Msenger, thank you very much for you comments.
I would certainly say that only a very small minority of MD students have something against DO students. I for one, and most the folks on this board, believe there is no inherent incompetency of DO's. I would have absolutely no problem working with a DO ophthalmologist, or for that matter, seeing one as my own doc.
DO students, given the opportunity, can become just as skilled in any specialty as their MD counterparts. I think once you start residency, it's a whole new ballgame, and your skill as a physician evolves from the amount of work and study you put in to it, NOT the type of school you came from.
The factor limiting the successfullness in DO students' application to competetive specialties is NOT lack of intelligence or incompetence.
I'm sure you've noticed, if you read the posts on this forum, that DO's have met some resistance to gaining interview invitations. Maybe it is bias by certain program directors to choose what the know....MD. I really don't know what the barrier might be. It probably just takes time for people who know what DO's are all about to become PD's. If anyone can shed light on this, I'd love to put the issue to rest once and for all.
Your comment about the "easier specialties" is mostly unfounded, and I'm assuming you are speaking out of frustration. I don't think any one specialty is innately easier or harder than another. Each specialty has certain aspects that are difficult, and those that are easier. FP is probably a lot easier for someone who has great people skills and loves to listen. OPH is easier for people who like to work quickly and are inclined toward technical procedures and examinations. FP is probably brutally difficult for someone who loves OPH, such as myself....and I'd bet anyone who loves FP probably hates the OPH clinic.
At any rate, this is a very stressed out forum right now, so attempts to start DO vs MD flame wars should probably be postponed....let's say...indefinitely.
Geddy
