DO school with full-tuition scholarship vs. MD school with no scholarship

[863168]

Debt free at graduation? You’d be stupid to pass up the DO. I’m honestly appalled that so many people here think otherwise. But doctors never were famous for financial literacy.

The OP never stated they would be debt free at graduation. Insert snarky joke.

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[naway]

I would not be debt-free upon graduation. The scholarship covers tuition, not all other expenses. I am going to contact Mercer, but the thing about almost all of the scholarships they offer is they come with a commitment to serve in a rural area for several years. That's a big decision to make for my distant future when the DO scholarship comes with no such stipulation. Would it be better to call the financial aid office or send something in writing?

 

[mistafab]

This is honestly one of the toughest “where should I go” threads I’ve ever seen here. OP, the answer here is much more nuanced and difficult than most these posters will admit. I’d say go with your heart on this one and never look back.

 

[naway]

This is honestly one of the toughest “where should I go” threads I’ve ever seen here. OP, the answer here is much more nuanced and difficult than most these posters will admit. I’d say go with your heart on this one and never look back.

Yeah, I'm really struggling with this and feel like there will be some level of regret no matter what decision I make. I appreciate the validation that this really is freaking hard haha.

 

[Mad Jack]

MD hands down

 

[Mad Jack]

This is honestly one of the toughest “where should I go” threads I’ve ever seen here. OP, the answer here is much more nuanced and difficult than most these posters will admit. I’d say go with your heart on this one and never look back.

No, go with MD and never look back.

Seriously, the doors being a MD opens are vast. I made the DO vs waiting to go MD mistake many years ago, don't be like me.

 

[SLC]

The OP never stated they would be debt free at graduation. Insert snarky joke.

Yeah, I see that now. But $100k? In primary care that’s as good as debt free; it wouldn’t be hard to find a job that would pay that off for you during a 3 year contract. While making $200-$250k in salary. $300k debt would be a little different.

 

[IndieKush]

Tough one. I’d always say MD, but we’re comparing PCOM (hopefully Philly) to Mercer + more debt. PCOM-PA has a pretty admirable match list, even for a DO school, and won’t hold back OP that much even if he ventures out into a super competitive speciality - unless it’s super competitive but it’s not like a MD school guarantees you any speciality on a silver platter either. Plus it’s philadelphia! You’d pay back the debt with ease in a few years anyways so I’d pick the location you’d be happier at.

 

[Osminog]

Tough one. I’d always say MD, but we’re comparing PCOM (hopefully Philly) to Mercer + more debt. PCOM-PA has a pretty admirable match list, even for a DO school, and won’t hold back OP that much even if he ventures out into a new speciality - unless it’s super competitive but it’s not like MD school guarantees you any speciality either. Plus it’s philadelphia! You’d pay back the debt with ease in a few years so I’d pick the location you’d be happier at.

Did you read the posts in this thread? It's GA-PCOM.

 

[IlDestriero]

200k savings is huge. Figure that’s 300 by the time you pay it off. If you’re already older that’s even more important.
You said you’d loved the DO school, what about Mercer? Location considerations? You have to live there at least 4 years.


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Il Destriero

 

[mistafab]

I still think this is tougher than a cut and dry recommendation like that though.

Most doctors are not going to MGH for academics. OP clearly prefers life-oriented priorities over career-oriented. Also, merger is occuring so OP will have many choices come 2023 for many many excellent programs if OP cares very little about research. Plus, this isn’t deciding to go to JHU vs. Penn State, this is mercer vs PCOM.

No, go with MD and never look back.

Seriously, the doors being a MD opens are vast. I made the DO vs waiting to go MD mistake many years ago, don't be like me.

 

[IndieKush]

Did you read the posts in this thread? It's GA-PCOM.

I misread. In that case my advice still stands regarding happiness but personally I’d choose Mercer.

