DO's, AOA, Hospital DO Residencies, etc..., HELP!!

[cooldreams]

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Guys and Gals,

ok, so i just got accepted and am pretty new... but i am seeing a definite trend and realize that something needs to be done.

WHAT CAN WE DO?!?!?

Problem: More DO schools are popping up, but no more DO residencies. Becoming much easier to become a doctor, but harder to get the residencies of choice.

Anyone have any ideas what should be done?? Would we petition hospitals to start DO residencies, or what?? I am really not sure how to cut the problem off at the pass because I am not wholly understanding the situation.

I think the Osteopathy is very special right now. It is a smaller group than MD's but it is growing, and we have the chance right now to see where it is will grow in the future.

Anyone have any ideas?!?!? Maybe gather a list of the Presidents of the AOA in each state and write a large letter to them, and get lots of signatures wanting them to put pressure on hospitals, or something???

IDEAS?!?!?!!


this is not just my future, but YOURS TOO!

 

[DocWagner]

Residencies need to be started ONLY if the quality in education is available. I am an allopathic EM resident and I have a particular bias against residencies without strictly defined education requirements, research requirements, procedural requirements, faculty requirements etc. This takes time.
More and More DO's enter the MD match for numerous reasons, hence the high unmatched rate in certain specialties (see the Nov JAOA). Their are numerous solutions...my personal feeling is that stricter guidelines must be in place to assure quality graduate medical education...today that is NOT the case. You WILL match...you WILL get a residency position...you MUST educate yourself regarding your options. Residency makes the physician...choose wisely.

 

[bustbones26]

Apparently, hospitals are no longer allowed to have osteopathic internships unless they have at least one osteopathic residency program at their hospiral.

I will give you an example, I know of a particular hospital that has an osteopathic internship, and an ACGME family practice residency program. If you are a DO and want to do FP, you go to this hospital, do your osteopathic internship for your first year, and this also counts as your first year of the FP program. Then you graduate from an ACGME FP program over the next two years.

Apparently the AOA is laying down the law that this can no longer happen. From now on, if you want to have the internship at your hospital, you have to offer an AOA residency.

I think its just going to cause problems myself. But we shall see in the future.

 

[Goofyone]

Originally posted by cooldreams
WHAT CAN WE DO?!?!?

Problem: More DO schools are popping up, but no more DO residencies. Becoming much easier to become a doctor, but harder to get the residencies of choice.

Anyone have any ideas?!?!? Maybe gather a list of the Presidents of the AOA in each state and write a large letter to them, and get lots of signatures wanting them to put pressure on hospitals, or something???

IDEAS?!?!?!!


this is not just my future, but YOURS TOO!

I share your concerns.

We don't have any good residencies because we don't have any decent hospitals, for the most part.

There's a good reason that most allopathic schools are hooked up with universities. Unfortunately, most osteopathic schools are not.

No university affilliation/no state funding/high tuition+ little generation of research (and NIH funds that go with it) + irresponsible opening of new DO schools when they know damn good and well that there wouldn't be enough AOA residency spots for half our students even if we all wanted them, while simultaneously making it as difficult as possible for the DO student to do an ACGME residency and not be disowned + AOA at odds with most DO students and unwilling to evolve = DOs get the big fat shaft, without any lubricant to ease the anal fissures.

The way I see it, the problems with DO residencies go much deeper than bad planning on the part of the program directors. The entire DO system is basically jacked, and will remain jacked, unless there is a complete restructuring of the osteopathic medical animal (which would of course be vehemently opposed by the AOA and the vocal minority of DO students and old-timer doctors).

I personally think the best thing DOs can do is to get some people in the AOA that is representative of the will of the actual current body of DO students and young DO physicians, rather than the average 1874 DO physician. Unfortunately the AOA selects against the modern DO students, causing a perpetual cycle of misrepresentation and gridlocking the average DO into a fiery chasm of frustration.

Or we could just start teaching nothing but cranial.

 

[sophiejane]

AOA President Beehler's remarks at a recent address to my class make this painfully obvious. He actually said several times that the most insulting thing we can do to our profession is to give membership dollars to allopathic organizations such as the AMA and/or to do ACGME residencies. (He also mentioned AMSA--however, he is uninformed of the fact that this is a truly all-encompassing organization which promotes issues that benefit and represent all medical students). While I am hardly an AMA supporter (I disagree with the majority of their political stances, including the new "prescription drug bill" but that is for another post...), I think we have to find some middle ground. I think the AMA is extending a hand (recent postings on their website were positive and informative about osteopathic medicine) and it is foolish for us not to accept it. We already accept their residency spots.

The student AOA leadership at my school truly tows the party line. I have yet to see anyone raise any concerns about these issues. But then, we also have a strong AMA chapter here (which I find weird).

The AOA is interested in dollars, first, and in bettering the future of the profession second.

 

[VentdependenT]

Escape the DO world and go into an ACGME residency. There is too much insanity to sort out and I am definitely not the visionary to get the ball rolling.

You'll be fine. Just run like hell.

 

[Freeeedom!]

The AOA president sounds like a LOOOOON! Listen, quality education cannot always be found in a community hospital by volunteer staff physicians who have virtually zero incentive to teach.
The AMA is a political organization but UNLIKE the AOA, does NOT license programs/residencies/DO schools. Perhaps a bit of conflicting interest...hhmmmmmmm nah!

We no longer need to lock ourselves in the closet of purely DO hospitals, isolationism breeds *****ic AOA presidents and future leaders.

 

[drvlad2004]

Originally posted by Freeeedom!
The AOA president sounds like a LOOOOON! Listen, quality education cannot always be found in a community hospital by volunteer staff physicians who have virtually zero incentive to teach.
The AMA is a political organization but UNLIKE the AOA, does NOT license programs/residencies/DO schools. Perhaps a bit of conflicting interest...hhmmmmmmm nah!

We no longer need to lock ourselves in the closet of purely DO hospitals, isolationism breeds *****ic AOA presidents and future leaders.

I say Freeeeeeeeeeeeedom! to that!!!

Unfortunately most AOA residencies are in small community hospitals that do not adequately expose you to a diverse amount of pathologies.

 

[Freeeedom!]

Yes, I agree with myself.