I was going to apply to allopathic schools this cycle but I just got my MCAT score and it's way too low to be considered anywhere (26O). Therefore I am going to apply to osteopathic schools this year instead, and at the same time study for the MCAT again to see if I can get a better score so I could possibly apply to allopathic schools for 2014.
The only this is if I get accepted to a DO school I'm pretty certain that I would go instead of applying later to MD school in 2014. ...
----So my main question is, if I go to an osteopathic school and do really well will I ever have a shot at getting a surgical residency spot? And more specifically a Plastic surgery residency spot?
1) Step 1 score, I understand, has an upper limit to how much it can help you. However, the lower limit is prohibitive to many would-be candidates for plastic and reconstructive surgery, regardless of what theory you decide to bet on as far as an upper limit. If your MCAT/standard test taking is a major problem, then your problem is bigger than MD/DO; you have to get through the Step 1 threshold before those other things come into play. If you get it up to a higher score 2nd round though maybe you can do the MD and maybe you're a great test taker just had a bad day...
2) I don't think anyone I know actually has any problem with the DO curriculum vs MD especially since from my research background anyone who isn't *at least* 100% academic oriented is interpreted to just be interested in working for money and regurgitating facts rather than interested in the underlying science. To them MD is very non-scientific even the mechanisms taught as classic foundational teaching etc; but everyone knows that to do surgery you don't need to know anything except what to do in standard situations or how to field unexpected/emergent situations, which DO is plenty qualified to teach you. From where I'm from even the clear majority of PhD candidates are working 'weak' topics (old guard sees us new generation as soft and lazy lol) so obviously MD candidates going into nonacademic medicine are seen as automons.
...The stigma of DO is, I think, more a perceived lack of ambition/drive to get over the threshold into the MD crowd from the start. DO entry doesn't require as high of stats (everyone knows that as a duh) and from every single person I know, if they can get into both MD and DO they go MD (without fail. Even if they like manipulative medicine etc they go MD for greater options/etc and figure they can study up later and learn what most DOs forget after a few years in practice, because most DOs end up working almost identically to MDs once out there and use progressively less and less of the distinctive manipulative med in their practice, exceptions nonwithstanding, regardless of the fact lots of DO students will say while going through they're glad they get a more 'balanced' training about providing health including manipulative techniques).
..Because of this, most MD residency programs I think look at MD vs DO and say that by the time you're trying to get into med school your 'true colors' are matured enough to make the call that you weren't willing to go back to school and fix stats to go MD (sortof the 'right way' if you're applying to something competitive afterwards, since you know its going to hurt as is obvious because you bothered to post this and no one thought it was out of the ordinary for you to worry about it, just said 'go for the MD anyway!'... everyone knows DO will hurt if you are going competitive afterwards). This points to a severly different character from 1) the person who kept stats high the whole time, or 2) the person (like me) who doubled back and got the stats with a few years and got into an MD school come hell or high water. Why did I do it (at the cost of a few years?) Because I wasn't leaving whether this distinction would matter in the future up to chance. Why would someone choose not to do it this way? Because obviously they ARE for whatever variety of reasons they have. I don't know if it will continue to matter but from what I have learned from my time off and all the people I met on the way that most undergrads don't b/c I've been around some heavy duty academics getting research experience while doubling back as a job (long story), I made the safer bet taking the harder road. The DO just says, I would have gone MD but it wasn't there and I didn't want to take the trouble/money/time/etc to get the best position I could. Maybe they'll have this attitude all the time...?
Plus, you're surrounded by people who also did the DO so everything except Step 1 score (obv not complex) is somewhat non-comparative to crowd who did get into the MD school system). And everyone knows Step 1 is not nearly as specific/detailed as your classwork and can be 'cracked' by just being a workaholic (if you do nothing first two years but board prep you'll have great boards even if you're a ***** you just won't be well rounded when they ask about your time usage), so while Step 1 is enormously important in plastics matching, remember, thats why there is an upper limit to how much Step 1 alone can get you.
All that being said as a disclaimer, truth is no one bothering to be involved in academic plastic surgery who is qualified to do so is completely uncaring, they're all very intelligent people and it wouldn't be making history (people have gone DO to plastics matching, check charting outcomes for more recent stats, not every year but it happens). So don't let anyone bring you down. Just recognize that I'm not trying to be snobby sharing my story and 2 (fallible) cents and the other posters saying the 26O isn't *impossible* to go MD with aren't either; we're just trying to help your odds in a world where it is possible to go DO/integrated plastics, but much much more likely (and still not easy by any stretch) to get the MD and go MD/integrated plastics.
CT surgery, from what I hear (which isn't much I don't follow up on the field just read 'the surgeons' a bit back and hear things now and then), is not that hard since cards cut their field from under them financially and prestige wise. But to be honest CT surgery seems completely different from plastic surgery and I can't imagine interchanging them under any possible circumstance.
Best of luck to you and all of us med student 'babies' aspiring to the field, however you choose to try and get in!
