Do I need to shadow a DO?

[supercoolinitials]

Is DO shadowing explicitly required? I have a lot of clinical experience working with PAs/MDs/NPs, just not DOs. I have seen different articles and posts on a variety of sources saying both yes and no. Does anyone have experience with this?

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[theoceanman]

For DO schools, many schools just say "physician letter required, but a DO physician is highly recommended", but some say "DO physician letter required" so I would recommend that you look into shadowing a DO around you in primary care. It will help with the screening/requirements at various DO schools as well as provide you with some first-hand insight into what being a DO physician entails as a whole.

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

I would make it a priority, but you don't absolutely need one.

 

[Goro]

Is DO shadowing explicitly required? I have a lot of clinical experience working with PAs/MDs/NPs, just not DOs. I have seen different articles and posts on a variety of sources saying both yes and no. Does anyone have experience with this?

For most schools, lacking a d o letter won't hurt you, but having one will definitely help you.

 

[MateoGM416]

At least be able to explain why you would want to go to a school that teaches osteopathic principles over an MD school *wink wink*

 

[Ellesandra319]

Is DO shadowing explicitly required? I have a lot of clinical experience working with PAs/MDs/NPs, just not DOs. I have seen different articles and posts on a variety of sources saying both yes and no. Does anyone have experience with this?

I didn't shadow a DO and I just made sure to apply to programs that didn't *require* a DO LOR. some do, but not many. I got plenty of DO II's. I was just careful to make sure my Why DO answer during interviews was solid and not just some "another tool in the toolbox" answer!

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I realize in some areas there are no, or few DOs and shadowing might be difficult. I always gave consideration to applicants who bothered to shadow and receive a LOR from a DO. I also would check to see if applicants even bothered to Google the 4 tenets of Osteopathic medicine before their interview. The ones who didn't I considered them to be using us as a backup.

 

[Bluesandstuff]

I realize in some areas there are no, or few DOs and shadowing might be difficult. I always gave consideration to applicants who bothered to shadow and receive a LOR from a DO. I also would check to see if applicants even bothered to Google the 4 tenets of Osteopathic medicine before their interview. The ones who didn't I considered

It’s almost everyone’s backup suffix

 

[Bluesandstuff]

Basically yeah shadow a DO once if you need to be applying to DO schools. I shadowed a specialist the wrote about how holistic they were or something like that

 

[foultarnished97]

You should try to shadow a DO at the very least. I didn’t have a letter, but received 8 IIs this cycle and was accepted to every school I interviewed at (3 of them).

I did mention my DO shadowing in all my DO secondaries though, and it came up in interviews.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

It’s almost everyone’s backup suffix

There is always that gap year.

 

[officially_apostate]

just my experience, but I had previous experience working with DO surgeons and FM sports medicine, but one school reached out and wanted to interview me but wouldnt until I had shadowed an actual DO PCP for 10-15 hours. Ended up getting accepted there but not the school I'm attending.