Does going D.O. open or close more doors?

[Buster Douglas]

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I might be sparking up some controversy, but for you D.O.'s that've already gone through the match, do you think having gone D.O. opened or closed more doors to you?

Is it harder to get matched into a highly competitive specialty through the D.O. match or the M.D. match?

I'm asking because I'm starting to think that going D.O. might actually increase a person's odds of matching into the 'specialty of their dreams,' but not necessarily at the program of their dreams.

I'm sure there's people out there that would rather be a D.O. neurosurgeon than an M.D. neurologist if they found this to be true...

 

[gasman2003]

I personall think it is a wash... One advantage is that you can apply to separate DO-only residencies but there aren't all that many of them in the highly competitive specialties. For example, I think there are only 19 or 20 DO radiology spots in the AOA match per year (don't quote me on that but it's close).

If you are intending to apply allopathic match for very competitive specialties being a DO hurts you compared to being a US MD. However, being a DO is superior to being a caribbean or foreign medical graduate. Not to say that their training is worse, but I know several IMGs who have had great difficulty with biases compared to DO counterparts.

So end result in my opinion, I don't think being a DO "helped" me per se, and I will never really know if it hurt me because I am doing what I want to be doing.

Patrick Hogan, DO
anesthesiology intern