 

[getdown]

@naway I'm a big proponent for financially sound decisions. However, I've seen waaay too many DOs hampered by their DO status when applying to residencies to, in good conscience, say that, in this particular scenario, going with the debt free option would be the right choice. Just as an example, my residency would not even consider a DO applicant during application cycles and it's far from being alone on that front. The opportunity cost and additional hurdles you'll have to face coming out of DO should you change your mind and not want to do primary care are not worth it. You're at the start of your career and no need to hamper your options in the future just to save some money. Now if you know 1000% you want to go primary care then by all means do the debt free DO school, but if there's any chance you may change your mind do MD.

 

[Osminog]

2017 Mercer match list: http://medicine.mercer.edu/www/mu-m...y/nrmp2017/upload/MUSM-2017-Match-Results.pdf
2018 GA-PCOM match list: Match List | Student Affairs at PCOM (Note that the competitive specialty matches are mostly in AOA programs, which will be merged with ACGME by the time OP is in the match.)

This is seriously a no-brainer. Go MD.

Most doctors are not going to MGH for academics. OP clearly prefers life-oriented priorities over career-oriented. Also, merger is occuring so OP will have many choices come 2023 for many many excellent programs if OP cares very little about research.

I don't understand any of this. If OP weren't career-oriented, he'd be applying to PA or NP school, not medical school; he's making a massive investment in his professional life, so he should go to the program that will give him the best training and the most options.

Also, how would the merger give DO graduates more choices than they have right now? I've never heard anyone make a claim like this before.

Plus, this isn’t deciding to go to JHU vs. Penn State, this is mercer vs PCOM.

GA-PCOM, not PCOM. We're talking about the not-so-well-established satellite campus.

 

[workaholic181]

Well you're in a great position either way OP. Honestly, I'd probably pick the MD program unless you just absolutely loved PCOM GA.

 

[naway]

200k savings is huge. Figure that’s 300 by the time you pay it off. If you’re already older that’s even more important.
You said you’d loved the DO school, what about Mercer? Location considerations? You have to live there at least 4 years.


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Il Destriero

In terms of location, GA-PCOM wins 1000% hands-down. I did enjoy the atmosphere at Mercer, but most of Mercer's appeal over GA-PCOM comes down to those curriculum and scheduling factors I mentioned. Things like grading system and time to prepare for boards are pretty significant factors to consider, though, I think.

 

[LebronManning]

Debt free at graduation? You’d be stupid to pass up the DO. I’m honestly appalled that so many people here think otherwise. But doctors never were famous for financial literacy.

What are you talking about? MD would give OP specialties that would make multiples of a primary care physician's salary. Literally the difference in compensation of a Spine surgeon/Interventional Cardiologist/Gastroenterologist vs. a PCP would account for the debt difference in one, max 2 years.

 

[naway]

What are you talking about? MD would give OP specialties that would make multiples of a primary care physician's salary. Literally the difference in compensation of a Spine surgeon/Interventional Cardiologist/Gastroenterologist vs. a PCP would account for the debt difference in one, max 2 years.

The chances of me becoming a spine surgeon are less than zero haha. Cardiology and gastroenterology are nowhere on my radar, but I suppose it's possible I develop an interest in one of them. My biggest interests right now are internal medicine, psychiatry, and neurology.

 

[Osminog]

The chances of me becoming a spine surgeon are less than zero haha. Cardiology and gastroenterology are nowhere on my radar, but I suppose it's possible I develop an interest in one of them. My biggest interests right now are internal medicine, psychiatry, and neurology.

You won't know what you actually want to do until you do rotations. This isn't the time to limit your options.

 

[Mad Jack]

I still think this is tougher than a cut and dry recommendation like that though.

Most doctors are not going to MGH for academics. OP clearly prefers life-oriented priorities over career-oriented. Also, merger is occuring so OP will have many choices come 2023 for many many excellent programs if OP cares very little about research. Plus, this isn’t deciding to go to JHU vs. Penn State, this is mercer vs PCOM.

