especially something like ortho as they are very short supply nowdays. But as was said above just study hard and do well on you COMLEX's and youll be just fine. Also DMU has an amazing surgical study area.

 

[Taus]

Anyone have an opinion/idea on if it is difficult to go into surgery as a DO? I really want to be a surgeon

Draw your own conclusions from the following:

In last years match there were 21 matches into surgery from my school
9 General Surgery
4 Opthomology
6 Ortho
1 ENT
1 Urology

Keep it mind that it varies year to year based upon student interest

 

[Dr.Inviz]

Draw your own conclusions from the following:

In last years match there were 21 matches into surgery from my school
9 General Surgery
4 Opthomology
6 Ortho
1 ENT
1 Urology

Keep it mind that it varies year to year based upon student interest

PCOM is also one of the few DO schools in which their students tend to specialize more than doing simply PC.

 

[UIC Killa]

Anyone have an opinion/idea on if it is difficult to go into surgery as a DO? I really want to be a surgeon

This is easy...if you work your ass off, be on top of your class, do well on COMLEX and USMLE's if necessary and have great LORS...then yes you can be a surgeon...other than the COMLEX, this is the exact same criteria for allopaths...some will say that you will run into perceived stigmas with allopathic residencies, but believe me...if you are a top notch osteopathic student you can be a surgeon through either the osteopathic or allopathic route...the so called stigma doesnt bother me...if I cant get into my # 1 residency of choice, then I would just feel like I didnt deserve it because I probably didnt do enough to outcompete someone else, whether they be an allopathic student or osteopathic student. If there was some "stigma" placed agaisnt me, then I wouldnt want to go do my residency at that location in the first place.

But back to your original question...Yes...go to google and you will find plenty of osteopathic surgeons

P.S. there is a high probability you will likely change your preference of speciality as you progress through medical school, so keep you mind open to anything that maybe of interest. I myself have changed numerous times, and I haven't even began medical school yet. Surgery is very interesting to me, but I really want to get married, start a family, and start paying back loans and surgery might not be the best route under such circumstance (5 plus years of residency, lifestyle,...etc), then I think some more and change my mind and so on and so on...

 

[Mikey421]

Draw your own conclusions from the following:

In last years match there were 21 matches into surgery from my school
9 General Surgery
4 Opthomology
6 Ortho
1 ENT
1 Urology

Keep it mind that it varies year to year based upon student interest

actually I accepted PCOMs offer, but are you saying that many people in your class couldn't get residencies?

 

[Taus]

actually I accepted PCOMs offer, but are you saying that many people in your class couldn't get residencies?

uhh...I only listed the surgery spots.....not everyone wants to do surgery...

 

[Mikey421]

Surgery is very interesting to me, but I really want to get married, start a family, and start paying back loans and surgery might not be the best route under such circumstance (5 plus years of residency, lifestyle,...etc), then I think some more and change my mind and so on and so on...

I donno I guess I believe you can have both

 

[Mikey421]

uhh...I only listed the surgery spots.....not everyone wants to do surgery...

i know but arent there 250 per class and only 21 got residencies in surgery (inc only 9 in general surgery which is what I was leaning towards) just seams small thats all

 

[UIC Killa]

I donno I guess I believe you can have both

You definitely can have both, but you might have to make more sacrifices by doing surgery...you will be set back a few years in earning enough money to start paying off loans, so if you have a family your significant other might have to pick up some of the slack, less time with kids and family, and the overall lifestyle itself is not great relative to other specilities...but if you are dead set on surgery, you can definitely do it and have a family at the same time. It really depends on the individual.

 

[Taus]

i know but arent there 250 per class and only 21 got residencies in surgery (inc only 9 in general surgery which is what I was leaning towards) just seams small thats all

w/o personal anecdotes....its impossible to guage how much interest there was in surgery.....you can't just assume people didn't match....this applies to any match list from any school

 

[UIC Killa]

w/o personal anecdotes....its impossible to guage how much interest there was in surgery.....you can't just assume people didn't match....this applies to any match list from any school

True...you have to realize that people will not try to match into specialities that are uber competitive if they dont have competitive stats (grades, comlex or uslmes)...you cant expect to have a large portion of a class to match surgery because it is too competitive...

 

[Taus]

True...you have to realize that people will not try to match into specialities that are uber competitive if they dont have competitive stats (grades, comlex or uslmes)...you cant expect to have a large portion of a class to match surgery because it is too competitive...

yeah thats definitely true that specialties self-select based on grades even before the thought of the match (ie Derm, NeuroSurg)....and the fact that there is no way in hell some of us (including myself) would want to go into surgery... I think you'd be shocked at how many in my class (M2) actually want to go into primary care (and of course the "lifestyle" specialties)

 

[Mikey421]

thanks for the info guys

 

[MaximusD]

w/o personal anecdotes....its impossible to guage how much interest there was in surgery.....you can't just assume people didn't match....this applies to any match list from any school

Not to mention surgery isn't the most competitive specialty... not gen. surgery anyway..

at any rate, I too feel that I wouldnt' want to go into surgery. I want lots of patient contact... eventually, I would like to work in a group practice so that I can alternative on-call and weekend hours... ideally, I will have time for family. I don't think that surg. would allow that.

