DO or MD ortho for woman?

[terpdo2012]

I'm a DO student, female, considering orthopedics.
I know MD ortho programs tend to be more female-friendly, but DOs are much less likely to match, whereas DO ortho programs are known to be less female-friendly, but obviously not biased against DOs.
Any advice where I might be more competitive, thoughts, anecdotes to share?
3.99 GPA, all H on 3rd year rotations except HP on Surgery, no research, 236 USMLE Step 1, 630 COMLEX.

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[Nickelpennykid]

Your stats are great, you defiantly have a good chance at a DO program. The best thing to do is find out which programs have historically taken female residents. I can only comment on programs that I have seen or have had friends rotate / interview at. NYCOM and PCOM are two east coast programs that have taken a lot of females in the past. I get the sense from some rotators that Harrisburg is not "female friendly." UMDNJ has some as well and there is speculation that they may have a new female program director in the near future. I don't know much about the midwest programs.

MD lists are easier to find online, but some DO programs have their residents posted online. You can also e-mail program coordinators for their rosters. If they have 0-1 female residents, don't waste your time unless you REALLY love the program and get a good vibe. Good luck.

 

[DarkHorizon]

I'm a DO student, female, considering orthopedics.
I know MD ortho programs tend to be more female-friendly, but DOs are much less likely to match, whereas DO ortho programs are known to be less female-friendly, but obviously not biased against DOs.
Any advice where I might be more competitive, thoughts, anecdotes to share?
3.99 GPA, all H on 3rd year rotations except HP on Surgery, no research, 236 USMLE Step 1, 630 COMLEX.

I know Chicago takes at least one female every year, but it's ridiculously competitive due to location. In fact they took two females last year. Riverside has taken females before, so has PCOM and Ingham. South Pointe currently has a couple of female residents. Programs notorious for not taking females: KC, Columbus, Toledo, POH, Massillon, and St. Joes.

Though I am only an M2, but from what I have heard, you are very competitive for every program. You are right though, DO programs tend to be less female friendly. 1 girl tried from our school this year, didn't match. Not sure what her stats were like but she was president of SAOAO and our school's ortho club president.

 

[DoctaJay]

M.D. programs that I know are female friendly are OHSU, GW, Henry Ford, UTMB-Galveston, Hopkins. With that said, I don't know any programs that are particularly D.O. friendly. Usually D.O. applicants are allstars with better applications than many M.D. applicants. With that said, nothing is impossible.

 

[kissmyasthma99]

I would say from a strictly numbers perspective, you are FAR more competitive in the DO world. Most DO applicants that match into an allopathic residency (I would assume) are far above the average. Everyone that I have ever seen has been. The last average I saw on NRMP for matched applicants was 238, and the lion's share of those were allopathic grads. I would assume that average for DOs that matches ACGME was much higher. Also, allopathic programs tend to hold research in more importance, while DO programs tend much more heavily favor rotators. Your COMLEX scores place you at a very competitive level for matching AOA. If I was in your shoes, I think would probablya maximize my chances of matching AOA and rotate and apply strictly AOA; however, this is ultimately a choice you have to make. If you are extremely interested in an allopathic program or know the PD/residents there, then go for it. Just because it is uncommon doesn't mean it's impossible. Good luck!

 

[terpdo2012]

Thanks all for the advice, as I initially thought I'm going to stick with AOA programs. I wouldn't have even considered/asked about MD matching as a DO until I delved deep into the SDN archives and found multiple posts about MD programs that were actually actively seeking women.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

I know POH takes LOTS of females. I know of one starting this July there actually.

 

[DarkHorizon]

I know POH takes LOTS of females. I know of one starting this July there actually.

There's currently a total of 1 female out of 17 residents at POH.

 

[hanky1982]

There's currently a total of 1 female out of 17 residents at POH.

Incorrect. They have 2 women who are PGY1's currently and they are taking one female this year (a fellow classmate). Still not great numbers, but just wanted to make sure the info was correct.

 

[bones211]

I would reconsider orthopaedics as a female. I know it's an unpopular stance, but the reality is that nothing about the field will ever change, no matter how hard people try. As a woman, you'll be limited in your scope of practice. VERY few females do total joints or trauma. Most go into hand, foot/ankle, and occasionally PEDs, where strength is less of a requisite. Women make great surgeons, but in ortho, you'll spend your entire career defending yourself. And god help you if you get pregnant and hop out of the call pool...you'll be persona non grata for the rest of your career. Seen it first hand.

As for DO vs. MD, most ortho residencies don't accept applications from DOs, as ******ed as that might be. Any DO interested in ortho would do well to get a solid list of all the programs that will look at them and then rotate at three of them.