The options that being a MD provides, and the geographic flexibility, are both quite valuable to the point of being virtually irreplaceable. I've been through the match, I've seen what happened at my school and with friends elsewhere. As the match gets tighter, the premium a MD commands grows. Well over a thousand DOs didn't match ACGME this year, and with AOA positions disappearing, in the future those people will have nowhere to go. Even those that do match typically match lower on their list and farther from home. PCOM doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot to non-DOs, so don't think going there is like going to a MD school. Their strength used to lie in their AOA residencies, but those are no longer going to exist come OP's match, and a much broader, more qualified applicant pool will be sending applications their way.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

What are you talking about? MD would give OP specialties that would make multiples of a primary care physician's salary. Literally the difference in compensation of a Spine surgeon/Interventional Cardiologist/Gastroenterologist vs. a PCP would account for the debt difference in one, max 2 years.

And what if he still ends up in primary care as an MD? I agree that it opens doors to other specialties, but don't be protecting your dreams onto OP's though.

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[el_duderino]

I'm shocked that this is even a discussion. $200k is not that big a difference when it comes to matching into the specialty of your choice. It's a fact that being a DO graduate, especially of a school like GA-PCOM compared to Mercer, will significantly limit residency options. GA-PCOM's clinical rotations appear to be much less robust than Mercer's as well, and I think clinical rotation quality is the single most important part of medical school.

I just don't see how this is even a question.

 

[el_duderino]

The chances of me becoming a spine surgeon are less than zero haha. Cardiology and gastroenterology are nowhere on my radar, but I suppose it's possible I develop an interest in one of them. My biggest interests right now are internal medicine, psychiatry, and neurology.

IM doesn't appear from the stats to be a competitive specialty, but that's because everyone has an IM residency program. The good programs are going to be significantly harder for you to match into coming from GA-PCOM vs Mercer. And if you do decide you want to subspecialize, you'll have a much harder time as a DO.

On top of that, the vast majority of people in my class, including myself, changed their mind about what specialty they wanted to go into once they started actually working on the floors. You don't know what you don't know. Going to GA-PCOM would be a massive mistake.

I just went through the match. You WILL regret going DO when it's interview season.

 

[naway]

You won't know what you actually want to do until you do rotations. This isn't the time to limit your options.

Sure, but I do know that I would have to REALLY REALLY love a specialty that has very lengthy post-graduation training to pursue it because I very much dislike the thought of not being able to be an attending until in or nearly in my 40s. Mercer has a 3-year primary care accelerated track that is very appealing to me for this reason, though only a very select few students get accepted to it, so I'm not exactly counting on being able to get into it (hence why I didn't mention that it would lower my final debt by about $70K).

 

[LebronManning]

And what if he still ends up in primary care as an MD? I agree that it opens doors to other specialties, but don't be protecting your dreams onto OP's though.

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Even if he ends up as a primary care physician, MD will be conducive to a more successful practice. The general public still holds a stigma against DO and in private practice, you are highly dependent on your patients (customers). Now, I'm not saying you're gonna be struggling to find patients as a DO but you're dreaming if you think it'll be as easy as an MD. Most privately insured patients will go to MD. If you want a concierge practice that caters to the rich, they will go MD.

 

[SLC]

I'm shocked that this is even a discussion. $200k is not that big a difference when it comes to matching into the specialty of your choice. It's a fact that being a DO graduate, especially of a school like GA-PCOM compared to Mercer, will significantly limit residency options. GA-PCOM's clinical rotations appear to be much less robust than Mercer's as well, and I think clinical rotation quality is the single most important part of medical school.

I just don't see how this is even a question.

Have you been through the match? Graduated and seen the literal mountain of debt waiting for you? Looked into what it’s really going to take to pay that off? 200k is a lot of money to pay for things like “geographic flexibility”, or “open doors” into fields which are vastly different to where the OP’s stated interests lay.

I’ve been through the match, I’m a month from finishing residency now. I’m doing primary care, which is what I decided on after starting off interested in IM with an eye for a HemeOnc or Cards fellowship. I’ve got $300k in loans, and I’m signed up for a contract that will net me $250k/year guaranteed and a likely $300-$320 with RVU bonus.