 

[San_Juan_Sun]

Not to mention surgery isn't the most competitive specialty... not gen. surgery anyway..

This is true. GS (and I'm talking only osteopathic programs here) is moderately competitive. Of course, the best spots are very competitive, like anything else. Overall, GS is definately a notch below Ortho, for example.

This isn't to say that it's easy, but it's doable. On the interview trail this year, at least two places that I interviewed at told me that they want to see you at least beat the mean on boards and class rank. And both said that letters, performance on rotations (a HUGELY important factor), and being a good guy/gal were all big trump cards. Sort of like applying to DO school, they look at the "whole applicant".

 

[whatdapho]

Also DMU has an amazing surgical study area.

Tell me about it...man was I impressed. GOSH!!! Take me off the waitlist!!!!!!

 

[FizbanZymogen]

The PCOM list Taus listed is very impressive. Anyone who looks at that and says they're not impressed doesn't know what they are talking about. It actually makes some MD schools look bad.

 

[MaximusD]

I'll second that. PCOM has an amazing matchlist and is definitely well-regarded amongst residency programs here in the Northeast.

 

[Taty]

You definitely can have both, but you might have to make more sacrifices by doing surgery...you will be set back a few years in earning enough money to start paying off loans, so if you have a family your significant other might have to pick up some of the slack, less time with kids and family, and the overall lifestyle itself is not great relative to other specilities...but if you are dead set on surgery, you can definitely do it and have a family at the same time. It really depends on the individual.

I agree. I am a woman and I want to go to surgery and I am sure that I will not change my mind in med school I just have to choose between trauma and transplant....

My fiancee knows that i am not a very family oriented person and he told me he is willing to support whatever I am doing because he wants to see me happy

 

[Mikey421]

The PCOM list Taus listed is very impressive. Anyone who looks at that and says they're not impressed doesn't know what they are talking about. It actually makes some MD schools look bad.

exactly thats why i asked

 

[PlasticMan]

NYCOM also graduates alot of specialists; they have recently announced they will be opening a plastic & reconstructive fellowship. With that said, if you are set on surgery, I would still go allopathic if you get accepted. If you only get into DO, go that route.

 

[bigdog8829]

Playing off of the original surgery question, here's another one.

As a d.o. applying for allopathic (md) residencies, is it necesarry to take the USMLE as well? I have heard that they are now able to 'convert' or just draw similarities between d.o. and m.d. students both applying for the same residency. In other words, they simply compare your comlex score w/ another's usmle score.

 

[DrMom]

Playing off of the original surgery question, here's another one.

As a d.o. applying for allopathic (md) residencies, is it necesarry to take the USMLE as well?

always a good idea. probably not as big of a deal for some specialties, but an absolute must to take at least one (if not both) of USMLE 1 & 2.

I have heard that they are now able to 'convert' or just draw similarities between d.o. and m.d. students both applying for the same residency. In other words, they simply compare your comlex score w/ another's usmle score.

The two exams are scaled differently and there isn't a quick conversion method. A very good COMLEX score (two digit) looks like a bad USMLE score (two digit). Enough said.

 

[Dr JPH]

Not to mention surgery isn't the most competitive specialty... not gen. surgery anyway..

Not true.

This was a record year for general surgery residency applications.

Trust me.

IS THE MATCH HERE YET!?!?!?!



It IS possible to be a DO and get into a great surgical residency, allopathic or osteopathic. I would recommend taking the USMLE if you are applying to an allopathic spot.

 

[Taty]

Not true.

This was a record year for general surgery residency applications.

Trust me.

.

I guess because they cut down to 80 hours...

 

[Taty]

Not true.

This was a record year for general surgery residency applications.

Trust me.

IS THE MATCH HERE YET!?!?!?!



It IS possible to be a DO and get into a great surgical residency, allopathic or osteopathic. I would recommend taking the USMLE if you are applying to an allopathic spot.

JPHazelton did you take USMLE ? ( I know you applied for surgery match this year ) Good luck to you

 

[Dr JPH]

I took USMLE step 1 but never ended up reporting my score as I applied to DO and dually accredited programs.

 

[Taty]

I took USMLE step 1 but never ended up reporting my score as I applied to DO and dually accredited programs.

Are there any dual programs in surgery? Cool!!!