Go with DO or Go with Ross??

[OSUdoc08]

What's wrong with osteopathic matched residencies? Remember a physician's success is based upon the health of his/her patients and not the school/residency program they came from.

Certain premeds think that it is important to have a big name residency, so you get a better job, when in fact all that matters is that board certification in your hand.

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[LVDoc]

There is nothing wrong with it per-se, but I think you'd find even most osteopathic graduates would rather get an ACGME-approved residency. There's so much commotion about the closing of osteopathic residency programs, the quality, the funding, etc. I personally don't want to deal with that, and I'd like to skip the transitional rotating internship year if I could.

Plus, if I ever wanted to work as a part-time faculty or what not at a university or do something along the lines like that (rather than just work in a hospital), I'm not sure what they would take into consideration (ie. would where the person did their residency be a possiblity?).

One more thing, I'm not sure, but I would think you get more exposure to patients and different cases at a university academic center. That is quite a bit important to me.

 

[OSUdoc08]

There is nothing wrong with it per-se, but I think you'd find even most osteopathic graduates would rather get an ACGME-approved residency. There's so much commotion about the closing of osteopathic residency programs, the quality, the funding, etc. I personally don't want to deal with that, and I'd like to skip the transitional rotating internship year if I could.

Plus, if I ever wanted to work as a part-time faculty or what not at a university or do something along the lines like that (rather than just work in a hospital), I'm not sure what they would take into consideration (ie. would where the person did their residency be a possiblity?).

One more thing, I'm not sure, but I would think you get more exposure to patients at a university academic center. That is quite a bit important to me.

1. One of the best emergency medicine residency programs I am looking at is an AOA residency, and I plan to apply for it before consideration of ACGME residencies. You cannot generalize on the quality of residencies.

2. Having not completed the internship or an AOA residency will prevent you from working at an osteopathic medical school, and holding offices within the AOA. However, you will be limited in no way by any MD school. This is why you can only benefit by doing a residency in the AOA. ACGME should be your backup plan if you don't get into AOA, since the match is done later.

3. The DO residencies I am considering are at "University Academic Centers" for both DO and MD schools. In my state, there aren't even any MD residencies for emergency medicine, so we get full reign of their university ER. Once again, your generalizations cannot be applied across the board. You really need to examine what specialty you are interested in before delving into such generalizations.

 

[Docgeorge]

One more thing, if you do an AOA accredated EM residency you qualifiy to become a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

 

[OSUdoc08]

One more thing, if you do an AOA accredated EM residency you qualifiy to become a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

The president of the American College of Emergency Physicians is a DO by the way, and a colleague of mine....

 

[Docgeorge]

I have a friend who was at St. G before he was able to transfer into a US school. He said that the 90% USMLE pass rate was messleading. You must first pass a qualifing exam very similar to the USMLE before the school will certify you for the USMLE.

 

[Phil Anthropist]

For me the importance of residency placement has nothing to do with job placement or prestige. Most of the docs in my area are not on salary, they're self-employed. Residency placement is important to me because I want to be the best clinician I can be; I want to provide the best medical care possible for my future patients. I'm not concerned with a residency being AOA, ACGME, or prestigious. I simply want to enter a residency program that gives me excellent clinical training and is consistent with my goals. Residency programs are not all the same. In many cases, a less prestigious program may be better than a more prestious program in the same specialty. In PM&R residencies for example, some programs are research-heavy, some emphasize in-patient care, and others emphasize out-patient care. If you want to practice in-patient care PM&R, a "top ranked" PM&R program that stresses out-patient care isn't your best option. It really depends on your goals. If you think a particular ACGME program will give you the best training, go for that ACGME program. If an AOA program will give you better training and is more suited for your goals, go with that. I personally think residency placement is very important--more important than the med school one attends.

I have a friend who was at St. G before he was able to transfer into a US school. He said that the 90% USMLE pass rate was messleading. You must first pass a qualifing exam very similar to the USMLE before the school will certify you for the USMLE.

You're referring to the shelf examinations. But other medical schools in the United States have shelf exams too. The 90% pass rate is misleading for other reasons as well (I mentioned some reasons earlier in this thread such as attrition and deceleration). Nevertheless, the number is significantly higher than the FMG pass-rate in general. Also, the average students have no trouble with the shelf exams.

 

[HoodyHoo]

I'm not sure exactly what to do. I received a few acceptances from DO schools and I was also accepted into Ross which is an MD school. I am not all that motivated by the osteopathic philosophy to say that I definitely want to go to a DO school. At at the same time, I'm not all that motivated to go out of the country to a third world country to get my MD. I'm at odds right now and could use some advice on which path I should take. Thanks.