I’m getting a rural loan repayment benefit that will pay $60k per year to my loans; I’m using PSLF (which may not even be a thing when OP graduates). I’m happy and feel I have a pretty decent situation set up for myself, but if I didn’t have that salary, and those bonuses etc. I’d be hosed.

But if I’d graduated with $100k in debt, I’d be all set as my loan repayment benefit would more than eliminate my loans with nothing out of my pocket.

What the OP has amounts to essentially a full ride scholarship to practice primary care if he/she so chooses.

 

[el_duderino]

Also, just an anecdote. One of my friends wanted to do family med or psych.... then decided she wanted to do both. There are combined family med-psych residencies.

There are fewer than 20 spots in the country.

Yeah, it's primary care, but what if you decide you want to try for family med-psych? Primary care and psych are both on your list. How would you feel submitting applications to family med-psych as a DO vs MD?

 

[el_duderino]

Have you been through the match? Graduated and seen the literal mountain of debt waiting for you? Looked into what it’s really going to take to pay that off? 200k is a lot of money to pay for things like “geographic flexibility”, or “open doors” into fields which are vastly different to where the OP’s stated interests lay.

I’ve been through the match, I’m a month from finishing residency now. I’m doing primary care, which is what I decided on after starting off interested in IM with an eye for a HemeOnc or Cards fellowship. I’ve got $300k in loans, and I’m signed up for a contract that will net me $250k/year guaranteed and a likely $300-$320 with RVU bonus.

I’m getting a rural loan repayment benefit that will pay $60k per year to my loans; I’m using PSLF (which may not even be a thing when OP graduates). I’m happy and feel I have a pretty decent situation set up for myself, but if I didn’t have that salary, and those bonuses etc. I’d be hosed.

But if I’d graduated with $100k in debt, I’d be all set as my loan repayment benefit would more than eliminate my loans with nothing out of my pocket.

What the OP has amounts to essentially a full ride scholarship to practice primary care if he/she so chooses.

And what if you decided you wanted to do heme-on or cards, and didn't get into a fellowship?

How much additional debt would you have happily assumed, as a graduating resident, to get into that cardiology fellowship vs failing to do so?

 

[naway]

Lot of male pronouns being thrown around in here, lol. I'm female, which is part of why I'm so certain that I'm not going to be doing anything like neurosurgery that would require me to be nearly 40 coming out of residency and then work very long hours.

 

[SLC]

And what if you decided you wanted to do heme-on or cards, and didn't get into a fellowship?

How much additional debt would you have happily assumed, as a graduating resident, to get into that cardiology fellowship vs failing to do so?

No more than I did, my school was about as expensive as I was willing to attend.

In the end, it wasn’t cost that steered me away from trying to subspecialize, it was the 6+ years of Post graduate training. I turned 30 during M1, and wasn’t going to be in my 40’s and still a trainee. I wasn’t even thinking about money back then, that reality smacked me when I graduated.

Not sure where you’re trying to go with this line of questions.

 

[SLC]

Even if he ends up as a primary care physician, MD will be conducive to a more successful practice. The general public still holds a stigma against DO and in private practice, you are highly dependent on your patients (customers). Now, I'm not saying you're gonna be struggling to find patients as a DO but you're dreaming if you think it'll be as easy as an MD. Most privately insured patients will go to MD. If you want a concierge practice that caters to the rich, they will go MD.

This is an astonishingly ignorant and patently false post.

 

[LebronManning]

This is an astonishingly ignorant and patently false post.

How? The majority of America doesn’t know what DO stands for. Most people in healthcare won’t care. All being equal, almost everyone would go to MD.

