DOs and residencies in the military

[DD214_DOC]

After having a conversation with a friend, I see myself drawn more and more to ortho. My interests in martial arts and such have given me a unique background that I think will help make me a decent ortho in the future.

However, wanting to attend a DO school basically kills my chances of civilian ortho. Anyone know how many military ortho spots there are and what it takes to get there? Do DOs in the military face the same biases they face in the civilian world?

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[Spang]

I can tell you what I've personally seen. My last two flight surgeons (I was active duty Navy) were stationed at Willow Grove, were both DO's, one from PCOM and the other from somewhere out west. Anyway the first guy went opthalmology in San Diego, one of 2 slots I think, and the other went ortho at NNMC. So it seems from these two cases, DO isn't an issue. And it shouldn't be.

Spang

 

[s42brown]

However, wanting to attend a DO school basically kills my chances of civilian ortho.

I know your new at this so I'll be nice. There are 31 different ortho programs which accept about 100 applicants each year for ortho, and only DOs. There called osteopathic orthopedic residencies and obviously you do not kill your chances of matching civilian.

 

[DD214_DOC]

I do not want to do an osteopathic program. I want the best graduate medical education as possible in an area I want to be in, thus I must do an allopathic residency.

Everything I have heard, read, and learned has suggested osteo residencies are subpar when compared to allo residencies. Also, I have never seen job descriptions for physicians mention anywhere about osteopathic residencies being included when screening applicants. Check monster.com and some other similar sources.

 

[VentdependenT]

Do not attend a DO school if you feel this way. You'll only hate yourself for the rest of your professional career. Spend the extra time on going allo.

We had a guy match in military ortho this year at AZCOM. Last year allo ortho at maricopa in AZ. Is it harder than going allo? Hell yes. Did these guys deserve it, you bet your ass. Work hard, rotate smart, score high, land solid letters, and you will have a chance. I will agree that getting civilian allo ortho is very difficult indeed and most people are scared (because of potential no match) to invest the adequate time and effort in persuing the specialty.

I doubt you'll be using monster.com to find yourself a job post residency. Its certainly no way to accurately gauge available solid business opportunities as a physician. I suggest you stop by a strong osteo ortho residency before labeling it subpar. Check out a busy hospital like St. Vincents in Toledo or the CCOM program (rotate at Cook County, Christ, lots of other Chicago hospitals). Both of these programs are extremely difficult to get into and I doubt you would call them weak after seeing what these guys do. Educate yourself and fully evaluate your options.