If you're not motivated by osteopathy why did you apply??????? it seems to me you care too much about the two letters behind your name to go the DO route. Why don't you consider re-applying to US MD schools next year?

 

[OSUdoc08]

"Colleague".

The arrogance of a MS1 calling a physician and president of the ACEP a 'colleague'.

Dude, you are so full of yourself. Get a grip.

Wow, perhaps you should find out more information before you insult others.

We both worked for the same company back in the day, before I was in medical school.

 

[skicu]

I also have a friend at SGU. The 90% pass rate is misleading because they "decel" so many people. The people who do this are not eligible to take the USMLE and so cannot negatively affect the pass rate.

 

[dude11]

It seems like you already know the answer to your own question buttt I think that you really want that MD degree. If getting an MD degree is that important to you then you should pursue it.

How is NYCOM? Is it a good school? The class is around 300 people. Do you get to know the people around you? Do you recommend NYCOM pros and cons? I am considering attending NYCOM but its just overpriced over 37 K per year in tuition! If it was cheapy maybe I would consider going! Do you have good reasons someone should go to NYCOM?

 

[Taus]

dude... this is an old thread....if you want info about the ross/do thing there are some quality threads in the Freq. asked q section....if you want info about nycom there have been a ton of posts on the school...do a search for "nycom" and you'll come up w/ more then enough info to answer your questions

 

[rgerwin]

Most private med schools charge 32K-35K. If you like it, what's the big deal about the extra 2K?

 

[sicwitit4040]

The worst reply to the OP or anyone in this situation is "why are you even applying to DO if you dont believe in the philosophy and OMM..."

It is not unreasonable for a pre-med applicant to not have a REAL idea of the philosophy of osteopathic medicine or OMM without any formal training. To give someone a hard time for applying because they arent "true believers" or whatever is not right.

People need to ease up a bit on the criticism, and to the folks that like to cut down those in the OP's position are proving themselves to be just as ego-driven as those trying to make the decision between MD and DO.

 

[OSUdoc08]

The worst reply to the OP or anyone in this situation is "why are you even applying to DO if you dont believe in the philosophy and OMM..."

It is not unreasonable for a pre-med applicant to not have a REAL idea of the philosophy of osteopathic medicine or OMM without any formal training. To give someone a hard time for applying because they arent "true believers" or whatever is not right.

People need to ease up a bit on the criticism, and to the folks that like to cut down those in the OP's position are proving themselves to be just as ego-driven as those trying to make the decision between MD and DO.

I agree. There are many people in osteopathic schools who don't plan to use OMM. They will still have the musculoskeletal diagnostic skills when they graduate, nevertheless.

 

[crys20]

All these threads are so tiresome. One year extra in the process doesn't make a huge difference. If neither option appeals to you, spend the year revamping your application and get a US allo spot.

 

[Jamers]

I'm not sure exactly what to do. I received a few acceptances from DO schools and I was also accepted into Ross which is an MD school. I am not all that motivated by the osteopathic philosophy to say that I definitely want to go to a DO school. At at the same time, I'm not all that motivated to go out of the country to a third world country to get my MD. I'm at odds right now and could use some advice on which path I should take. Thanks.

I was also accepted to Ross as a backup plan. It not as horrible an option as most people make it out. You really only spend the first 16 months on the Island and then you move over to Miami. If you really want the MD degree and are willing to put aside a year a 4 months aside, I'd say go for it.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

I was also accepted to Ross as a backup plan. It not as horrible an option as most people make it out. You really only spend the first 16 months on the Island and then you move over to Miami. If you really want the MD degree and are willing to put aside a year a 4 months aside, I'd say go for it.

A friend of mine just busted his butt to transfer out of Ross to AUC. Things aren't so great on the island according to him. Just a little FYI.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

A friend of mine just busted his butt to transfer out of Ross to AUC. Things aren't so great on the island according to him. Just a little FYI.

Yeah, Ross sounds rough. One thing to note about Ross versus an osteopathic school is that Ross is known for having a pretty large attrition rate. Osteopathic schools really don't -- schools in the US generally do whatever they can to keep you there. Dominica sounds harsh, people hate the Miami semester (read valuemd for more on that), and their clinicals aren't as good as SGU. Also, most importantly, they might lose their stafford loans. It might very well not happen, but it's a risk.