 

[humblethinker]

1) You are not really "older"; still very young in the big picture
2) Optionality is your ammo in times of uncertainty
3) The fact you are asking this question when you were awarded a full ride in a location you like is very telling that at the bottom of it all, you covet the MD degree, regardless of how incentivized a DO offer is (can't get much better than what is currently on the DO table)
4) Dedicated STEP 1 study time is very important because it largely determines your career path
5) P/F is very important (based on student reports in person and on SDN)
6) Making a decision based mainly on the financial end means you are taking actions based on external factors (money) which eventually leads to incongruency. You should aim to take actions that are aligned internally so you maintain true authentic congruency between your desires and actions, which in the long run, creates much more emotional stability and happiness.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

How? The majority of America doesn’t know what DO stands for. Most people in healthcare won’t care. All being equal, almost everyone would go to MD.

In a hospital setting, I don't think patients care what's behind your name because most people don't really look at those stuff.

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[LebronManning]

In a hospital setting, I don't think patients care what's behind your name because most people don't really look at those stuff.

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I agree, in a hospital setting it doesn't matter for the most part. In specialties like Hospital medicine, EM, Anesthesia, it doesn't matter at all. In specialties where you're fighting for business (almost all of surgery and specialists), it does start to matter. The patients that are ignorant will not even know what DOs are. The patients that are smart will go to an MD because they presumably were trained better. Now, fortunately we have enough patients that DO physicians still get plenty of patients but there's no doubt that it's easier for an MD.

OP is considering primary care which is likely going to be outpatient private practice.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

The OP never stated they would be debt free at graduation. Insert snarky joke.

The joke is that so many people think a $200k difference in debt from $100k to $300k is no big deal.

 

[RNthenDoc]

This is one of the more interesting conundrum threads.

As an older nontrad who is nearly certain to go FM/IM, I’d be completely torn in this situation. I actually held my KCU acceptance until last week to see what scholarships they’d give me vs. my sole MD acceptance.

OP, if there is even a shadow of a doubt that you’d be interested in a more competitive specialty or program (even FM/Peds etc has elite programs!) you’d be wise to pick the MD school. If, like me, you’re 100% comfortable with FM I’d do the D.O.

It’s PCOM, so it’s a decent school! Ultimately you’re in a great spot and you should be happy!

 

[SLC]

I agree, in a hospital setting it doesn't matter for the most part. In specialties like Hospital medicine, EM, Anesthesia, it doesn't matter at all. In specialties where you're fighting for business (almost all of surgery and specialists), it does start to matter. The patients that are ignorant will not even know what DOs are. The patients that are smart will go to an MD because they presumably were trained better. Now, fortunately we have enough patients that DO physicians still get plenty of patients but there's no doubt that it's easier for an MD.

OP is considering primary care which is likely going to be outpatient private practice.

Seriously, so ignorant.

Part of ignorance involves not being able to recognize it, so I get that it’s hard.

In primary care especially, patients don’t care. Nobody even pays attention. They think the PA is a doctor too.

In primary care, people just want to get seen, without having to wait 6 weeks if possible.

 

[allantois]

Unfortunately you will only know in 4 years whether you made the right decision or not. If you end up going into primary care coming out of Mercer, you will always have the thoughts about passing up this opportunity. And remember, you will end up paying something like $2 for every $1 borrowed.

 

[allantois]

6) Making a decision based mainly on the financial end means you are taking actions based on external factors (money) which eventually leads to incongruency. You should aim to take actions that are aligned internally so you maintain true authentic congruency between your desires and actions, which in the long run, creates much more emotional stability and happiness.

How ironic is this last point considering that most of pro-MD posters in this thread bring up the argument of going into a competitive speciality on the grounds of making more money.

 

[humblethinker]

How ironic is this last point considering that most of pro-MD posters in this thread bring up the argument of going into a competitive speciality on the grounds of making more money.

I think that is really unfortunate. Chasing money is almost a guarantee to be miserable. Just turn on the news, all the ego tripping people who appear to have it all (whatever that really means anyway) have plenty of money, yet still struggle with a lot of issues. Hopefully anyone chasing money wakes up and realizes there is no fundamental difference between someone who is using their intellectual curiosity to pursue becoming a neurosurgeon vs. the garbage man who just picked up your neighborhood trash.

