Dual residency; can someone explain, please?

[barmiki]

So, I am confused about the AOA/ACGME, MD/DO dual residency. I understand how it works. However, what degree do you attain once you complete the residency program?
I shadowed a doctor who was MD, DO; does this mean she completed a dual residency program? (I know she attended an osteopathic medical school).

Thank you for the clarification!

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[JaggerPlate]

No. There were a select number of DO schools (NYCOM is one that comes to mind) that used to either have an accelerated program for FMG MDs who were having issues getting licensed in the states OR they accepted a larger amount of these FMG MDs for their program. Regardless, they come out with a MD, DO. This was probably the case with your doc. Your degree has nothing to do with residency. If you go to a DO school and complete an ACGME residency or a dual residency, you're still a DO.

 

[randomusername]

The residency doesn't grant you any kind of degree.

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it comes in handy post-residency when trying to gain professional memberships if you want to do training in an ACGME program but still be eligible for AOA-board certification, because to get the board cert through the AOA, you must do an AOA-approved internship and residency.

Here are a couple of links that may be of some use:

http://scs.msu.edu/downloads/presentations/20011103-Combined%20Residency%20Programs.ppt

http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm?PageID=faq_cons (see "Certification")

 

[dozitgetchahi]

While my knowledge on the matter is far from complete, mostly they just open up these residencies to DOs and MDs without the DOs having to take USMLE or MDs having to take the COMLEX. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it also comes in handy post-residency when trying to gain professional memberships if you want to do training in an ACGME program but still be eligible for AOA-board certification, because to get the board cert through the AOA, you must do an AOA-approved internship and residency.

I think the second part of your statement is true. I'm not sure about the first part, however; my impression was that these residencies were still either DO-only or at least overwhelmingly dominated by DOs (because few MDs had any interest in such a program).

As for the MD, DO question - one possibility that comes to mind is the situation in California in the 1970s where Cali's DOs were rounded up and given state-issued "MD degrees" because the state had "banned" the registration/licensing of DOs. Later, a high court case overturned this and reestablished the ability of DOs to be licensed within the state. I'm not sure what happened to the DOs who had been given MD degrees during this incident - did they stay MDs? Become DOs again? Or were they granted the mysterious "MD, DO" designation?

Unless you shadowed A.T. Still himself, the only other way a doctor could get both degrees would be if he went to medical school twice....

 

[scpod]

....mostly they just open up these residencies to DOs and MDs without the DOs having to take USMLE or MDs having to take the COMLEX....

Not exactly. A dual residency typically has a certain number of slots that go through the DO match in February and a certain number in the MD match in March. The only "dual" slots are the ones in the DO match. If you match to a dual slot you can sit for both sets of board certification exams. But, you also have to take two sets of inservice exams each year. If you are a DO and match in the MD match, you do not get a dual slot and are not eligible to sit for the AOA board exams. There are ways around this, however, if you go through the approval process of your specialty college.

Note also that if you match to an MD slot in a dual residency, your intern year is not automatically approved by the AOA-- you still have to go through the approval process if your state requires that for licensing.