 

[GTP]

I would reconsider orthopaedics as a female. I know it's an unpopular stance, but the reality is that nothing about the field will ever change, no matter how hard people try. As a woman, you'll be limited in your scope of practice. VERY few females do total joints or trauma. Most go into hand, foot/ankle, and occasionally PEDs, where strength is less of a requisite. Women make great surgeons, but in ortho, you'll spend your entire career defending yourself. And god help you if you get pregnant and hop out of the call pool...you'll be persona non grata for the rest of your career. Seen it first hand.

As for DO vs. MD, most ortho residencies don't accept applications from DOs, as ******ed as that might be. Any DO interested in ortho would do well to get a solid list of all the programs that will look at them and then rotate at three of them.

I'm in OP's shoes as well. Same gpa but no boards yet as I'm ms1 going ms2. The comments here about having to constantly defend oneself are discouraging. I'll be 32 when I finish residency and don't want to put off having kids. My eggs are drying as we speak. Fml. I get more and more pessimistic everytime I read ortho forums

 

[Sam212]

I'm in OP's shoes as well. Same gpa but no boards yet as I'm ms1 going ms2. The comments here about having to constantly defend oneself are discouraging. I'll be 32 when I finish residency and don't want to put off having kids. My eggs are drying as we speak. Fml. I get more and more pessimistic everytime I read ortho forums

you'll not be liked by the guys in your program very much if you take maternity leave during ortho residency. In most ortho programs, guys bend over backwards to help their co-residents and hang out late to help each other. It will not bode well for you if you become pregnant during your residency as it will most likely be seen as a selfish move by most guys in your residency. I know I will be ripped for my comments here, but there is a lot of truth to what I am saying. I have seen and heard it first hand.

 

[GTP]

you'll not be liked by the guys in your program very much if you take maternity leave during ortho residency. In most ortho programs, guys bend over backwards to help their co-residents and hang out late to help each other. It will not bode well for you if you become pregnant during your residency as it will most likely be seen as a selfish move by most guys in your residency. I know I will be ripped for my comments here, but there is a lot of truth to what I am saying. I have seen and heard it first hand.

I've heard the same thing too so I'm not offended or anything. I just don't see myself waiting till 32/33 to start a family. Guess ortho is out till I come across more family-oriented programs.

 

[allthatglitter]

I think that if you want to do ortho you should follow your dreams. I know a female ortho and she's of the best hand surgeons in my state. It doesn't matter what gender you are all that matters if you know how to do your job correctly . Before this thread I was actually considering ortho but I'll just stick to peds.

 

[GTP]

I think that if you want to do ortho you should follow your dreams. I know a female ortho and she's of the best hand surgeons in my state. It doesn't matter what gender you are all that matters if you know how to do your job correctly . Before this thread I was actually considering ortho but I'll just stick to peds.

Yeah but what if you have more than one dream (ie ortho and starting a family)? I've already sacrificed my entire life for medicine. Ive lost count of how many times I couldn't go out or do countless other things because I had to study. I'm not letting my eggs lose viability just because i want to do ortho.

 

[allthatglitter]

Yeah but what if you have more than one dream (ie ortho and starting a family)? I've already sacrificed my entire life for medicine. Ive lost count of how many times I couldn't go out or do countless other things because I had to study. I'm not letting my eggs lose viability just because i want to do ortho.

There are lots of female friendly ortho residencies. I'm sure you could get a maternity leave. Are you still in med school now? If you are a 4th year it's the perfect time to have a baby or you can wait until you finish residency.

 

[GTP]

There are lots of female friendly ortho residencies. I'm sure you could get a maternity leave. Are you still in med school now? If you are a 4th year it's the perfect time to have a baby or you can wait until you finish residency.

im a long way from 4th year. I'm just really interested in ortho and/or rads. I'll need to do more shadowing or rotations to narrow it down. I have some time to figure it out. After residency is not an option. I dont want a baby with downs.

 

[danzman]

There are lots of female friendly ortho residencies. I'm sure you could get a maternity leave. Are you still in med school now? If you are a 4th year it's the perfect time to have a baby or you can wait until you finish residency.

While I admit that I know very little of anything about ortho programs, I have to say that there are very few fields that are really "family friendly" and none of those are surgical fields. I met a female EM resident on the trail that had to take 6mo off from the program to have a kid and graduated late, but that is about it. I suppose FM, psych or path could be a little simpler but not any surgical field. My n=low but I have never met a female surgical resident that had a child during residency, and only one that had one before (her husband was a stay at home dad). And even though I am a guy, I would argue that its not really fair to the kid involved to not have a mother for 5+ years. Seems to me that raising kids is a full-time job as it is, why the hell would anyone want to do it while working 80hr/wk?

Life aint always fair.

 

[Drwajid12]

I am medical doctor, Presently I living in Belgium. I want to do diploma in ortho here in Belgium. if anyone know about this please guide me that i start my study as soon as early.