We all should be here with the same goal to make a positive impact and enjoy each and every day ----- who cares how much money someone has, how big their house is, what car they drive, how many social media followers they have, how many instagram likes, etc....its all a bunch of superficial nonsense. Be the best you can be each day to make the world a better place without regard for how much money you are externally compensated.

 

[Disciple of Sattar]

The joke is that so many people think a $200k difference in debt from $100k to $300k is no big deal.

I see people post things like "$320k cost of attendance is no big deal, you can pay that off in two years of attending salary" which doesn't exactly make sense if you take into account that capitalization and interest on those loans will cause that number to be closer to $500k-$600k, a $200k salary is more like $130k after taxes, and you will still have to pay something like $50k to live plus other costs...

Unless having to steer your career into working as much as you can and making as much money (you won't even see) as you can (which could easily change your intended specialty and living location) is no big deal, then it's kind of a big deal...

I'm not commenting on the DO vs MD situation, just the perspectives many students here seem to have on money.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I see people post things like "$320k cost of attendance is no big deal, you can pay that off in two years of attending salary" which doesn't exactly make sense if you take into account that capitalization and interest on those loans will cause that number to be closer to $500k-$600k, a $200k salary is more like $130k after taxes, and you will still have to pay something like $50k to live plus other costs...

Unless having to steer your career into working as much as you can and making as much money (you won't even see) as you can (which could easily change your intended specialty and living location) is no big deal, then it's kind of a big deal...

Yeah, I mean, MD definitely keeps doors open for you while DO often closes some doors. But the calculus changes when you're talking about a free ride to the DO school. Anyone who doesn't see why that's not an easy decision doesn't know what they're talking about.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Hey OP. I'm not wise enough to pretend to know what's right for you, and I think this is a decision that only you can make for yourself.

For one, the comment about the difficulty of finding patients is something I have never heard before and something I do not think is true at all. I have many family and friends who see a DO in our area as their PCP, and most of them didn't even know he was a DO (or care). And I live in South Florida, which certainly has plenty of other options for healthcare.

If it helps, I was accepted to PCOM-GA and turned them down for another acceptance further away from home because I found some things about the program sketchy. Like you mention, the board study time situation is a definite negative. The situation with their clinical rotations made me uneasy, too.

However, there was a second year ambassador with my interview group who actually said he turned down Mercer to go to GA-PCOM. He didn't mention anything about a scholarship, but maybe that's what motivated him, because I remember thinking "why????". However, he said he wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon, so I definitely think he made a mistake.

My point is, no one can answer this for you: only you know yourself, what you're willing to sacrifice, etc. While it's true that you may find other passions besides PC while in med school, you mention that you would have to seriously love something in order to take on the extra years of training. How realistic do you think that happening is? You need to just sit down and look at those factors, as well as how debt averse you are. This is a really personal decision. I personally am very debt averse, but am not set on FM/IM so I would probably take the MD acceptance, as hard as turning down that kind of money would be. But, I'm also going to be basically the youngest person in any med school class, so there's that. No one knows your situation, and your mindset, but you. This is a tough decision, but hopefully you can make it as objective and realistic to your needs as possible. Good luck! Either way, you're going to be a doctor.

 

[LebronManning]

I think that is really unfortunate. Chasing money is almost a guarantee to be miserable. Just turn on the news, all the ego tripping people who appear to have it all (whatever that really means anyway) have plenty of money, yet still struggle with a lot of issues. Hopefully anyone chasing money wakes up and realizes there is no fundamental difference between someone who is using their intellectual curiosity to pursue becoming a neurosurgeon vs. the garbage man who just picked up your neighborhood trash.

We all should be here with the same goal to make a positive impact and enjoy each and every day ----- who cares how much money someone has, how big their house is, what car they drive, how many social media followers they have, how many instagram likes, etc....its all a bunch of superficial nonsense. Be the best you can be each day to make the world a better place without regard for how much money you are externally compensated.

Good god, I almost threw up reading this. Everyone that has money cares about money. Making a positive impact and wanting to make a lot of money are not mutually exclusive. And there is a huge difference between a neurosurgeon and a garbage man.

