Emergency Medicine going the DO route

[PNWisBest]

I recently met with my Pre-Health advisor regarding my game plan for medical school. I really want to go into Emergency Medicine (I understand that can change) and after some research, decided that DO was the way to go for me. The idea of having an additional tool to help people is really appealing.

He/She has advised against the DO route because, "I will be unable to find a decent residency, if a residency at all". I would be a very competitive DO candidate.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

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[DrMidlife]

Sounds like your premed adviser, like most premed advisers, has no idea what he/she is talking about.

DOs matched at 79% in the "MD" match this year. That's a steady increase over the last decade. Former AOA matches aren't included yet afaik. IMG match rates are crap and falling fast, but DOs are doing fine. See NRMP.org.

Spend some time digging into residency programs and their current/incoming residents. It's incredibly easy to find which programs have DOs.

No idea where you're going with the research issue.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Roscoe11]

I, too, would like to go the Emergency Medicine route, and two of the five physicians I work with as a scribe are D.O.'s, so there is nothing stopping you!!

 

[PNWisBest]

@DrMidlife Thanks for the reply! I just meant the time I spent researching school options and the differences between DO/MD.

 

[DrMidlife]

Hopefully, then, "research" means that you read the Gevitz book, that you've started building a DO school list from your reviews of schools and their hospital affiliations (which better include level 1 trauma) and their accommodation during 4th year for the away rotations required in EM, that you read up on what the AOA/ACGME merger means and what it doesn't mean, that you've reviewed at least one residency program's side-by-side curriculum for its MD and DO residents, and that you started looking for DO EM docs in residency and in practice who can advise you on school choice.

That would be "research". Most premeds and med students don't do it, trusting that "somebody" has it all worked out and won't steer you wrong. That works well if you like surprises and disappointment.

Best of luck to you.

 

[shaggybill]

He/She has advised against the DO route because, "I will be unable to find a decent residency, if a residency at all".

Haha, wow! Your advisor has no idea what they are talking about. DOs do EM all the time. In the class ahead of my own, there were many, many that matched into EM, mostly MD residencies too, and some good ones at that.

 

[alpinism]

EM is one of the more DO friendly residencies out there.

Most programs accept DO applications and give them a fair shot long as they have a competitive application (step 1, grades, LORs).

However, just an FYI, if you're really interested in matching at programs in competitive locations (west coast and some east coast cities), you'll be at a disadvantage and might have to settle for a midwestern or southeastern residency. These programs are very competitive as it is for MD applicants and there just aren't enough spots to go around. As a result some of the programs rarely if ever take a DO unless they have a stellar application.

 

[Stagg737]

He/She has advised against the DO route because, "I will be unable to find a decent residency, if a residency at all". I would be a very competitive DO candidate.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

Stop listening to your advisor. As someone who had a horrible advisor, I can say first-hand that I wish I had talked to more physicians/medical professionals and trusted my advisor less (or not at all). I'm at a DO school and our current 4th year class had 100% match this year. We also had over 20 people match ER last year and 16 match ER the year before that with many of them going to ACGME programs in major cities. The statement that a DO can't find a decent residency in EM is absurd, and saying you wouldn't be able to find a residency at all is just plain stupid.

 

[racerwad]

I recently met with my Pre-Health advisor regarding my game plan for medical school. I really want to go into Emergency Medicine (I understand that can change) and after some research, decided that DO was the way to go for me. The idea of having an additional tool to help people is really appealing.

He/She has advised against the DO route because, "I will be unable to find a decent residency, if a residency at all". I would be a very competitive DO candidate.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

I am a 4th year DO student that matched to my ACGME EM residency of choice. Kudos to you for putting in some work at the front end of this process so that you have as much info as you can. Everyone here that has said DOs can go into EM relatively easily are correct. However, your adviser is not completely off base when they caution that your struggles may involve getting into a residency.

As a DO, everything is just a little more difficult. Some programs simply don't interview or accept DOs. You'll have to take two boards, apply to more programs, and be willing to apply/match to geographically undesirable places. It is true that with all that hard work, you'll probably match at or close to the top of your list. The question is, if you feel you're a "very competitive DO candidate," why would you want to put yourself through the extra effort and anxiety? Trust me, in terms of clinical utility (especially in the ED) OMM isn't worth the hassle.

TL; DR - DOs can match in EM but there are easier ways.

 

[Goro]

Yet another example of an advisor who has no business advising clams, much less students.

Your advisor is an idiot. There are plenty of residencies for DO in ER (both AOA and ACGME) and plenty of my students go into ER.

But first, worry about getting into med school, and not on specialty.

I recently met with my Pre-Health advisor regarding my game plan for medical school. I really want to go into Emergency Medicine (I understand that can change) and after some research, decided that DO was the way to go for me. The idea of having an additional tool to help people is really appealing.

He/She has advised against the DO route because, "I will be unable to find a decent residency, if a residency at all". I would be a very competitive DO candidate.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this?

 

[packersfans]

So many bad advisors out there. I googled the DO school local to me and found plenty of people matching EM. I suspect the likelihood of your interests changing over time being a larger factor to not matching EM than because you went DO.

http://www.pcom.edu/Student_Life/Student_Affairs_Main/match_2014.html