Take this bs to hippieville

 

[harkas]

if it was PCOM in Philadelphia, I would definitely say consider going there for less debt. PCOM-GA is not the same caliber. If it were me, I would compare board scores, pass/fail components, rotation quality, and match list. With those aspects considered, Mercer is the obvious choice. The fact that you don't have to take the COMLEX and know you will be rotating at quality hospitals is a lot of stress taken off your shoulders. It's worth the money. It's your career. It's tough out there. Be the best you can be and go to Mercer.

 

[Kr#36]

Lot of male pronouns being thrown around in here, lol. I'm female, which is part of why I'm so certain that I'm not going to be doing anything like neurosurgery that would require me to be nearly 40 coming out of residency and then work very long hours.

Females can't do neurosurgery? News to me.

 

[humblethinker]

Good god, I almost threw up reading this. Everyone that has money cares about money. Making a positive impact and wanting to make a lot of money are not mutually exclusive. And there is a huge difference between a neurosurgeon and a garbage man.

Take this bs to hippieville

should not assume that there isn't a garbage man out there who aspires to be a neurosurgeon or that there isn't a current neurosurgeon who was a former garbage man. Both have a meaningful impact in society and contribute to it in different ways. What if you were a neurosurgeon but no one ever collected your weekly garbage? or, What if you were a garbage man who needed surgery to live but no neurosurgeon would treat you?
With diversified curiosities, insights, and perspectives, we are all here to enjoy our time and hopefully do a little good in the world. --- it is the ego that gets in the way.

 

[naway]

Females can't do neurosurgery? News to me.

That is not what I intended to imply. Rather, the fact that I am several years older than the average matriculant, combined with my gender, makes me very hesitant to do anything that will keep me in training until my 40s and then have such little personal time in a way I don't think I would worry about as much were I man. *shrug* I'm not the only woman to ever have these thoughts judging by several threads I've seen on the topic.

 

[naway]

Hey OP. I'm not wise enough to pretend to know what's right for you, and I think this is a decision that only you can make for yourself.

For one, the comment about the difficulty of finding patients is something I have never heard before and something I do not think is true at all. I have many family and friends who see a DO in our area as their PCP, and most of them didn't even know he was a DO (or care). And I live in South Florida, which certainly has plenty of other options for healthcare.

If it helps, I was accepted to PCOM-GA and turned them down for another acceptance further away from home because I found some things about the program sketchy. Like you mention, the board study time situation is a definite negative. The situation with their clinical rotations made me uneasy, too.

However, there was a second year ambassador with my interview group who actually said he turned down Mercer to go to GA-PCOM. He didn't mention anything about a scholarship, but maybe that's what motivated him, because I remember thinking "why????". However, he said he wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon, so I definitely think he made a mistake.

My point is, no one can answer this for you: only you know yourself, what you're willing to sacrifice, etc. While it's true that you may find other passions besides PC while in med school, you mention that you would have to seriously love something in order to take on the extra years of training. How realistic do you think that happening is? You need to just sit down and look at those factors, as well as how debt averse you are. This is a really personal decision. I personally am very debt averse, but am not set on FM/IM so I would probably take the MD acceptance, as hard as turning down that kind of money would be. But, I'm also going to be basically the youngest person in any med school class, so there's that. No one knows your situation, and your mindset, but you. This is a tough decision, but hopefully you can make it as objective and realistic to your needs as possible. Good luck! Either way, you're going to be a doctor.

Hi there! I remember you from the GA-PCOM thread. Congrats on your acceptances and arriving at a decision that feels best for you! I agree with much of what you said about the concerns with the PCOM program. It's an overall lovely program, but the negatives are...not minor. No program will ever be a perfect fit, of course, and I have to decide whether putting up with those downsides is worth the significantly reduced debt. That is really interesting about the student who turned down Mercer! Huh, yeah, my decision would be so obvious if I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon haha. Yeah, it's weird. On one hand, I feel like I can't really win with this decision. On the other hand, ima be a doctor, so I can't really lose either.